hotel deals - chicago area - what are the tricks

[Bayou_Brawler]

heya i'm gigging in chicago next weekend and looking to get a hotel room for a few days and sight see...

fyi i want to stay downtown chicago...around the action

for as much as i travel i rarely get hotels...

anyway what some good ways to score deals on rooms? i'll probably just be in my room when i'm sleeping so i don't want to drop more than $100 a night....

good websites?

ever try the priceline name your own price?

[TrooperFarva]

I'm sure Jauqo has a couch

[DigMe]

First go to the Chicago forum at www.biddingfortravel.com
There you can get an idea about what people are paying locally and then use that info to make your bid on priceline.com.

For our upcoming roadtrip I used that method to get a nicer upscale place on the way with 42" HDTV's in every room for less than what it would have cost me to get a room at the La Quinta.

Just scanning Chicago's forum it looks like a lot of people are getting good deals at the Hyatt Regency through priceline...as low as $45 a night.

bc

[burk48237]

With gas prices travel might be affected and you might pick up some deals. But I use to do a lot of weekends there, And I never found a place for less then about 180$ a night. And it was a trash heap. From what I've seen unless you want to delouse when you get home, expect to pay around 250 a night. The best I found for the money was the Lennox Suites, it has a great location on Rush and Ohio, Right between the loop and the Miracle Mile. But three years ago they were 250 a night. Maybe on price line you might get a deal. The last few times I've been I stayed at the Embassy Suites by Navy Pier, but that was on Hilton Points from work (their almost 400$ a night). If you go be sure and Check out the Jazz Showcase, I've seen Roy Hargrove there, Its a great club.

[CamMcIntyre]

Good luck. My Mom & Sister stayed at the Travel Lodge on Harrison-i think it was around $150 for the night. A quick check at Congress Plaza Hotel [home of one of the longest ongoing work strikes] rates were about $190.

Burk-i thought jazz show case had shut down. Did they find a new home yet?

For jazz-check out The Green Mill. Take the Red Line to Lawrence and then it's right about diagonally from the station.

If you're in town on Friday-Wayne Shorter is playing at Symphony Center @ 8PM. Tickets are pretty cheap. I bought mine back in October [staff discount] for under $50 for orchestra level seating. As my disclosure states-i have a bias towards Symphony Center. I'm there [CSO Store] 10-4 Friday and am going to the concert. I'm also there Saturday 12-8.

Lots of fun stuff in the Loop. I'm a big advocate of buying a CTA Visitor's pass so that you can get unlimited CTA rides [Subway & Busses].

If you have any Chicago specific questions-hit me up.

[Bayou_Brawler]

Originally Posted by CamMcIntyre

Good luck. My Mom & Sister stayed at the Travel Lodge on Harrison-i think it was around $150 for the night. A quick check at Congress Plaza Hotel [home of one of the longest ongoing work strikes] rates were about $190.

Burk-i thought jazz show case had shut down. Did they find a new home yet?

For jazz-check out The Green Mill. Take the Red Line to Lawrence and then it's right about diagonally from the station.

If you're in town on Friday-Wayne Shorter is playing at Symphony Center @ 8PM. Tickets are pretty cheap. I bought mine back in October [staff discount] for under $50 for orchestra level seating. As my disclosure states-i have a bias towards Symphony Center. I'm there [CSO Store] 10-4 Friday and am going to the concert. I'm also there Saturday 12-8.

Lots of fun stuff in the Loop. I'm a big advocate of buying a CTA Visitor's pass so that you can get unlimited CTA rides [Subway & Busses].

If you have any Chicago specific questions-hit me up.

sure!

can you reccomend a few touristy type things to do during the day?

[Bayou_Brawler]

Originally Posted by DigMe

First go to the Chicago forum at www.biddingfortravel.com
There you can get an idea about what people are paying locally and then use that info to make your bid on priceline.com.

