Hotwire Hotel: Please help identify Chicago hotels on Hotwire

[wedding_guest]

Hi there. I ran a search on Hotwire for three rooms for a two night stay in Chicago, checking in Friday 6/19 and checking out Sunday 6/21. There were a lot of seemingly good results. I apologize for including so many below. We're going to a film festival and the festival's hotel base is the Hotel Sax, so we'd love to stay there or somewhere nearby. Do you think any of the below are the Hotel Sax? Can you help to identify any of them?

Thanks very much for your help.

4 1/2 stars in Magnificent Mile/Streeterville

$116 prpn

Amenities include:

Fitness Center

Restaurant(s)

Business Center

High-speed Internet Access

4 stars in Magnificent Mile/Streeterville

$104 prpn

Amenities include:

Fitness Center

Restaurant(s)

Business Center

High-speed Internet Access

Spa Services

3 1/2 stars in Magnificent Mile/Streeterville

$89 prpn

Amenities include:

Boutique Hotel

Fitness Center

Business Center

High-speed Internet Access

3 stars in Magnificent Mile/Streeterville

$105 prpn

Amenities include:

Fitness Center

Business Center

High-speed Internet Access

And one in the Chicago Loop:

4 stars in Chicago Loop

$104 prpn

Amenities include:

Boutique Hotel

Fitness Center

Restaurant(s)

Business Center

High-speed Internet Access

[AaronJB]

Hotwire Puerto Vallarta

Please first follow-up on what you did in the Mexico thread above (please post in that thread, so we close that thread.) and then we will look into what is available for Chicago for these dates.

[wedding_guest]

We haven't made a decision about Mexico yet because I'm waiting for confirmation from the bride that our plans for accommodations will work for her. But as soon as we've booked a Puerto Vallarta hotel (or have more questions, if the options change by the time she gets back to me) I will make sure to post about it on that thread.

Thanks again for your help.

[thereuare]

I apologize for including so many below.

Have you tried matching any of them on your own based upon what is listed in the Hotwire Hotel List :)

From there we can confirm the option you most likely intend to go with or look at any of those which you can't identify.

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

[wedding_guest]

Thank you so much for providing that link! I didn't know about that section of your site. It was extremely helpful. This is what I found from going through it. Please tell me if you think my detective work is correct (and I couldn't find anything for the 3.5 stars hotel). Your site is so great - thanks again. I've just copied my original descriptions below but added in the actual hotels.

4 1/2 stars in Magnificent Mile/Streeterville: Hilton Conrad or Inter-Continental Chicago

$116 prpn

Amenities include:

Fitness Center

Restaurant(s)

Business Center

High-speed Internet Access

4 stars in Magnificent Mile/Streeterville: Hotel Felix, Hyatt Regency Chicago, or Swissotel

$104 prpn

Amenities include:

Fitness Center

Restaurant(s)

Business Center

High-speed Internet Access

Spa Services

3 1/2 stars in Magnificent Mile/Streeterville: I don't see any matches with 3.5 stars that have 'boutique hotel' as an amenity

$89 prpn

Amenities include:

Boutique Hotel

Fitness Center

Business Center

High-speed Internet Access

3 stars in Magnificent Mile/Streeterville: Holiday Inn Express Hotel Cass, maybe also Inn of Chicago

$105 prpn

Amenities include:

Fitness Center

Business Center

High-speed Internet Access

And one in the Chicago Loop:

4 stars in Chicago Loop: Hotel Allegro

$104 prpn

Amenities include:

Boutique Hotel

Fitness Center

Restaurant(s)

Business Center

High-speed Internet Access

[AaronJB]

The 4.5* is likely the Intercontinental.

The 4* Mag Mile is likely the Hyatt.

3* Mag Mile is possibly the Inn of Chicago

4* Loop is likely the Allegro.

The 3.5* Boutique is likely the Hotel 71, which has been put back to 3.5* (although 3* is probably more accurate.)

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The Allegro is a very nice hotel that has recently undergone a major renovation, but its location in the Loop is out of the way. I wouldn't recommend Hotel 71 or the Inn of Chicago.

