Priceline Hotel: 3* Chicago (NMA-River North) Hilton Garden Inn Downtown Mag Mile

[singingchef]

Hi there--I just discovered you a couple of weeks ago and have been blown away by the resources you offer, and how helpful and professional you all are. What a joy! I've used your tips on rebidding earlier today, to no avail and need some advice.

We are planning a trip to Chicago for my husband and myself and our 9-year-old and 21 month-old arriving 7/1/09 and leaving 7/6/09. (We will be driving.) The first couple of days we will probably be a little north of the city--we are going to Six Flags on Thursday and may visit the Brookfield Zoo and the Legoland in Schaumburg on Friday. I've spent quite a lot of time reading through info here the last couple of weeks and had a pretty good idea where to start for our hotel. We've successfully used Priceline a few times in the past, though most were a while ago and I only have the Priceline history for a stay in Ft Wayne from last year (*info included at bottom*). This is our fourth trip to Chicago, so we're somewhat familiar with layout, and activities available, as well as parking, etc. I know that we are taking a risk by going Priceline rather than Hotwire because of number of beds, etc, but the hotels listed on hotwire for our dates are out of our range, and we have had pretty good luck in the past with a hotel accomodating us when the kids have come along before, so consider it worth the gamble. (We bring along sleeping bags just in case!) I try to bid with this in mind, though, so that we are less likely to end up in a hotel with small, cramped rooms with no hope of space for the kids. We have stayed in both NMA and the Loop and either is fine as far as attractions, etc. go because we have activities planned in both. My concern with the Loop this trip, though, is that the Hyatt and the Palmer House seem to be the hotels most people are getting at our price ($80 or under bid, if at all possible) and both seem to have space issues. For this reason, I've been limiting bidding to NMA area with appropriate "free" rebids.

Here's what I've bid so far today: (Using your link, of course!)

NMA $67 (All bids at 3.5*)

NMA & Lincoln Park $70

NMA & Ohare South $72

NMA & Skokie $75

NMA, Lincoln Park & Skokie $78

NMA, Lincoln Park & Ohare South $80

NMA, Ohare South & Skokie $83

All four areas combined $85

On each of the last two bids I received an offer to raise my price by $22--not an option.

I'm trying to decide what to do next and would love your input.

I have a couple of possibilities that would work for us. The first is to split my bids. I know that 5 days is a long time for a priceline hotel, and that may be part of my problem. We would be fine with reducing our time in the downtown area by a couple of days and bidding for just 7/3 to 7/6 and then bidding for something in the North Suburbs for two prior days. Rates seem to be cheaper there and we'll be in that vicinity for that period of time, anyway. The other option is to lower our * rating to 3*. The only thing that makes me nervous there is that you have very little bidding history on 3* in NMA, so we'd kind of be going with an unknown...Any suggestions?

*previous win---3.5* Ft Wayne (Ft Wayne) Hilton Ft Wayne at Grand Wayne Center ($50...8/1/08-8/2/08)

Also this is what I can remember of our past Chicago stays--all booked on priceline, but account has been deleted since then, so specifics are kind of sketchy...

4* (Greater Chicago) Hyatt Regency McCormick Place ($45/nt 2-3 days Father's day weekend in 2004)

3*(at the time) (NMA-River North) Marriott Mag Mile ($62/nt 3-4 days between Christmas and New Year's in 2006)

4* (Milennium-Loop-Grant Park) Palmer House Hilton ($70/nt 2 days at end of March 2006)--This last one was just my husband and I--room was fine for 2 but not for 4.

[AaronJB]

Welcome to the site. :)

A few issues:

1. You are driving, which will lead to expensive parking if you stay downtown, as most downtown properties are exceedingly expensive for parking, with some hotels charging as much as $40-50 per night, which has to be figured in to cost. Burbs hotels = free parking (with rare exceptions.) If you get a $70 hotel downtown, you're probably looking at $100-120 w/parking, versus a $50 hotel in the burbs, which is $50.

2. I often recommend the North suburbs, as there are some very nice, very inexpensive hotels in these areas. There's also some sights nearby that you may want to consider, such as the Chicago Botanic Garden (chicagobotanic.org) and the Long Grove Confectionery (which makes fantastic candy and is a very cute store; Long Grove in general is also very pretty.) There's also the Long Grove Factory in Buffalo Grove, and there are tours during the week. Another recommended stop is Homer's Ice Cream in Wilmette.

