BlakeAndCat Posted July 21, 2009 Report Posted July 21, 2009 Great forum! Awesome info. First time posting. My wife and I are planning a first time trip to Chicago and would like a 4* room for Aug Fri 14 for a 2 night stay. Can any one identify the hotels available to us thru Hotwire? Also, should I try priceline? All advice welcome. (as 1st time visitors should we stick to Mag Mile & Chicago Loop what about North Michigan?)Can anyone id these Hotwire hotels?Fri Aug 14 to Sun Aug 164* Magnificent Mile -Streeterville$89FitnessRestaurantBusiness CenterInternet4* Chicago Loop$93FitnessRestaurantBusiness CenterInternet4.5* Magnificent Mile -Streeterville$156FitnessRestaurantBusiness CenterInternet4.5* North Michigan Ave -Water Tower - Gold Coast$149FitnessRestaurantBusiness CenterInternet4* North Michigan Ave -Water Tower - Gold Coast$129FitnessRestaurantBusiness CenterInternetThanks again for all help.
AaronJB Posted July 21, 2009 Report Posted July 21, 2009 Welcome to the site.The Mag Mile area on HOTWIRE is simply the South half of the Michigan Ave. shopping area. The Loop is closer to museums, but keep in mind that this area can be very quiet later at night. You could get a better price via PRICELINE, however, the trade-off becomes that you have to be more flexible about where you end up.Just to confirm. are you looking for 8/14-16, as noted in your post, or 8-14 to 17, as noted in the title?Please use the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchase.
AaronJB Posted July 21, 2009 Report Posted July 21, 2009 4* Mag Mile/Streeterville = the Hard Rock or Westin River North are the most likely possibilities. The Sheraton has also been reported with these amenities in the past, but is commonly seen with a different set of amenities.4* Loop = likely the W City Center. Out of the way location, and a "love it or hate it" (I really like this property, but I could see where others would not, and either way, the location is inconvenient) hotel.4.5* Mag Mile/Streeterville = likely the Intercontinental. I like the Intercontinental, but this is too expensive when there are other, quite nice options for cheaper.4.5* NMA - my guess would be the Sofitel.4* NMA - could be a few different possibilities - Drake, Westin Michigan Ave, Allerton or Knickerbocker.Personally, I'd recommend the 4* Mag Mile/Streeterville, with fitness, business, restaurant, internet. Very reasonable price for these dates, and the possible hotels would be centrally located. You could try bidding on PRICELINE, but there's no way to be able to guess what you might get in the way you can with HOTWIRE. If you would still like suggestions for using PRICELINE, please let us know and we would be happy to help.Another suggestion would be the Amalfi via Orbitz.com. It's $149.43 via Orbitz.com, but coupon code SUMMERVIN takes off 15% per night (although this coupon code may require purchasing by VISA.)Finally, also a suggestion for a regular rate hotel would be the Monaco, which is on sale for $151 for an upgraded river view room on Expedia. 10JUL takes another $10 off that price.Please use the site's HOTWIRE or Orbitz.com, Expedia.com or PRICELINE links to start your purchase.
BlakeAndCat Posted July 22, 2009 Author Report Posted July 22, 2009 AaronJB,Based on your prediction, that the 4* Mag Mile-Streeterville would likely be either Hard Rock, Sheraton or Westin River North, I booked through Hotwire.com. I got Hyatt Regency. Not super happy with my results but there's no turning back now Maybe the lesson I learned is to make sure that I'm ready to accept whatever I get or be willing to pay a little more to get exactly what I want. The irony is I thought by choosing Hotwire over priceline and using the forums, I could get a low price and control the hotel I was booking. I actually ended up with half of what I wanted: a low price $92 (which is half the quoted price on the Hyatt website) but no greater control over the hotel than I would get from priceline.One additional thought, since the Hyatt Regency has 2000 rooms, I would think that it would be more likely to come up than other hotels.
thereuare Posted July 22, 2009 Report Posted July 22, 2009 Sorry to hear you didn't receive the hotel you were hoping for... although this still is a very nice deal at half the going rate of a traditional booking.There is always an 'unknown' factor when booking an opaque hotel, so you always need be prepared for the unexpected. If you checked the Hotwire Hotel List before your purchase you'd see that this is an amenity combination that has previously been associated with the Hyatt (as well as the other hotels mentioned), so it was at least a possibility.Hope you can make this work well for your needs and that you'll spend your savings on something fun in Chicago.Thank you for sharing your results with the board. It would be apprecaited if you used the requested PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your future travel purchases.Enjoy your stay. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
BlakeAndCat Posted July 22, 2009 Author Report Posted July 22, 2009 thereuare,Not to beat a dead horse, but I wish I had known about this list before I selected my hotel. It might not have changed my choice and I take full responsibility for my choice. The advice about the low priced hotels like the Monaco through Expedia is excellent advice and I did get a great location at a low price. My problem is that this was for our wedding anniversary and even though my wife agreed to roll the dice, she wasn't pleased with the results. I'm assuming there's nothing I can do. Can I sell the reservation to someone else and show up when the check in? Because I think it said I have to be there in person to do the reservation. Again, I'm not blaming anyone but myself and the advice on this forum is really great and I appreciate everyone's time and energy. Just tell me if I should let sleeping dogs lie.
thereuare Posted July 22, 2009 Report Posted July 22, 2009 Take the money saved and spend it on something 'extra' spcecial for your wife that she'll like... an even nicer restaurant than you may have otherwise enjoyed, a bottle of wine during dinner you may not have otherwise spent the money on, or something else which will make the trip special for her... she' remember that more than any shortcomings you might find at the hotel (which hopefully will be none).Also, i'd email the hotel concierge and let them know it's your anniversary (you can even joke, let him/her know they probably hear that all the time but it really is your anniversary and you'd be willing to forward a copy of your marriage certificate) to see if it would be possible to get an upgrade to the Club Level. I'm not sure if the services/amenities (breakfast, coffee, soda, snacks, etc) are all available on the weekends, but i have read some very good reviews about these rooms.Good luck and have a happy anniversary. :)PS- read your messages Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
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