Hotwire Hotel: May 14-18 why prices so high on hotwire?

[jules41]

My friend and I are meeting in Chicago for a girls get-away and I can't figure why the prices are above $200 for a 4* on NMA. Any clues on how to get one cheaper?

[AaronJB]

National Restaurant Association Meeting. Unfortunately, no "workaround" when it's the biggest convention of the year in the city.

If it's a girl's weekend, I would suggest considering the upscale North suburbs - tons of shopping, cheap/nice hotels, some sights (Chicago Botanic Garden in the suburb of Glencoe) and a lot of restaurants. I see a 3.5* in Northbrook for $53 on HOTWIRE in the Northbrook area. Two upscale malls nearby - Old Orchard and Northbrook Court - provide many (actually, probably most) of the same things Michigan Ave. downtown has to offer, and some of the nearby towns have some fun shops. Less sales tax than downtown, as well.

Also, easy access to the train if you wanted to spend a day or two downtown.

This would be best if you were driving, as it's not terribly easy to get around the burbs on public transit.

Again though, if this is mainly going to be a girls' weekend of visiting and shopping, the North burbs - which are really quite nice - would be a much cheaper alternative to downtown on these dates.

[AaronJB]

Northbrook Court: http://www.northbrookcourt.com/html/storedirectory.asp

Old Orchard: http://westfield.com/oldorchard/

Vernon Hills Mall: http://westfield.com/hawthorn/

Chicago Botanic Garden: Chicagobotanic.org

Hotwire: HOTWIRE