3. There are some very nice suburban fireworks displays on the 3rd or 4th, some of which are along the lake. These are enjoyable fireworks displays, and while they aren't as massive as the one downtown, they are still in some cases along the lake and have FAAARRRR less crowds than the one downtown.

4. Metra Train (metrarail.com) stations are in many of the 'burbs and have parking. The Metra Trains are quite nice, with two levels and bathrooms (similar to the Metra.) You can take the Metra train downtown and you could take the Metra Train from the North Burbs to Brookfield, but it would involve going downtown, then taking another train directly to the Zoo. These are very comfortable trains, and a nicer experience than the CTA trains.

5. There are some very nice 3* NMA possibilities, some of which are more "family-friendly" than the 4*'s in NMA. However, it would still be cheaper to stay in the burbs in terms of hotel cost and especially given the free parking at hotels in the burbs. 7/1-3 seems to be the cheapest dates of this set of dates for the downtown area on HOTWIRE.

Let us know your thoughts on the above, and then we can proceed from there in suggesting ways to go about bidding.

Please use the site's HOTWIRE and PRICELINE links.

[singingchef]

Thanks for your reply--while we have no issues with SOME driving, we are doing enough things downtown that we would prefer to stay in the city for those days--with a toddler we will need to be close enough to acommodate naptime, etc. (Planning on Taste of Chicago, Shedd, Museum of Science and Industry, Art Institute, a number of restaurants we've already checked out and we may catch a show.) I have already taken parking into account with the rest of our budget.

As far a 3* hotels go in NMA there is really not a lot of info because it seems most people here go for (or end up winning) higher rated properties--just kind of wondering if you are aware of any "nasty surprises" we might be in store for if we bid and won a 3* in NMA? As I've read through the profiles on Priceline and Trip Advisor this afternoon for all of the 3*'s that appear on your list of the area, most sound like they'd work out great! Only one with small room complaints (Indigo) and most actually offer more free amenities (Fridge, Micro, Coffeepot) than the higher rated properties on the list. I may actually do both--split my bid with the first two in the northern suburbs, since we'll be there anyway, and bid for a 3* rated property for the remainder.

Any suggestions on where to start bidding for a 3* after the above history (I only see two free rebid areas for this search, as one of the ones I used before has some properties in this range.)?

[thereuare]

What is your maximum bid for a 3* hotel in the NMA zone? (where it may become a better option to reconsider 3.5* and 4* properties)

Let us know and we'll suggest a strategy to follow.

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

[AaronJB]

The Indigo is actually quite a cute little boutique property (done in a beach-house style) and is one of my favorite 3*'s.

I'd try a $55 starting bid for a 3* in the NMA area.

Please use the site's PRICELINE link to start your purchase.

In terms of bidding for a suburban hotel, it would depend on which zone you are most interested in.

[singingchef]

I thought the same about the Indigo. It caught my eye the last time I bid priceline for just the two of us--just a little concerned about small rooms.

I know that it's possible to get a higher-rated hotel when placing a bid but since I've already bid up to (and slightly over) my $80 max, for a 3.5*, I kind of assumed that it would be less likely I'd get one in that range at this point with a lower set of bids.

I definitely appreciate all of your help and suggestions--especially the points of interest in the North Suburbs. Any suggestions where to concentrate bids if we're going to Six Flags, Legoland and Brookfield (I know these are all different areas, just wondered what you might suggest for someone visiting those points.)

Will definitely update with the results for both and will be sure to use your PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links! :)

[singingchef]

Okay, continued bidding on 3* in NMA starting at $50. As I mentioned before, not as many free rebidding areas, as there are only two areas that offer less than 3*.

Here's what I did:

NMA $50 (All bids at 3*)

NMA & Lincoln Park $53

NMA & Ohare South $55

All three areas: $58

All rejected. I guess we will wait until tomorrow and try again. After we are set for the three days downtown we'll bid for the North suburbs.

Thanks again!

[singingchef]

Okay, continued bidding today on the split bids for our Chicago stay after my 24 hour lockout expired tonight and we are all set! Results for both below.

