Hotwire Hotel: 4.5* Chicago (Magnificent Mile-Streeterville) Hilton Conrad

[IndiPar]

Unsuccessful up to $101. Started at $61 and added free rebids in $10 increments.

Only want/need NMA but didn't plan on going over $100. I can't see anything going on that weekend in the city.

Any advice/help?

[AaronJB]

Not really seeing anything much in terms of conventions for these dates - there's a couple of small conventions during this time period, but there is a large convention (20,000 people) starting a day after on 5/3 - that may be effecting your stay slightly if there are people arriving in advance. This is also into the busy Spring season.

That said, when looking at retail prices for these dates, I'm a little surprised that $100 was not accepted; regular rates at "common" (as well as "not-so-common") PRICELINE 4*'s in the zone are not terribly high or unusual, and a bunch are under $200. I would keep trying, but I wouldn't bid too much higher - maybe go up to $110, but again, I'd be fairly surprised - given rates - if that was not accepted. There is a 4* in the Mag Mile/Streeterville area (essentially, that makes up the lower half of the NMA area and the area right around the river) on HOTWIRE for $119 w/bed choice, restaurant, fitness, business, internet) There is a 4/5 tripadvisor rating w/360 reviews on tripadvisor; I would guess that it's the Hard Rock, which is a couple of blocks South of the River - not really in NMA, but just a bit South of it.

Please use the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

[IndiPar]

Thanks for the advice Aaron. I never knew that you could deduce the hotel from the info given on Hotwire - useful stuff!

If that is for the Hard Rock, then that is pretty good. Best I see for a non-refundable stay is $211/night.

I might give Priceline another try in a few days.

Question - should I start where I left off or come down to $75/$80 in the hopes that the rates may have dropped?

Cheers.

[thereuare]

Please start by reading YOUR MESSAGES.

If you let us know your maximum bid we'll suggest a strategy for you to follow. As well, if you're not familiar with re-biddig, you should read thru this thread and ask any questions you have: Priceline Re-Bidding Explained (HINT: you have FIVE re-bid zones when bidding 4* in Chicago)

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

[AaronJB]

Additionally, while some of the Millennium Park/Loop/Grant Park hotels are certainly further South (such as the Hilton at the far South end of the zone), some of the properties in the MP/Loop/GP are closer to NMA or at least not too terribly far. The downtown as a whole is fairly compact, and it's easy to get from the Loop to NMA within minutes using the subway - or it's a pleasant walk on a nice day (and weather-wise, end of April is certainly wonderful weather to walk around the city.)

[IndiPar]

Max bid would be $100

[thereuare]

Well it appears that you have already bid over your budget, so i would simply continue to try as follows:

As mentioned previously, at the 4* level in Chicago you have FIVE re-bid zones. If you're not familiar with re-bidding please read Priceline Re-Bidding Explained and feel free to ask questions and/or confirm your re-bid zones with the board before proceeding.

Select 4* NMA...

Bid $75, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $80, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $85, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $90, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $95, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $100

Any questions feel free to ask.

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

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[IndiPar]

You guys helped me on my Priceline question but I saw this earlier today.

4* in the NMA-Water Tower-Gold Coast area for $102/nt (4/30-5/2)

- 500+ reviews on TripAdvisor

The only ones I see would be Sofitel (585 reviews) and InterContinental (510 reviews).

Either way that would seem to be a steal!

Any thoughts?

Cheers

[AaronJB]

Please provide the amenities that are showing with the listing.

Please use the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchase and your searches.

[IndiPar]

Amenities shown are:

- Fitness Center

- Business Center

- Restaurant(s)

- High Speed Internet Access

Cheers

[AaronJB]

There's 500+ HOTWIRE customer reviews. I'm seeing a tripadvisor rating at the bottom of the detail page of 4/5 and 360+ reviews below the 4/5 image, which would lead me to believe this is the Millennium Knickerbocker.

Please use the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

[IndiPar]

There's 500+ HOTWIRE customer reviews. I'm seeing a tripadvisor rating at the bottom of the detail page of 4/5 and 360+ reviews below the 4/5 image, which would lead me to believe this is the Millennium Knickerbocker.

