Anyone from Chicago?--need cheap hotel on northside

[sbpebbles]

Ok so last week I had planned to go instead looks like we are shooting for this week Wednesday or Thursday..My friend would like us to stay on the North side since I guess it's safer than the south side..I have no idea the areas he's referring to, he said the streets of Kimball and Lincoln Ave but when i did a google search all I came up with was motels..Can someone help me locate a hotel for under $100 on the Northside that is not a dump? looks like most of the motels are really nasty..It'll be up to 3 adults and a child under 2..any help is greatly appreciated! TIA!

 

[Psychodisney]

Do you have to be in the city? Maybe try a suburb like Skokie or by O'hare. You actually might be able to get a nice hotel downtown(Streeterville area) on Hotwire for less than $100.

 

[FINFAN]

Safest area to me is the Loop, Lincoln Park for further up North...Embassy Suites, Sheraton Towers...family safe there for sure...any specific attractions you are after or North Beach etc?

 

[sbpebbles]

Safest area to me is the Loop, Lincoln Park for further up North...Embassy Suites, Sheraton Towers...family safe there for sure...any specific attractions you are after or North Beach etc?

yea I seen Lincoln Park and seems decent but I fear the hotels will cost us too much..I haven't been to Chicago in over 10 years...the weather forecast so far doesn't look too good to do much but my friend has offered to show us the sights, but they have to be stroller friendly..

 

[sbpebbles]

Do you have to be in the city? Maybe try a suburb like Skokie or by O'hare. You actually might be able to get a nice hotel downtown(Streeterville area) on Hotwire for less than $100.

I seen some nicer hotels in Skokie but how far is that from the Grant Park area of Chicago? my friend works near Grant Park and I don't want to be driving all over to find each other, especially when I'm not comfortable driving in the bigger cities like that..I live in a VERY small town, less than 1000 ppl..

 

[headoflife]

You do not want to be in the area of Lincoln and Kimball. There are very old motels around there, but not any real hotels. Skokie is about 30-45 minutes form Grant Park on the highways in no traffic, but it is probably best for you to just stay downtown and walk to Grant Park. You can almost always get a nice hotel downtown for under $100 on Priceline. We did a staycation last summer and got they Hyatt Regency Chicago, and I think it was under $60/night. Be sure to allow for parking downtown which is pricey. You should probably not park at the hotel, since they charge a premium. There are garages at Grant Park and Millenium Park that are cheaper, but still around $20/day. I know you said stroller friendly sights. How may are there in your party? Most downtown hotels do offer rooms with 2 beds, but Priceline won;t guarantee it. If you want to be sure, you can do Hotwire, but it tends to be more expensive. I would suggest you look at the bidding for travel and better bidding sites. They are great for information on Hotwire and Priceline.

 

[jenniy122]

Hotel in Chicago proper for under $100? And in the middle of summer tourist season? Not to be a downer, but I don't see it happening. I'd say checking the usual expedia, travelocity, etc. would be your best bet.

Skokie is just outside of Chicago to the North, it's not far mileage-wise, but you can expect at least an hour to get to Grant Park from there, and if you'll be driving trying to find and afford parking downtown/by the park in summer isn't easy. You can get the Yellow Line L train from Skokie to the Red Line into the city that will take you right in the heart of downtown and to Grant Park, its a couple bucks a person.

Here's the public transit site to help if you want to look at that: http://www.transitchicago.com/

 

[FINFAN]

http://www.hotels.com/hotel/details...&departureDate=07-10-10&tab=description&rooms[0].numberOfAdults=2&hotelId=108495&validate=false&children[0]=2&roomno=1&rooms[0].childrenAges[0]=15&rooms[0].childrenAges[1]=17&destinationId=1497539&arrivalDate=07-07-10


DoubleTree is showing $139 7/7-10..area is nice..try hotels.com


there is also Four Points Sheraton showing 105

http://www.hotels.com/search.do?sea...271&fromHotelDetails=false&searchParams.rooms[0].childrenAges[0]=2&searchParams.rooms[0].numberOfAdults=2&page=1&dayInMonthCheckIn=7&fromDisambiguation=false&monthCheckIn=7&dayInMonthCheckOut=10&lat=0.0&rooms=1&searchParams.departureDate=07-10-10&lon=0.0&searchParams.resolvedLocation=destination%3A1645058%3AUNKNOWN%3AUNKNOWN&monthCheckOut=7&destination=Chicago+area%2C+Illinois%2C+United+States&showSimilarDestinations=true&fromLandmark=false&asaReport&destinationId=1645058&destinationForLandmark&activeTab=DESTINATION


I am finding these rates on hotesl.com for 2 adult/ 1 child, 7/7-7/10

 

[sbpebbles]

You do not want to be in the area of Lincoln and Kimball. There are very old motels around there, but not any real hotels. Skokie is about 30-45 minutes form Grant Park on the highways in no traffic, but it is probably best for you to just stay downtown and walk to Grant Park. You can almost always get a nice hotel downtown for under $100 on Priceline. We did a staycation last summer and got they Hyatt Regency Chicago, and I think it was under $60/night. Be sure to allow for parking downtown which is pricey. You should probably not park at the hotel, since they charge a premium. There are garages at Grant Park and Millenium Park that are cheaper, but still around $20/day. I know you said stroller friendly sights. How may are there in your party? Most downtown hotels do offer rooms with 2 beds, but Priceline won;t guarantee it. If you want to be sure, you can do Hotwire, but it tends to be more expensive. I would suggest you look at the bidding for travel and better bidding sites. They are great for information on Hotwire and Priceline.

