Hotwire Hotel: Chicago May 29 - May 31

[cjwillow]

Hi there. Arriving from the UK in Chicago on Friday May 29 for the first leg of our Route 66 tour.

We will be in Chicago on a weekend and require two rooms.

Having already struck gold with HOTWIRE for our St Louis stay, I was hoping to do the same in Chicago.

It's not looking great at this stage.

The best deal on HOTWIRE is 166 dollars for a four-star, boutique, gym, restaurant, fitness centre, internet, tennis and spa. Could any of you kind people tell me whether this is worth snapping up now, or should I be advised to hang tough for a few months and see what else turns up?

I've also been trying on PRICELINE but I am having no luck with my bids.

Any help, guidance, advice would be really appreciated.

Fantastic site, by the way. Beyond helpful.

Chris

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Having already struck gold with HOTWIRE for our St Louis stay...

Perhaps you can share the wealth and post your results to the board, maybe the information will help somebody else. Please post your previous win to the board and then bump this thread and we'll address your post above.

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

[AaronJB]

I have a few suggestions here, but I'll wait until after the prior win is posted.

[cjwillow]

Thanks for that.

Two rooms in the Hilton St Louis Downtown on May 31 weighed in at just $66 a night through HOTWIRE. I consider that to be a great deal as all UK-based companies were offering considerably more. The hotel looks amazing.

[AaronJB]

It would be greatly appreciated if you could post the St Louis win in the forum for Hotwire/Missouri.

Personally, I think if you're driving, I would recommend booking in the SW burbs. That way, you will be able to have a head start heading towards St Louis. You can drive to the nearest Metra station and take the train in rather than dealing with expensive ($35-50 per night) parking at downtown hotels.

If you do want to stay downtown, you are looking a little too far out for Chicago hotels, which are more in-demand than St Louis properties - certainly, you're not going to find a 4* in Chicago for that cheap in the prime Spring season. Given the unusually high rates I'm seeing - $250-350+ per night regular rates -there may be something going on on these dates (convention?) but I'm not seeing it on the convention calendar (although that doesn't mean that there isn't something going on.) You could book a refundable reservation now - there are a couple options at or slightly under $200 that would be good - and then cancel if something better comes along.

Let us know what would be preferrable to you - staying in the cheaper suburbs and traveling in or spending more to stay downtown - and we can go from there with suggestions.

[thereuare]

Two rooms in the Hilton St Louis Downtown on May 31 weighed in at just $66 a night through HOTWIRE.

It would be greatly appreciated if you could post the St Louis win in the forum for Hotwire/Missouri.

Here is a link to the Hotwire Illinois forum, and in your post please include the date(s) of your stay and the amenities shown before your purchase... you can still view this info by going to HOTWIRE and clicking the MY ACCOUNT link near the top right of their home page.

We'll await your reply regarding your thoughts on the suburbs to see which direction you'd like to head from here. (although i'll add that Quickbook has the Hard Rock for $199/nite your dates which is a 'book now pay later' rate which is cancellable up until a few days before your stay)

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

[AaronJB]

$199 for the HR is a good option. However, I also like the Silversmith for $179 via Hotels.com. If you want something a little different, I also recommend the Buckingham Athletic Club for $204 via Hotels.com. The Buckingham is a private athletic club with 21 rooms. The hotel part is on the 40th floor of a building downtown, which results in some great views. You also get breakfast and use of the extensive health club facilities.

Please use this link to Hotels.com: Hotels.com.

[AaronJB]

In terms of the suburbs, I would recommend the Oak Brook area. This would be a very nice area and put you a step ahead in terms of driving to St Louis because it is SW of Chicago. In terms of getting to the city, you could drive to the nearest Metra station and take the train in.

[cjwillow]

Super advice, thank you.

I will post my win on the Hotwire/Missouri forum.

As there is four of us, the plan is to pick up our car from O'Hare Airport upon leaving Chicago on May 31. We would, however, rather not stay near the airport or in the suburbs, simply because we want to be near the action, as it were.

Judged by what you are saying, is it fair to say there's unlikely to be no outrageously good deal that weekend?

The idea of getting Hotwire's $166 (four-star, boutique, gym, restaurant, fitness centre, internet, tennis and spa) deal is quite tempting.

Thanks in advance (again)

Chris

[thereuare]

Judged by what you are saying, is it fair to say there's unlikely to be no outrageously good deal that weekend?

AaronJB can confirm, but what i believe he's saying is that it's unlikely to get an incredible deal now... but your stay is still nearly 6 months away and prices may drop between now and then, and it's probably too early to book a non-refundable reservation at $166/nite.

When there are equivalently rated, refundable rates, just $30-$40 more than the non-refundable option, the risk/reward ratio is probably better booking a refundable back-up and continuing to try bidding on PRICELINE and monitoring HOTWIRE.

Does that make sense?

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases. (or our Quickbook or Hotels.com links if you use either for a back-up... don't forget to doublecheck the refundable terms yourself)

PS- please add the amenities to your Hotwire St Louis thread... how to still view these is given in our reply to that thread. Thanks.

[cjwillow]

Perfect sense.

Thank you so much for your kind help.

I'll get cracking with that St Louis thread now.

Chris