Please use the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

Thanks Aaron! I'll let you know what I decide.

[AaronJB]

Happy to help! :)

The Knickerbocker used to get very mixed reviews, but reviews have improved since a major renovation that saw parts of the hotel shut down a year or so ago.

[IndiPar]

Saw another one on Hotwire for my dates of 4/30-5/2.

NMA-WT-GC

- Recommended in 90% of reviews (are these Hotwire reviews of Trip Advisor ones?)

- TripAdvisor Customer rating of 4.5/5 (can't be Knickerbocker, Drake, W, to name 3)

- Fitness Center

- Restaurant(s)

- Business Center

- High-speed Internet Access

It was listed as a 4* but is there any way that could be the Sofitel?

[AaronJB]

It could be the Sofitel, but I'd find that rather surprising and I believe I've seen a 4.5* in the NMA/WT/GC area with these amenities when searching for dates in the last couple of days. A couple of other theories would be the Sutton Place without the previously seen boutique icon, or possibly something new, such as the Talbott. If this was the Sofitel, it would be a fantastic deal, but I think there's also some other possibilities.

Any which way, $99 for a 4* in the NMA area in the middle of Spring that gets 4.5/5 is not a deal that I would recommend passing up.

Thank you for using the site's PRICELINE or HOTWIRE links to start your purchases and searches.

[AaronJB]

Are you seeing a number of reviews directly under the tripadvisor rating?

[IndiPar]

Are you seeing a number of reviews directly under the tripadvisor rating?

Nope, no # of reviews under the TA rating, but in the box above that it shows:

"Recommended in 90% of customer reviews 500+ total reviews"

[AaronJB]

Those are the HOTWIRE reviews. If there was a # of tripadvisor reviews, we could narrow down the possibilities using that.

[IndiPar]

Aaron / thereyouare - same dates (4/30-5/2) for Mag Mile/Streeterville but a 4.5* for $149 (and it has 4.5 TripAdvisor showing). That could only be Conrad or James, correct?

[AaronJB]

I'm seeing a 4.5* Mag Mile/Streeterville w/restaurant, business, fitness, internet w/4.5/5 tripadvisor rating on the detail page, which would mean a likely match for either the James or Conrad. As another suggestion though, the Sutton Place (a 4* in the Gold Coast area) is $127.50 on Expedia on sale. Coupon code 10WINTER takes $10 off each night - that's a very nice deal for a hotel that very rarely appears on HOTWIRE or PRICELINE, and gets excellent reviews.

Please use the site's HOTWIRE, PRICELINE or Expedia links to start your purchases and searches.

[IndiPar]

For that money, I think I'd rather bid the $99 that is currently showing for a Gold Coast 4* with a 4.5 TripAdvisor rating. (Sutton Place, Omni or Affinia). I can use my Entertainment Book coupon to save $20 off my stay to make it even cheaper.

[thereuare]

If you go the Entertainment Book route, please remember to click our HOTWIRE link first, then go to the 'special' URL page as indicated on the rebate form.

Thanks. Let us know what you decide or if we can be of further help.

[IndiPar]

I wish I'd pulled the trigger on Feb 7th, since the 4* now showing is 4/5 TripAdvisor rating, putting the Omni, SP and Affinia out of the picture. Perhaps it will change soon.

Hey Aaron - Do you know of any current Orbitz codes? They are showing the Blackstone Hotel for $139/night for my dates with a special offer of $50 in Visa gift cards (if you purchase with a Visa). This would make the effective rate $114/night for that property. Not bad at all.

[AaronJB]

WELCOME10, FABSAVE10 (10% off) and ORBITZDEAL5 (5% off) are the current codes that I'm aware of, although they may not work with all hotels.

Thank you for using the site's Orbitz.com link.

[IndiPar]

Dates of 4/30 - 5/2 I was looking at NMA for $100 but had seen that the Mag Mile/Streeterville 4.5* had dropped in price from $159 to $136 per night.

Assuming it was either the James or Conrad, I bid and got the Conrad :)

Best price on their site was a prepaid rate of $204 per night, so thanks guys for saving me a bundle! I will get an additional $20 off via the Hotwire/Entertainment Book deal.

Apologies for the ever-changing posts!