I've never used Priceline or hotwire to book..yes we will for sure need at least 2 beds...so far we have 3-4 adults in our party and then the baby...i'm starting to rethink this whole idea, if the cost of parking is gonna be a lot, this was just suppose to be a quick overnight..Now it's looking like it's gonna cost at least $150+, granted to many that's not a lot but that is to me..

 

[sbpebbles]

I just searched hotels.com and found the Best Western Grant Park for $96, and it even has an outdoor pool...anyone ever stayed here? parking is only $24 but that's for valet..Can i call this hotel and see if they can match hotels.com price? or don't they do that?

 

[FINFAN]

yeah, keeping your total under 150 will be tough, even when we go down for the day taking the train in from home, we hit the 60 mark easily, and if seeing a museum, well....add another 60-80 onto that for 4 adult rates. Call the Best Western and ask if they will match, hopefully they will!

 

[sbpebbles]

yeah, keeping your total under 150 will be tough, even when we go down for the day taking the train in from home, we hit the 60 mark easily, and if seeing a museum, well....add another 60-80 onto that for 4 adult rates. Call the Best Western and ask if they will match, hopefully they will!

Which train are you referring to? I've never taken the train but maybe we could go that route since I'm not comfortable driving..I know Amtrak goes there and it's only $44per person..Ideally I'd just like to go for the day and come back late that night but looks like an overnight stay might be necessary..I've never rode on a subway or even really a city bus, since we do not have those here..thanks!


ETA: nevermind I still think driving might be my better option....looks like i can take 94 all the way in, so i should be ok..I've driven to O'Hare before and I've been to the Kluczynski Federal Building so I think I should be ok..any tips on the best time to day to travel to avoid a TON of traffic? I was thinking of heading down in the afternoon since it takes close to 2 hrs, and that's not including Chicago traffic or stops at the tolls..how much are the tolls now anyways? thanks again!

 

[midwestdee]

Ironically, I've lived outside Chicago my whole life, but have no concrete experience with this. However, here is a great website someone on this board posted eons ago and I have used it several times when deciding where to stay. Try www.tripadvisor.com - there are reviews of hotels all over and people really key in on helpful advice about things like SAFETY! This website changed my mind about staying somewhere in Cinncinati (sic) last year, and when we got there and happened to see the neighborhood this hotel was in, we were sooo glad we had that info ahead of time. Hope this helps.

 

[sbpebbles]

Ironically, I've lived outside Chicago my whole life, but have no concrete experience with this. However, here is a great website someone on this board posted eons ago and I have used it several times when deciding where to stay. Try www.tripadvisor.com - there are reviews of hotels all over and people really key in on helpful advice about things like SAFETY! This website changed my mind about staying somewhere in Cinncinati (sic) last year, and when we got there and happened to see the neighborhood this hotel was in, we were sooo glad we had that info ahead of time. Hope this helps.

OMG i totally forgot about tripadvisor, i used to check that for my previous employers reviews but this time it slipped my mind..looks like i have a few more calls to make and decision to get locked down

 

[aclov]

Hotels are expensive in summer and right now there are LOTS of tourist. If you going mid-week you might have better luck getting something reasonable than on the weekend. Try Travelzoo!

 

[sbpebbles]

Hotels are expensive in summer and right now there are LOTS of tourist. If you going mid-week you might have better luck getting something reasonable than on the weekend. Try Travelzoo!

Yup that's where I'm headed now--travelzoo

 

[maggiew]

If you are really trying to keep it cheap (relatively), look for hotels near either of the airports (O'Hare or Midway). You can probably get free parking at some hotel. Then just take the train into downtown - the orange line from midway or the blue line from O'Hare. Really it is pretty easy and MUCH less stress than trying to drive downtown!

Maggie

 

[VirginiaMom]

You can almost always get a nice hotel downtown for under $100 on Priceline. We did a staycation last summer and got they Hyatt Regency Chicago, and I think it was under $60/night.

Hey there- I just wanted to confirm that you're saying you found a room at the Hyatt Regency in the middle of Chicago for $60/night.... and checking to see if that was in the middle of the summer. Parking there for a night is $48, so it seems unlikely to find a $60/night rate there (unless you got it by some fluke)

Everything I've heard is that staying in the middle of Chicago in the summer- at a decent hotel- was pricey. I'm going there next month and haven't found anything in the good sections for under $200.

If you got it for $60 in the summer, please share the details of how you did it. Would love to try that same approach. Thanks!

 

[sbpebbles]

If you are really trying to keep it cheap (relatively), look for hotels near either of the airports (O'Hare or Midway). You can probably get free parking at some hotel. Then just take the train into downtown - the orange line from midway or the blue line from O'Hare. Really it is pretty easy and MUCH less stress than trying to drive downtown!

Maggie

I think i have found a place, provided my friend can get to us since he relies on the trains, but it's in North Chicago..this way I don't have to worry about taking the train until my friend is actually with us..I have no experience with trains and don't want to go it alone with my son who's hitting terrible 2's right now..and also then I don't have to worry about driving in downtown, so far looks like a win win

 

[maggiew]

I think i have found a place, provided my friend can get to us since he relies on the trains, but it's in North Chicago..this way I don't have to worry about taking the train until my friend is actually with us..I have no experience with trains and don't want to go it alone with my son who's hitting terrible 2's right now..and also then I don't have to worry about driving in downtown, so far looks like a win win

When you say "North Chicago" do you mean the city of North Chicago or the north side of Chicago?? Because those are two entirely different things. North Chicago is about an hour DRIVE north of downtown.

Also, there are different trains. You can get the Metra (commuter train) to North Chicago. But you probably don't want to do that. You can find somewhere closer within the "el" train (subway type train) route on the north side of Chicago.

Make very sure if its North Chicago or the north side of Chicago!

Maggie