Continued to bid on 3* in NMA starting at where I left off yesterday. Was tempted to start a little lower, but with fewer free rebid areas I was leery of wasting the ones I had and being locked out again for another 24 hours.

Here's what I did:

NMA 3* $60 Won on first try this time and was pretty happy with what we won!

3* Chicago (NMA-River North) Hilton Garden Inn Downtown/Magnificent Mile ($60...7/3/09-7/6/09)

--Looking at the reviews, this is a great location with larger than average rooms, somewhat reasonable self-parking ($28/day) and lots of amenities included that are great for a family (fridge, microwave, coffeepot, pool)

Here's the breakdown:

Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $60.00

Subtotal: $180.00

Taxes & Service Fees: $36.43

Total Charges*: $216.43

Since we will be in the Northern Suburbs area the first couple of days of our trip we decided to spend the nights there, too, instead of paying a premium for a downtown room plus parking and then driving north. Planned on 3* or better in either Schaumburg or Bloomingdale areas, with three additional free rebid areas.

Bid as follows starting at 3.5* range:

Schaumburg $30 (They offered chance to rebid if I raised my price by $8)

Schaumburg & Algonquin $32 Accepted!

3.5* Chicago Suburbs (Schaumburg) Sheraton Chicago Northwest ($32...7/1/09-7/3/09)

--The reviews on this one are not quite as glowing, but the rooms seem to be fairly large and there is an indoor waterpark on the premises, which would make a great alternative if we get rained out of Six Flags. Separate admission, but prices not bad. Also free parking, which will save us as well!

Here's the breakdown for this stay:

Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $32.00

Subtotal: $64.00

Taxes & Service Fees: $15.36

Total Charges*: $79.36

So all total $295.89 for 5 nights in Chicago area + 3 days parking = roughly $380 all in.

We can live with that!

Thanks, guys for all your help and of course, I used the PRICELINE link for all bids!

Cheers!

[thereuare]

Congratulatiosn on your success(es)!

Glad to see it all worked out well for your needs and you received two very nice deals.

Please stick with the board format of only one win per thread, this enables the details of each to be reflected in the topic title and also allows each to have its own thread in the Priceline and Hotwire Calendar of Wins. We've edited the topic title of this thread to reflect your first purchase of the Hilton Garden Inn... please start a NEW TOPIC for your Sheraton Chicago Northwest win.

Thank you for sharing your win with the board and using our PRICELINE link to begin your bidding.

Enjoy your stay.

[singingchef]

No problem--just inserted a new topic with the second priceline win details. Just wanted to include the info here as well in case anyone wondered how the search went after we decided to re-strategize.

Thanks again and we'll report back after our stays.

[AaronJB]

This really could not have worked out better. The HGI is a terrific 3* with an excellent location in the River North area - there's a subway station directly out front if you need it a wide variety of restaurants in the surrounding River North neighborhood - everything from fine dining to fast food (the giant McDonalds) to funky (Ed Debevics) and institutions (Portillos hot Dogs) There's also a grocery store essentially across the street (Jewel) for cheap snacks.

Long Grove Confectionery (http://www.longgrove.com/) is definitely a fun stop between the Sheraton and Six Flags if you're looking to take a break somewhere.

[singingchef]

Thanks AaronJB!

We're pretty pleased. Of all the 3* hotels in the area this is the one I didn't dare even let myself hope for. Most TA reviews and even priceline reviews have little about which to complain, and from what I could tell no one has won this hotel recently.

I wanted also to thank you for all of your assistance and suggestions. Keep them coming! We have been to Chicago a few times and already have a list of favorite restaurants and activities, but it's always great to hear from an insider.

What are some of your favorite local places? (We're pretty adventurous.)

[AaronJB]

You mention going to Taste of Chicago; my recommendation with that would be to go there early and not spend a great deal of time there. It's more about "the experience", which is largely trying to find a comfortable place to eat food out of the direct sun and away from the crowds. The experience is moderately enjoyable once, but one quickly realizes they could have a more enjoyable, more comfortable (and possibly less expensive) experience going to an actual restaurant. You have to buy tickets at one of the booths and the tickets are exchanged for meals at the booths. Inevitably, you end up with one or two tickets that aren't enough to get anything.