The Intercontinental is the nicest hotel of the set. The Hyatt is a giant, impersonal convention hotel, but in a fine location a couple of blocks South of the Intercontinental.

Personally, I would choose the Intercontinental out of those. However:

if you search for 2 adults/2 children, you will see:

3.5* Mag Mile/Streeterville - Suite, Restaurant, Pool, Fitness, Complimentary Breakfast, Hi-Speed Internet, Business. $116. While not as upscale as the Intercontinental, this is a very nice Embassy Suites property with both free breakfast and evening light meal.

3* Mag Mile/Streeterville - Suite, Complimentary Breakfast, Pool, Fitness, Hi-Speed Internet, Business, Kitchenette. $117. This is likely the Homewood Suites, which is a terrific all-suite property one block West of Michigan Ave. While not a 3.5*, I would put this on the same level as the Embassy, and the Homewood gets fantastic reviews - it is currently rated #3 out of Chicago hotels on Tripadvisor. The difference is that both properties would offer free breakfast, but the ES would also offer a manager's reception at night.

Overall, I would say it's a choice between the more upscale Intercontinental or one of the Suite properties (not as upscale, but freebies.)

[wedding_guest]

Wow. Thanks for such a detailed reply. Any logic you're aware of behind the different results for 2 adults/2 children? We are actually 5 adults (2 couples, 1 single person) looking for 3 rooms, but I did the search as 6 adults/3 rooms. But of course if we get better options pretending we have children for the sake of the booking we can do that too. And for the 3.5 star result you got when you searched for 2 adults/2 kids, could you confirm that ES stand for Embassy Suites?

Thanks again. I'm going to send these options on to my colleagues and I will post here once we've booked. You've made this much easier!

[AaronJB]

Yep, my apologies - when I say "ES", I mean Embassy Suites. When I search for 3 rooms, 6 adults/6 children, I do still get the likely Embassy Suites, but not the Homewood. The ES Lakefront is definitely in a nice location, down the street from the lake and a couple of blocks East of Michigan Ave.

[wedding_guest]

Since we want one bed in each room as opposed to two double beds, I realized we probably shouldn't run the search with kids. So unfortunately the Suites properties don't seem to be an option for us for this trip. We are on the verge of going with Hotel 71 because location is very important to us (proximity to various festival events within walking distance) and it's the best location. It seems to have a lot of recent positive reviews on TripAdvisor, so I'm wondering why you don't recommend it. Is there something negative I should be aware of before we book it?

Thanks again.

[AaronJB]

I stayed there a while back and didn't much care for it, and the property has been in the news/had issues in recent years.

This article offers more details: http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/cgi-...ews.pl?id=32166

Even if you do the search for 2 and 2 per room, you can still request 1 bed at check-in, or call ahead to do so.

I wouldn't recommend 71, but if location is important to you, then it is convenient.

If not the Embassy, I'd rather recommend the potential Intercontinental. There's not much difference in location between the Intercontinental and 71, and the Intercontinental would be a nicer property.

4 1/2 stars in Magnificent Mile/Streeterville: Hilton Conrad or Inter-Continental Chicago

$116 prpn

Amenities include:

Fitness Center

Restaurant(s)

Business Center

High-speed Internet Access

Please use the site's HOTWIRE link.

[wedding_guest]

Thanks for that information. I realized that I don't think that 3.5 star could be the Hotel 71, because on Hotwire it says the hotel's TripAdvisor rating is 3.5 based on over 340 reviews. But Hotel 71 has a 4 star rating based on 51 reviews on TripAdvisor. Based on that, I'm guessing the hotel is actually the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers (3.5 stars and 341 reviews on TripAdvisor), which is further away than we want to be. Do you think I'm right about this?

[thereuare]

I think you're right that the 3.5* is not likely the Hotel 71... the TA info doesn't match and the Hotel 71 has previously been reported with a Restaurant icon, not seen to be associated with the 3.5* property above. However, i'm doubtful it's the Sheraton as that's not really a Boutique-y type of property, imo. (as well as the lack of a Restaurant icon)

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

[AaronJB]

The Sheraton is not a boutique - it's a large, impersonal convention/business property.

