kavm

Thanks! I did not know the standard format. Will see if I can edit the title.

Just wanted to say that I used this site's PRICELINE link to buy a 3.5 star (Embassy Suites) in the PIT area for $59 on Priceline for tonight (7/17). Having seen a recent member's success at 49, I started bidding at 49 and incrementally raised bid in toughly 3 dollars increment until I succeeded. Thank you for the site! It's been very helpful. If anyone know whether this place has free wifi, that'd be nice to know.

Aaron, First of all, thanks a lot for the very valuable advice! Staying in the outskirts is a fallback and not an option we prefer. I want to try some aggressive bid on the Priceline now. If it does not succeed, I can retry something a week from now. With that in mind, would one try something like 130 be a reasonable try for the two areas you list? Would you suggest going lower/higher? Thanks,

Thanks a lot for the information. That explains the high rates we are seeing. We are not exactly at a fixed budget. Can afford the 170 or so that's on offer, though would have preferred it to have been nearer 100 or so. Am inclined to wait to see if the rates drop. If they remain sky high, we do have a car and an option to stay on the outskirts.

Hello, My wife and I are driving up to Chicago to spend the weekend (Fri & Sat nights) in Chicago starting May 13th. While we do not need to be on the Magnificient Mile, we don't want to be off long distance away and want the hotel to be reasonably nice - say 3.5 to 4 stars. Can come down to 3 if the tradeoff was great. Last time, we got Hyatt near Soldier's Field and that was great. Anyway, looking at HW, there did not seem anything that was less than 170. Should one wait and try again in a week? Alternately, what might be a good price/area to try in Priceline? Thanks a lot!

Thank you very much to both of you. Your feedback has been very helpful indeed - even beyond the help with bidding strategies, etc. I very much appreciated the help and interaction and will be back. Best regards!

So, I went ahead and booked it through HOTWIRE (from this site). It is Hyatt Regency. I gather from comments that the location isn't great, but this seemed like the only reasonably priced deal in roughly central area. Before that I tried up to $125 (with +10 supposedly) from PRICELINE in NMA area with 3.5 or 4 stars and the bids were rejected.

This is the amenities list: Fitness Center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business Center High-speed Internet Access

Hotwire is showing 4.0 stars hotel Museum Campus - McCormick Place - Soldier Field area Hotel area for my dates. Any idea what it might be and how good an idea it might be. I am not hot about the area, but it is in the city... Thanks again!

Thank you both for the very helpful responses. I am on the road tonight, but plan to get back tomorrow and purchase something. I will definitely use this site. Can/should one use it for buying through Expedia too? Thanks again! You guys are great!

thereuare - Thanks for the instructions on using the PL coupon. The lowest I saw on HOTWIRE for downtown was 179 :) so I am still wondering if that's still possible. Thanks again!

AaronJB - First an apology! I checked back several times, but erroneously thought I had no replies! I used My Assistant -> Last 10 posts, and that just showed my post and not the reply. I thought it was my poorly framed questions! Today when I checked again and this time noticed that that it listed 1 reply. I am sure it was there earlier, but I simply missed it. Anyway, our trip is still on - and I am still looking for the hotel for 3 nights starting Thursday, June 10th. Now to answer your the questions: BUDGET: I'd think we do not want to pay North of $150/night. Prefer close to 100/night; can go above to 150/175 per night. In other words, flexible in budget but value conscious. SUBURBS: Sounds like something we might be interested in. Definitely like the Botanical Garden link. I will need to check with my wife. What suburb / HOTWIRE /PRICELINE area you recommend? Overall - I could use advice on the following areas: (1) suburbs you mention, (2) Magnificent Mile, since that's what we are familiar with (and my wife does want to browse the shops), and C ) something close to the lake front - as we like walking about, and happened upon a bike/walking path near the lake last time that looked attractive. PS: I do have $50 PL coupon, so might prefer that. I assume I can use it when using the links on this site. Thanks a lot! And, sincere apologies for late/non-reply to your post [i hate it when folks ask a question only to not look for the answer, but this situation was indeed different]. kavindra

A new user - so do not know the ins and outs of the proper etiquette. In any case, here are the details of our trip: Dates: 6/10 - 6/13 Star rating: 3.5 to 4 Area: Little familiarity with Chicago - know and like Magnificent Mile, but are flexible. Somewhere quieter such as lake near the lake might work well for us. Nice to Have's: We are driving, so reasonably priced parking (at hotel or nearby) is would be nice. That said, we know that with PRICELINE or HOTWIRE, that's hard to know. I would very much appreciate any area advice, and, of course, the bidding advice. Also, is it better to book now or wait until closer to the actual stay to get good prices? Thanks! PS: Really excited to find this forum. I like to use HOTWIRE or PRICELINE - so this will be on my must visit list!