Museum of Science and Industry is a trek from the city. Worthwhile, but keep in mind it's a bit of a ways South.

Love the Lincoln Park Zoo. Great zoo, great area and totally free.

The Old Town area is a lot of fun for a brief browse. This is an area near the Lincoln Park Zoo that extends a few blocks South (on Wells) of the intersection of Wells and North and a couple blocks North of that intersection. For kids, there's the Old Town Aquarium, which is one of the premiere fish stores in the country. There's also The Spice House, which is a gorgeous herb/spice store run by a husband/wife team. Some of Chicago's top chefs shop there - the place smells incredible, they have amazing quality product and their prices are more reasonable than the grocery store. They also have blends based on Chicago neighborhoods.

More momentarily...

[singingchef]

Great info--thank you. I especially appreciate the info on the Spice House--we're kind of "food geeks". We'll definitely check it out.

We went to the Lincoln Park Zoo a couple of years back and had planned on trying the one in Brookfield this time. Of the two, do you prefer the Lincoln Park zoo?

What about restaurants--anything not to be missed? What are your favorites?

[AaronJB]

The Spice House is really a must for any food fan, and if you find that you like their products, they do have a website where you can order.

Brookfield is a fantastic zoo; if you've never been there, it's definitely recommended. I just generally suggest LP Zoo because it's free, but if you've been there and want to try Brookfield, that's a great zoo to visit. You can very easily get there via the Metra Train out of Union Station, but if it's a really hot day, you may want to drive - might be more comfortable/easy.

As I've mentioned on many other threads, I love Fox and Obel Market and Cafe (fox-obel.com), as the quality of ingredients in what they serve in their cafe is really excellent for the price, and while the market is a little on the pricey side, it's a fun browse.

In terms of fun chains, I like Stir Crazy in Lincoln Park (http://www.stircrazy.com/), where one can make their own Stir Fry. There's also Portillo's hot Dogs, which is right by your hotel. I can't stand Uno's/Due's Pizza, in terms of deep dish - I'd rather recommend Giordano's or Lou Malnati's.

Otherwise, I like Brasserie Jo, a lovely French restaurant not far from your hotel. Rick Bayless's famed Frontera Grill is also an easy walk from your hotel, as well. I'll try to think of a few other suggestions, as well.

[singingchef]

Awesome info--thanks!

We've had brunch a couple of time at Frontera and I loved it! Always been curious about Brasserie Jo. Good to know that it comes recommended. We had pizza once at Lou Malnati's, too. Thought it was pretty great, though it's the only time I've had Chicago-style, so nothing to compare to. (The night we went we started in a line at UNO because we were staying nearby and then when we found out what the wait time was I called Lou Malnati's to ask if we could get in any sooner. Jumped in a cab and were eating LONG before we'd have gotten in the door at Uno's.)

The others you list are good ideas to check out. I'll keep my eyes open for them while we're in town. If you think of any place else, send it my way--I still have a week left to plan...

[singingchef]

Hello,

We're back from our trip to Chicago and had a great time! Wanted to close out this post with a couple of notes that may be of use to others in the future.

As of July 1st, the parking rates at the Hilton Garden Inn have gone up. There was a note on the counter when we checked in that the garage has raised their rates to hotel guests. Where they previously charged $29 to self-park (with no in and out priveleges) they are now charging $37 per day. They stated that they were offering hotel guests a $5 per day "discount" until the 14th of July. We paid $32 a night. Probably still less than most hotels in the city, but I though an $8 increase was pretty substantial for a one-time price jump... I checked their website this morning and it curently does not list a self-park rate at all, just the $44/day to valet park. Don't know if this is a temporary change or not.

We were not able to get a room with two beds, as the hotel was completely sold out for the weekend of July 4th, but they gave us a rollaway at no charge to accommodate my 9-year old and a pack & play for my toddler, so all went well. (They offered us the option to change rooms for the last night to a room with two beds but it was not necessary.) Was a LITTLE cozy with the furniture additions, but we were still comfortable and enjoyed the hotel. This is the first time we have not been accommodated with our two bed request, but we always come prepared for that to happen. The rate we got was more than worth it!

Thanks again! :)

[AaronJB]

Glad to hear you had a great trip! :)