Hotwire Hotel: 3.5* Chicago (Mag Mile-Streeterville) Embassy Suites Chicago Lakefront

[mikki]

Hello!

I am looking for a hotel for 2 adults and 2 children, arriving April 16 and leaving on the 18th.

I like North Michigan Avenue, having previously stayed in that area.

Here is what I see on hotwire:

I think the first one is the Embassy Suites Lakefront - 3.5 star, $ 99, MMA-Streeterville area: Suite, Complimentary Breakfast, fitness center, pool(s), restaurant(s), business center, High-speed internet - recommended in 95% of customer reviews

Another listing - 4 star, $73, MMA-Streeterville area: fitness center, restaurant(s), business center, high-speed internet, Spa - recommended in 85% of customer reviews

Please share any information/reviews you may have on these listings - or others if you see them. I'm leaning toward simply booking the Embassy Suites at this time, although I've never stayed there previously. It appears to be a great location. Also- the kids would very much like a pool. :)

Thanks so much for the help!! (We are actually traveling with our 3 young children - not just two - all in the same room. We did this previously at the W and absolutely loved our stay! )

[AaronJB]

The 3.5* would likely be the ES, the 4* would likely be the Hyatt. Personally, I think the ES is the better choice, given the free breakfast/reception, as well as somewhat better location.

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

[mikki]

The 3.5* would likely be the ES, the 4* would likely be the Hyatt. Personally, I think the ES is the better choice, given the free breakfast/reception, as well as somewhat better location.

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

Thanks! I've read many of your posts - always very helpful! I agree with you from the options currently showing that the ES is the better choice. Are you familiar with this hotel? It appears from the reviews that it is well-liked. I'm wondering whether I should simply go ahead and book this now rather than wait to see what else pops up?? I've noticed over the last few days that different listings are beginning to appear.

[AaronJB]

Personally, I'd recommend nabbing the potential ES, as that's a solid deal (especially with the freebies) and if this listing were to sell out, then there's nothing else quite like it available (free breakfast/suite, which would work quite well for your party.)

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

[mikki]

Embassy Suites Chicago Downtown Lakefront

Occupancy search: 2 adults, 2 children

Amenities shown: Suite, Complimentary Breakfast, fitness center, pool(s), restaurant(s), business center, High-speed internet

Recommended in 95% of customer reviews, 500+ total reviews

Overall Satisfaction, 4.5/5

Trip Advisor: 4/5

[mikki]

So a thought occurred to me before booking my most recent Hotwire hotel - the Embassy Suites Lakefront shown in a previous post...

The last hotel I booked in Chicago using hotwire was the W Hotel in the NMM area. We absolutely LOVED this hotel! And it was a killer rate, too. This time, I would have booked the W again if I could find it. Unfortunately it never popped up. And, for our weekend, the rates at all the 4* and above hotels were higher than I've previously seen.

So here is my thought - maybe I should have called the W directly and asked for the manager. I could have explained that we stayed there in December (via Hotwire) and absolutely LOVED the hotel. For this trip, although we would absolutely prefer the W, we would book the Embassy Suites which is showing on Hotwire (and which I was very confident WAS the ES)... unless the W could offer us a competitive price.

Hmm... anyone think this would have been productive? I'm sure I would word it much better in a live conversation, but you get the point.

[mikki]

This is weird. I just noticed when checking hotwire again, after having booked the above stay, that the Hotwire listing for the ES shows "we are still gathering reviews for this property" rather than the 95% recommendation rating shown previously.

That's the first time I've seen that when checking hotwire for this stay.

[yellowdog]

Blowing smoke for the manager for a better price? No, i don't think that this will work.

This has been tried and talked about several times without any greater success.

You can try, the only thing that will happen is that he says no.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Yellowdog.

[yellowdog]

Thank you for sharing your result with the board!

Enjoy your stay.

Please use the site's HOTWIRE and PRICELINE links to start future purchases.

Yellowdog.

[mikki]

Thank you! Oh, and I did use the links to start this purchase. :)

[yellowdog]

Thanx for using boards HOTWIRE link :)

You contribution is appreciated!

Yellowdog.

[mikki]

Yes. I agree with you, Yellowdog. That's why I didn't try it. But the thought DID occur to me before booking the ES. :)

[yellowdog]

Keep up your spirit, i like it :)

Yellowdog.

[AaronJB]

There is a very nice Embassy Suites property - there's a Dominick's Grocery across the street (huge store, cheap snacks that you could bring back to the kitchenette in the room) and Fox and Obel Market and Cafe (fox-obel.com), which is a beautiful market/cafe on Illinois and McClurg, a couple of blocks East of the hotel.

[AaronJB]

I was at a hotel in Chicago once checking out and the person behind me asked if they could match the hotel's PRICELINE link (not knowing if the hotel had PRICELINE inventory for that date or not), and the person behind the desk said, "Sorry, no, but you can pay the $300 walk-up rate." Needless to say, the person didn't look pleased with that idea.

[mikki]

Intercontinental? James?