For our upcoming roadtrip I used that method to get a nicer upscale place on the way with 42" HDTV's in every room for less than what it would have cost me to get a room at the La Quinta.

Just scanning Chicago's forum it looks like a lot of people are getting good deals at the Hyatt Regency through priceline...as low as $45 a night.

bc

can you tell me more about the priceline name your own price? is that what you are talking about here?

it's my understanding they bill your card before you even know where your staying and you can't cancel...

what's to stop them from putting me in some crack house lol???

[burk48237]

The Showcase is suppose to be reopening in June. I didn't go last year so I didn't know they had closed. The Congress is a great place to stay if you want the hookers in the next room keeping you up all night.

As far as tourist stuff, Navy Pier is cool, when I was there last their was an air show. If your with a chick who has her own cash, shopping Miracle Mile is cool Grant Park usually has some interesting stuff. I've always liked Shedd aquarium, and the Art museum is cool. Also the top of the Hancock building is cool. As far as eats, I always liked Cafe Luciano's, the New Colonial (Viet Namese), and Lawreys. If you stay as close to Wacker and MI ave as possible you can literally walk to EVERYTHING. That is the coolest thing about Chicago.

[GregC]

Originally Posted by Bayou_Brawler

sure!

can you reccomend a few touristy type things to do during the day?

I agree, you'll be very lucky to find something for $100 or less inside the city limits. But it's well worth it if you can stay downtown. As Burk said, there are a lot of things close by.

As for touristy stuff, I've been meaning to put together a list for some friends, so this will be a good exercise for me:

1. Do the combined lake and river tour:
http://www.wendellaboats.com/chicago.htm
They're located at Michigan Ave and the Chicago River, there are steps down to their location on the NE side of the bridge. Very close by, on the street underneath (yes, I said underneath) is...

2. The Billy Goat Tavern, which the famous SNL "cheeburger, cheeburger" skit is based on. The original location is the only way to go, trust me. Go in, get a double cheese, chips and a beer, soak in the ambience and read the old newspaper clippings on the wall--Mike Royko's columns give you a good feel for old-school Chicago.

3. From there, walk south on the east side of Michigan. A few blocks down, you'll find Millenium Park. Check out the Bean (a huge sculpture), the Prizker Pavilion (amazing concert venue) and the fountain.

4. Walk a couple blocks further south and you'll hit the Art Institute of Chicago. Great collection, you can spend plenty of time there if you're into it.

5. Gino's East: Best deep-dish pizza in town, for my money. It's about 5 blocks west of Michigan a few blocks north of the river. Go to the 633 N. Wells location, that's the main one with the graffiti-covered dining room.

6. Go to the top of the Hancock building, on Michigan around 900 North. Great view of the lake and downtown, much better than the Sears Tower, IMO (and it's less crowded).

7. The Field Museum of Natural History and Shedd Aquarium are right next to each other (and Soldier Field) on Lakeshore Drive, south of downtown. A bit of a pain to get to if you don't have a car, but worth the trip if you have time.

8. You can get down to the Museum of Science and Industry by bus--it's pretty far south, near the U. of Chicago. They have a full restored German U-boat that's pretty amazing. Do not take the train there, it's not convenient and you'll hit some rough stations and neighborhoods.

9. Navy Pier is OK. It's a few blocks east from Michigan and Illinois. Don't expect much more than a nice walk on the pier and some mall-level food, though.

10. If you like baseball at all, go to a day game at Wrigley, it's a great experience. You can take the red line from State Street and be there in 15 minutes.

Bass stuff:

Visit Lakland. Call them in advance, they'll give you a tour. Great basses (they'll let you try some) and really nice folks. They're a couple miles northwest of downtown, in an industrial section.

Chicago Music Exchange. Really impressive collection of vintage basses, and they're cool about letting you try anything. Probably two miles north of Lakland, if that.

That's all I have off the top of my head.

