Priceline Hotel: Help for May 14-18th

[winterb]

looking for a hotel for 4 guys in Chicago. Annual trip and we like to have a good time. Going to Cubs game and looking for Hotel in great area for bars and night life. Willing to spend good ammout of money.

any help would be great

[dreinke]

Lincoln Park (right down from Wrigley) can be really tough for hotels no matter how you pay for it. I would highly recommend bidding on Priceline in the River North area. Most of the hotels are within walking distance of the desirable Rush & Division Dining & Nightlife area. Most of them are also within walking distance to the Red Line which will drop you off right at Wrigley (as if you didn't know).

I just got back from staying at the 4* Millenium Knickerbocker hotel right off Michigan on the North End of the Mag Mile. I got it for $69 on Hotwire after a few unsuccessful bids on PL. It was a great hotel and stay. My buddy got the Hyatt Regency for $61 for the same dates, but that is in the Grant Park zone and you could end up with a place much further south than you most likely want. Regardless with as much time as you have to plan, you should get a good rate. I would double check McCormick place to see what else is going on that weekend.

***The only word of caution. I have used Priceline many times to meet up with buddys all over; THERE IS NO GUARANTEE of getting a room with 2 Beds. So if you guys are cool with getting a King Room, which is more likely that not; then no biggie. If so, I would really check to see what's going on that weekend and even call some of the hotels to see how booked they are.

Good Luck! Go Cubbies!

[AaronJB]

There are very few hotels in Lincoln Park, and none of them are of great interest/they're nothing special - there's a Best Western and a Days Inn.

While the poster above discusses rooms in the $60's, keep in mind there's no way you are going to get those rates during the busy Spring season.

Unfortunately, there is a large convention during part of this time period (5/16-19 is the convention), and that will cause higher rates.

As mentioned, PRICELINE only guarantees 1 bed per room. HOTWIRE guarantees bedding for up to 4 (which could mean 2 beds or 1+sofa)

You'll likely be best staying North of the River (which, in terms of PRICELINE means the River North/North Michigan Ave. area and in terms of HOTWIRE means the Mag Mile/Streeterville area or the North michigan Ave/Water Tower/Gold Coast area.), as parts of the Loop area can get pretty quiet at night and I'm guessing you're looking for more nightlife.

One idea for an activity might be the 10-pin bowling alley and lounge, which is next to the House of Blues. It's a beautiful, upscale bowling alley with huge video screens above the lanes and high-end treats that can be brought to the lanes.

In terms of more specific recommendations, how many people/rooms are there going to be, and what were you looking for in terms of budget per room?

[AaronJB]

Actually, now that I look at hotel prices in general for these dates, is there any way you could possibly either back up to 12th-16th instead of 14th-18th? Or, better yet, to the weekend prior (7th-11th?)

12th-16th is somewhat cheaper than the 14th-18th and the 7th-11th is considerably cheaper than the 14th-18th.

Please use the site's HOTWIRE and PRICELINE links to start your travel purchases, and let us know if you have any questions.

[winterb]

has to be 14th to 18th already booked flights and that is our long weekend in Canada (may 2 4)

willing to pay up to 100 per night

would need 2 doubles for sure

thanks for the help so far

[AaronJB]

Unfortunately, I don't think $100's going to be possible for these dates due to the convention.

[thereuare]

Few issues...

To begin, PRICELINE only guarantees double occupancy, and you'll be quad occupancy... so you either need to be willing to accept the risk that you get a room with only one bed or try booking thru HOTWIRE (which allows you to search for up to quad occupancy)

If the latter route, nothing in the "main downtown" zone(s) appear within your $100/nite budget. Given the convention, your budget may even be tough to meet if you decide to use PRICELINE and take the double occupancy risk.

So i think you're going to first need to decide if you're willing to take the double/quad occupancy risk... then decide where you're willing to be flexible, either price, star rating, or location.

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

[winterb]

what would the 2 star hotel that hotwire has i don't see one listed on the hotel list for chicago?

just need beds that we can sleep on dont really care about anything else!

[thereuare]

In which HOTWIRE zone and how many people are you including in your search?

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