Hotwire Hotel: Embassy Suites Chicago - Columbus Dr. or State St.?

I'm planning a trip to Chicago in a few months and would like to stay at the Embassy Suites. Does anyone know which Embassy Suites is the better of the two downtown? I looked at the swimming pool pictures online at the Embassy Suites Lakefront (Columbus Dr.), which it seems quite a few people have won. But the pool looks like nothing more than a lap pool for one person! Does anyone know about the pool at the other location? Is it a "bath tub" also? I realize the State Street location is farther north and closer to the Red Line. With that location being close to the train, I'm leaning towards the State Street location. Would like to be near North Michigan Ave for shopping, but also near the ice skating rink in Millennium Park. If one location has better rooms, breakfast, service, etc. I'd like to know. Thanks for your help.

Just to confirm, did you decide not to go on the trips discussed in this Evansville Hotwire thread or Chicago Hotwire thread?

The ES Lakefront and ES Downtown are very nice properties, both of which have been renovated

in the last few years. The State St property is more conveniently located in the River

North neighborhood and right by a subway station. Both get similar reviews and offer the

same breakfast.

In terms of North, the ES Downtown is not much further North than the ES Lakefront.

The pool is on the smaller side at the ES downtown on State, as well.

While certainly not near downtown, I stayed at a wonderful ES yesterday in the suburbs with a small

river running through the middle and a koi pond, as well as (according to the website) nearly 5,000 plants in the atrium. Few people there aside from some business people and a small family reunion. Really pretty Embassy property and the waterfall/river/pond was wonderfully relaxing (and beautifully maintained.) However, I also noticed - pool was definitely on the smaller side.

The Homewood Suites in downtown has a smaller pool area, as well, although it's on an upper floor and has a pretty nice view.

Please use the site's HOTWIRE, PRICELINE or the regular rate links in the support/Travel section.

Just to confirm, did you decide not to go on the trips discussed in this Evansville Hotwire thread or Chicago Hotwire thread?

The ES Lakefront and ES Downtown are very nice properties, both of which have been renovated

in the last few years. The State St property is more conveniently located in the River

North neighborhood and right by a subway station. Both get similar reviews and offer the

same breakfast.

In terms of North, the ES Downtown is not much further North than the ES Lakefront.

The pool is on the smaller side at the ES downtown on State, as well.

While certainly not near downtown, I stayed at a wonderful ES yesterday in the suburbs with a small

river running through the middle and a koi pond, as well as (according to the website) nearly 5,000 plants in the atrium. Few people there aside from some business people and a small family reunion. Really pretty Embassy property and the waterfall/river/pond was wonderfully relaxing (and beautifully maintained.) However, I also noticed - pool was definitely on the smaller side.

The Homewood Suites in downtown has a smaller pool area, as well, although it's on an upper floor and has a pretty nice view.

Please use the site's HOTWIRE, PRICELINE or the regular rate links in the support/Travel section.

Aaron,

For the Evansville stay I ended up paying for it directly to the hotel, and did not use an opaque provider.

I'm not sure which Chicago Stay you are referring to, as when I click on the link it takes me to the post about Embassy Suites. If it's the post about the Sheraton Suites in Elk Grove Village, no I did not stay.

Thanks for the detailed information on the two Embassy Suites hotels in Chicago. Was the Embassy Suites with the river and Koi pond in the Chicago Area? Sort of sounds like the one in Portland, OR.

Thanks for this great site and all you do.

Thank you for the compliments on Betterbidding! :)

Ooops - fixed the link to the Chicago thread. It would be greatly appreciated if you could post in each of those threads what you decided for the trip.

The ES that I stayed in yesterday was the ES in Deerfield, which is a suburb around 35-45 minutes (30 on a really good day) North of the city. The area directly around the hotel doesn't have much - it's behind an office park - but it's only a few miles (literally) to lots of restaurant and shopping options. The hotel has a shuttle that will also take you to the nearby Metra station, too. The Chicago Botanic Garden is a few miles away, as well.

There's a lot of business travel in this area (as a lot of major corporations are nearby) and it appears to get more of a business traveler crowd, if yesterday was any indication. Overall, it appears to be a quieter Embassy Suites property, given its location. The decor also seemed geared slightly more towards business travelers, as well - and there is the river (literally) running through it, which was awfully nice.

What impressed was that, aside from a couple of tiny bumps, this property was largely spotless. Pool was small. However, a nice little touch was that there is actually a small outdoor seating area that can be seen from the indoor pool.

I paid $49 (I'd imagine Winter discount rates may be a bit less), which was a tremendous bargain for a very nice property (plus breakfast, reception) Regular rate was $179 (although I ended up randomly getting one of the bigger rooms, which would have been $189.)

This property is a 3.5* in the Deerfield zone. The only other 3.5* in this zone that is known is the Marriott Suites nearby, which is not a bad possibility either. The only 4* (if you were upgraded from 3.5*) in this particular zone is the Hyatt, which is down the road a bit from the Embassy. While things may change at any time, bidding 3.5* in this zone is kind of foolproof, as as of this point, there's not a bad option in the bunch. Additionally, for those driving, free parking and the Metra's not far away to take the train downtown.

I took some pictures of this property and will post them this week - as I'll certainly be recommending this property at PRICELINE rates (no guarantee of getting it, but worth trying for for those bidding in the suburbs) for those who are driving into the city and are looking for a cheaper alternative outside the city within easy access to transit.

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

Aaron, I've updated the two threads you mentioned.

The Deerfield Embassy Suites, Marriott Suites, and Hyatt all sound like winners. The $49 you paid for the Embassy Suites through Priceline was an excellent deal.

I'm just "checking the temperature" of the two Embassy Suites downtown for now, and see if one is better than the other. I have a free night from Hilton Honors (could have been used at any hotel) and will stay at one of the Embassy Suites downtown. Not sure yet if I'll try to get a room on Hotwire for the other night at the same hotel, or look in the suburbs on Hotwire like I usually do. Deerfield sounds pretty good. Haven't done that before. We usually do O'Hare / Northwest suburbs, but have also stayed in Oak Brookl

Thanks for your help. Please close out this thread, and I'll open another one as my plans firm up.

Pluto123

Please close out this thread, and I'll open another one as my plans firm up.

Please keep all posts in the same thread since posts are for the same dates. We will edit and move your thread in the end.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

Yellowdog.

Please go ahead and close out this thread. I was just checking to see which was the better of the two properties, but ended up using points and not paying for the stay.

Thanks for closing this thread.

Please remember to follow-up your threads with whatever you end up doing for the stay, even if you choose to book direct, cancel your trip, etc.