[DigMe]

Originally Posted by Bayou_Brawler

can you tell me more about the priceline name your own price? is that what you are talking about here?

it's my understanding they bill your card before you even know where your staying and you can't cancel...

what's to stop them from putting me in some crack house lol???

You choose the quality of hotel that you want before you name your price. You choose 1 star, 2*, 2 1/2*, 3* or 4* and then bid accordingly. They give you examples of the types of hotels that you could get with each star. So if you choose 2.5* or higher then you shouldn't be getting any fleabag places. Even 2* is typically your standard budget hotel like Holiday Inn Express, La Quinta, etc... I usually go with 2.5*. That will get you places like Courtyard, Doubletree Club, Hyatt Place, etc..

So when you look at that forum that I linked to and someone posts a thread title of "4* Hyatt Regency $80 6/20-22" that means when they bid they selected 4* hotel and bid $80 a night for those given dates. That doesn't mean that you will definitely get the same price because it depends on given availability. But if you see a lot of people getting the same price then it's a good starting point.

bc

[Croox]

Originally Posted by GregC

I agree, you'll be very lucky to find something for $100 or less inside the city limits. But it's well worth it if you can stay downtown. As Burk said, there are a lot of things close by.

As for touristy stuff, I've been meaning to put together a list for some friends, so this will be a good exercise for me:

1. Do the combined lake and river tour:
http://www.wendellaboats.com/chicago.htm
They're located at Michigan Ave and the Chicago River, there are steps down to their location on the NE side of the bridge. Very close by, on the street underneath (yes, I said underneath) is...

2. The Billy Goat Tavern, which the famous SNL "cheeburger, cheeburger" skit is based on. The original location is the only way to go, trust me. Go in, get a double cheese, chips and a beer, soak in the ambience and read the old newspaper clippings on the wall--Mike Royko's columns give you a good feel for old-school Chicago.

3. From there, walk south on the east side of Michigan. A few blocks down, you'll find Millenium Park. Check out the Bean (a huge sculpture), the Prizker Pavilion (amazing concert venue) and the fountain.

4. Walk a couple blocks further south and you'll hit the Art Institute of Chicago. Great collection, you can spend plenty of time there if you're into it.

5. Gino's East: Best deep-dish pizza in town, for my money. It's about 5 blocks west of Michigan a few blocks north of the river. Go to the 633 N. Wells location, that's the main one with the graffiti-covered dining room.

6. Go to the top of the Hancock building, on Michigan around 900 North. Great view of the lake and downtown, much better than the Sears Tower, IMO (and it's less crowded).

7. The Field Museum of Natural History and Shedd Aquarium are right next to each other (and Soldier Field) on Lakeshore Drive, south of downtown. A bit of a pain to get to if you don't have a car, but worth the trip if you have time.

8. You can get down to the Museum of Science and Industry by bus--it's pretty far south, near the U. of Chicago. They have a full restored German U-boat that's pretty amazing. Do not take the train there, it's not convenient and you'll hit some rough stations and neighborhoods.

9. Navy Pier is OK. It's a few blocks east from Michigan and Illinois. Don't expect much more than a nice walk on the pier and some mall-level food, though.

10. If you like baseball at all, go to a day game at Wrigley, it's a great experience. You can take the red line from State Street and be there in 15 minutes.

Bass stuff:

Visit Lakland. Call them in advance, they'll give you a tour. Great basses (they'll let you try some) and really nice folks. They're a couple miles northwest of downtown, in an industrial section.

Chicago Music Exchange. Really impressive collection of vintage basses, and they're cool about letting you try anything. Probably two miles north of Lakland, if that.

That's all I have off the top of my head.

I agree with all this stuff but going to see a cubs game, Granted its part of baseball history and one of the few old parks left, but being completely unbiased its a dump. I'd say head down to Comiskey/ US Celluar and see the sox/Rockies game Friday and Saturday are fireworks night if you go to a night game, they do a pretty good show

also Buddy guys bar is worth checking out too

[Dangle]

The Shedd Aquarium is supposed to be great.