I find it a little odd that years worth of Hotel 71 reviews have been taken down by tripadvisor. That hotel has been open for quite a long while, and now all the sudden reviews before July of last year have been deleted. I do see Hotel 71 showing on the vacation package side with a restaurant amenity, but their website says their restaurant is closed (?)

The only other thing that I can think of for this 3.5* boutique would be the River Hotel (aka the Club Quarters at Michigan and Wacker - for some reason this hotel is now going under two different names - see: http://chicago-hotels.tripadvisor.com/Hote...o_Illinois.html - which would match the TA rating - but be different amenities than have been shown with this property in the past.

I'm really not coming up with any other boutique-style possibilities w/3.5* TA rating that would fall in this zone.

[thereuare]

I find it a little odd that years worth of Hotel 71 reviews have been taken down by tripadvisor. That hotel has been open for quite a long while, and now all the sudden reviews before July of last year have been deleted. I do see Hotel 71 showing on the vacation package side with a restaurant amenity, but their website says their restaurant is closed (?)

With this additional info, maybe the Hotel 71 is a possibility?? :)

I'm not sure what to make of the above, but you seem to have a lot of other choices and properties which have been identified, do any of those work for your needs?

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

[AaronJB]

I will make one more suggestion.

MDA Apartments is available on Orbitz.com for $172.50 a night (for a queen room) and $220 for a 2BR w/1 queen in each). Plus, if you use coupon code deal0hotel, you get another 10% off.

If you search for 2 in 1 room, there is an apartment with 1 queen bed as an option. If you search for more than 2 in the room (and I believe rooms have to be booked separately for this property), the only option is a 2BR (1 queen in each) for $220 (minus the 10% for the deal0hotel coupon code = $198.)

The two couples could get 1 BR each in the 2BR, and the single person could have their own room. Both the queen room and the 2BR would be larger than any hotel room in the city (the smallest apartment in the building is 495 sq ft.)

The big benefit of this property is that hotel tax is not shown/charged when booking online, and my guess is that it's because this is an apartment building, not a hotel. This is a luxury apartment building (and an expensive one at that, with 495 sq ft studios going for $1295 a month - yikes.) Plus, you would get a fully furnished kitchen in each room and a washer/dryer, no less. There are also some "hotel-like" amenities - the building has a concierge. This property is only a block or so South of Hotel 71. I haven't stayed at MDA, as it's not offered on PRICELINE or HOTWIRE.

Plus, Orbitz.com </a> SPECIAL OFFER**

Through 5/31, book any hotel in Chicago and receive a FREE $50 gift certificate from Restaurant.com (Select a hotel and add FREE offer on the add Attractions & Services page).

See area descriptions

Please use the site's Orbitz.com link if this is of interest - and I do think it would be a good deal (especially if you booked two rooms separately and were able to get a $50 Restaurant.com gift certificate with each.)

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As for the HOTWIRE listing:

Overall, I believe that there is still a possibility that the 3.5* in question could be the Hotel 71. If not, the only other thing with a 3.5* TA rating that I would think could be a possibility if the renamed Club Quarters (aka River Hotel) could be showing with different amenities. If so, that hotel is literally next to Hotel 71.

I'm not a fan of Hotel 71 - the reviews have improved, but the hotel has had a lot of problems and is an independent property. I find it rather suspicious that years of tripadvisor ratings have vanished, despite being the same hotel. Tripadvisor usually only takes off (at least from what I've seen) reviews if hotels have changed into a different property.

If you look up Hotel 71's tripadvisor page on the internet archive and look at the 2/08 update, Hotel 71 was ranked #74 out of Chicago hotels on Tripadvisor and had 284 reviews. A little over a year later, it's ranked #54 and has 51 reviews, with all the reviews prior to 7/08 missing. If it had 284 reviews as of 2/08 and there have been about 51 reviews since July of last year and a few reviews in-between 2/08 and 7/08, that would be the 340+ review total listed on the HOTWIRE detail page. I was very surprised to see a 4/5 tripadvisor rating for this property, as reviews were always mixed at best for the property.

I suppose I just think there are nicer properties in the area, but I do understand being conveniently located.