Hotwire Hotel: CHICAGO - Need help with Aug. 5 - 10

[calla]

My son and 3 friends are going to the music festival in August. They will be driving there but would like to be in the Loop district so that it will be within walking distance to the festival grounds. Only one hotel is showing up on Hotwire and it was about $250/night. I've never been to Chicago so I'm uncertain how to help him with this. He went last year and stayed in the financial district - had one bed for 2 guys! Hoping to do better this year. They are willing to use public transit to stay in an area near the Loop. Any suggestions on how to proceed with this?

[AaronJB]

Lollapalooza is a difficult situation with hotels. The issue is that the concert is in Grant Park, so understandably, those who are going try to fill the Loop hotels first, since that is closer to Grant Park than the Michigan Ave. area North of the River. However, it's still not that far a walk to the Mag Mile area from Grant Park. The issue with the Loop/Financial district area is that it's quiet at night - not much in the way of restaurants or things open after dark.

I'm guessing your son is 21 or older, since the great majority of the hotels in the city require guests checking in to be 21+. The fact that there are 4 adults in the room is also going to lead to the room being more expensive due to the 2 extra adults (extra person charges added into the room price on HOTWIRE.)

Here are the possible options:

1. Sutton Place via Orbitz.com. $177.37 per night. Includes 50% off valet parking, which is a nice bonus. Use coupon code deal0hotel (the 0 in deal0hotel is the number 0, not the letter O) for an extra 10% off = $159.64 per night. Again, given how expensive hotel parking is, the 50% off valet is definitely a good bonus and only appears to be available if you book through Orbitz. This is also in the Gold Coast area, where there will be plenty of restaurants and activity. Be sure to use the coupon code, as that saves about $88 in total off the stay. This is also a very nice hotel that rarely ever appears on HOTWIRE and has never appeared on PRICELINE. It would also be a confirmed 2 doubles room.

2. Renaissance via Orbitz.com ($239 per night.) This is the cheapest Loop 4*. However, I'd still much rather recommend the Sutton deal. While it would be more of a walk to the concert from Grant Park to Sutton, for not that much longer a walk, you'd be saving about $65 per night + you'd get 50% off parking at the Sutton. The deal0hotel coupon on Orbitz should also be able to be used with this hotel.

3. HOTWIRE has a 3.5* in the North Michigan Ave/Water Tower/Gold Coast area for $119 (the price you see may vary) with the amenities: Boutique, Restaurant, Fitness, Hi-Speed Internet, Business, Golf, Tennis, Spa. This is likely the Hotel Indigo. This would be a fantastic rate for the Indigo, which is a very nice hotel in the same area as the Sutton.

4. HOTWIRE has a 4* in the Northbrook area for $69. Northbrook is a very nice North suburb. There would be free parking and the hotel price would be $50 less than the cheapest downtown option. They would have to drive to the nearest Metra station and take the train (about 40 minutes) into downtown.

Personally, I'd recommend either #1 (Sutton) or #3 (possible HOTWIRE Indigo). In my opinion, it's silly to spend so much more to stay in the Loop when one can stay in the North Michigan Ave or Gold Coast area for MUCH cheaper and walk or take public transit to get to the Loop/Grant Park.

Any questions, please ask.

Please use the site's Orbitz.com or HOTWIRE.com links to start your purchase.

[AaronJB]

Additionally, I'm not seeing anything available in the Loop when I search for 4 adults on HOTWIRE for these dates. Again, Loop hotels are considerably more expensive for these dates - I wouldn't pay more for them.

[AaronJB]

Do any of those ideas work for you?

[ScottiePP7]

Hello -

I figured I wouldn't bother starting a thread as I am looking to go to Chicago for the same festival and the same days.

I will, however be flying to the city. I am looking for a good area that is not too far from the nightlife or has easy access to relatively cheap public transportation.

I am currently seeing $96 a night for a 4-star hotel in North Michigan Avenue - Water Tower - Gold Coast. Any ideas what hotel this is? Is there good stuff there for people in their mid to late 20s nearby?

[thereuare]

I figured I wouldn't bother starting a thread as I am looking to go to Chicago for the same festival and the same days.

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Please start a NEW TOPIC for your own stay... although your dates are the same, some parameters (occupancy, budget, star rating, etc) is/may be different, resulting in different hotels. Having you each use your own thread(s) will make it easier to keep the needs of each straight, as well as allow us to ultimately reflect the hotel received in the topic title of each thread.

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

[calla]

Just wanted to post an up-date on my search for Chicago during the Lollapalooza music festival. I received an e-mail yesterday from Travelzoo that was promoting a new Comfort Suites on 320 N. Michigan Avenue. Got a one bedroom suite with full kitchen and free breakfast for $89/night for 2 people (the other 2 guys canceled their trip). Parking is $30/night. This hotel is just a few blocks from Grant Park where the festival is being held. My son is very happy with this deal. If anyone is interested in this hotel, search the Travelzoo website for the promotional code. I know this information doesn't help betterbidding.com, but I thought it was useful information for anyone going to the festival or to Chicago this summer.

[thereuare]

Thanks for the follow-up and letting us know what you ultimately decided for this trip... glad you found something which works well for your plans.

Do note that you could use our Best Western link from our support page along with the Tzoo coupon code for similar situations in the future.

Enjoy your stay and the festival.

[calla]

Sorry, thereuare. I didn't realize those links were there. I thought this site was just PRICELINE and HOTWIRE. Didn't explore enough. Will use the support page travel links page in the future.