[ubado]

Originally Posted by Bayou_Brawler

can you tell me more about the priceline name your own price? is that what you are talking about here?

it's my understanding they bill your card before you even know where your staying and you can't cancel...

what's to stop them from putting me in some crack house lol???

If you are looking for a certain part of Chicago ... don't use Priceline (they make accomidations based on price, and rating... so you might not get the best location for you, which has happened to me, became a bit of a schlep).

Personally I use Hotels.com and Expedia.com (I travel quite a bit).
I find them to be the best... you know the hotel upfront and you can pick the location that best fits your needs. For these travel sites, you don't bid, so you may pay a small bit more than Priceline... but you get to choose by more than just a star.

I have also used Hotwire.com
Scout out each website, and see what the best deal for you is.

As far as cancellation policies, you'll need to check with the hotels themselves.

[CamMcIntyre]

I agree with the other guys.

Gino's East is a must for deep dish pizza. Due to budget-i've started to just buy the frozen ones from Jewel & put em in the oven. Only $10.

Magnificent Mile area is nice-loads of shops-also check out State Street for some shopping [Macy's and others].

Edit: Art Institute-it's at the corner of Michigan and Adams. Great place.

We've got several great theater shows in town-Jersey Boys at the LaSalle Bank Theater, Wicked at the Oriental Theater, and I think Avenue Q at Cadillac Palace Theater.

Field Museum & Shedd Aquarium-I've spent many a nights on the lake/beach in that area. My best friend lived a few blocks north of there-so it was an easy trip for me. If you're going with kids, this route isn't the best, but without-simply take the Red Line to Roosevelt. Walk east till you hit the lake & then just start walking south. You'll get to take a nice walk by the lake and end up at those locations.

Navy Pier-check out Joe's Bebop Cafe. It was opened/owned by the same guy who owns the Showcase. I've been to Navy Pier once-was when my Mom & Sister were in town. Was nice, i'll probably not go back unless if i want to buy an elephant ear. Seeing the sign for those made me salivate.

With the Wrigley Vs. US Cellular field goes-with Wrigley i feel a requirement is to get hammered on cheap beer. With US Cellular-that isn't always needed unless if the Sox are doing really bad. For Wrigley-Red Line (north) to Addison [there's a Cubs logo on the sign] & for US Cellular-Red Line (south) to i think 35th.

Sorta lame, but fun-Dave & Busters on Clark just south of Division. It's an adult version of Chuck E Cheese/Showbiz Pizza. I see the sign every time i come home.

A site that i visit frequently is www.TransitChicago.com and use their RTA trip planner.

[DigMe]

Originally Posted by ubado

If you are looking for a certain part of Chicago ... don't use Priceline (they make accomidations based on price, and rating... so you might not get the best location for you, which has happened to me, became a bit of a schlep).

Priceline definitely has its drawbacks but you do get to choose what area of the city you are bidding on and the areas are fairly small and specific.

bc

[Bayou_Brawler]

thanks for all the info guys...

got the hyatt right in millenium park for $75 a night on priceline

[CamMcIntyre]

Congrats-that's killer. Let us know how your trip went.

edit: forgot what weekend he was going.

[GregC]

Originally Posted by Bayou_Brawler

thanks for all the info guys...

got the hyatt right in millenium park for $75 a night on priceline

Wow, nice score and a great location! Have a good time.

[DigMe]

Originally Posted by Bayou_Brawler

thanks for all the info guys...

got the hyatt right in millenium park for $75 a night on priceline

Congrats!

The wife and I really enjoyed our night at the Hyatt Place that we got for a steal on priceline. It was just a stopping point on our roadtrip but turned out to be a very enjoyable and comfortable respite.

bc

[uglycicles]

Originally Posted by Bayou_Brawler

thanks for all the info guys...

got the hyatt right in millenium park for $75 a night on priceline

if you're driving, find your own parking spot - don't park with the hotel's "valet" - often $40+ a day....