Amenities shown: Fitness Center, Restaurant, Business Center, High-Speed Internet

Recommended in 95% of customer reviews

500+ total reviews

Overall satisfaction: 5

Trip advisor: 4.5/5

Offered at $113 for weekend of April 16 - 2 night stay (2 people/2 children)

Thanks for the help! :)

[mikki]

What about this other 4.5* listing showing for the same search, but in NMA - Water Tower - Gold Coast Area:

$126: suite, smoke free, fitness, pool, restaurant, business center, high-speed internet

Recommended in 90% of customer reviews

Overall satisfaction: 5.0

100+ total reviews

Trip Advisor: 4.5/5

[AaronJB]

#1 could be the Intercontinental, James or Conrad, but only the latter two have a 4.5/5 tripadvisor rating.

#2 is most likely the Omni.

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

[mikki]

Thanks again Aaron! Any recommendations on these properties? My girlfriend may join us in Chicago that weekend. She's going to have a nicer room than us! :) I already booked the ES - none of these were showing then. ALAS, since the kids are traveling with us this time they will likely appreciate the pool at the ES (never satisfied, am I? LOL)

Have a great weekend!

[AaronJB]

The ES is a really nice example of the ES chain, and I believe it was renovated not that long ago. Additionally, that's a particularly nice area of the city, and one of my favorite places to browse around - Fox and Obel - is right around the corner. Personally, I think the 4.5* Mag Mile property is interesting, as long as it's showing a 4.5/5 tripadvisor rating - as that would be a likely match for either the Conrad or James, as the Intercontinental is 4/5. If

I think my philosophy is that one generally doesn't spend a lot of time in the room in Chicago, and while many of the 4*'s are nice or quite nice, there aren't too many that I think command a premium over the others, so I tend to recommend the more reasonably priced option. The saved money can go towards quite a few other things while in the city (museums, etc.)

Heck, the 3.5* ES is still there, and while not a 4*, that's a really good deal - plus, there's a giant grocery store across from the ES (cheap snacks, quick meals - and you can bring back food from the grocery to the refrigerator in the kitchenette at the hotel.) A nice, quiet little morning idea is to either get breakfast options at the grocery store or at Fox and Obel around the corner and take them out to have an "urban picnic" at Navy Pier and take in the view from the pier while eating breakfast.

Additionally, if you searched for more than 2 adults for your search and then are now only searching for 2 adults, that may be why these properties were not appearing earlier.

I'd strongly, strongly suggest Lincoln Park Zoo if you are looking for an activity - it's free and a great zoo. It can also be combined with nearby activities (such as the Peggy Notabert Nature Center, which does have an admission cost, and the Chicago Historical Society, as well as the nearby Old Town neighborhood.)

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

[g1gzter]

I just tried this a couple nights ago and they couldn't come close. Paid around $74 + tax for Westin Lombard and asked about staying a second night. Talked to in-house reservation and the best price they could offer was $149. The employee and I both came to the conclusion that the only way I could stay a second night with lowest rate was to go thru HOTWIRE again...

[dahammer]

Last year I won the Holiday Inn at Mac Arthur Airport in Islip, NY through PRICELINE bidding. At check in, the clerk noticed that I had stayed at the hotel previously, also through PRICELINE. He mentioned that if I returned to the area in the future and needed to book a room, I could call the hotel directly and reserve at the PRICELINE rate; this was a first for me.

That said, Hotels have negotiated rates with large corporations as well as with State and Federal Governments, these rates are typically much higher than PRICELINE and HOTWIRE "opaque" rates. Lets say a hotel clerk were to check in a guest with that "opaque" rate, which is $50 less than the Government rate, it could possibly violate its contract and cause problems for the hotel.

[mikki]

Thanks Aaron! I was mostly teasing about my friend having the nicer room. :)

The zoo is about 3 miles from ES - would it be better to take a cab rather than drive our car?

We have thought about bringing a kite (or similar activity) and hanging out at Millennium Park for an afternoon, in addition to a possible trip to the zoo. Or maybe Shedd's Aquarium at some point? So much to choose! With only a weekend, we won't be able to do it all. We have friends that live in the area, so Saturday morning will likely be spent at their house. That really only leaves Saturday afternoon/evening and Sunday day before the drive home.

If we do visit Shedd's, we will likely purchase the family pass as it is a difference of only $11.00 for this one visit. Besides, Indy is not too far from Chicago and we will have all the more reason to take long weekends! :)

Oh - another question. I've been to several of Chicago's great pizza places. Is there one you would recommend for this trip? I'm not sure we will do the pizza thing - but just in case...

If you ever plan a visit to the Indy area, I'll be more than happy to recommend places for you! Thanks again!

[AaronJB]

I definitely wouldn't drive to the Zoo if you do head in that direction - I would go to the corner of Columbus and Illinois, which is right next to the hotel. You then walk West on Illinois quite briefly until you reach a large set of stairs - head up the stairs and continue West to Michigan Ave. Then catch the 151 bus North on Michigan Ave to Stockton and Lasalle, then walk North on LaSalle to the Farm in the Zoo (which is the South end of the Zoo.) If membership works out to be a better deal than regular rate, it's certainly worth considering, as it'll be free if you come back within the year.

If you do go to the Shedd, my one recommendation is to go there when it opens - it's much more enjoyable when it's less crowded. I definitely wouldn't drive anywhere while in the city - there's plenty of public transit.

If you do take the kite, Lincoln Park next to the zoo is certainly a great area.