Anyone from Chicago?--need cheap hotel on northside

[maggiew]

I did a quick search on the Chicago Travel and Tourism site and found The Carlton Inn near Midway. It is around $90. It has free parking. It is within walking distance to the Orange Line L stop or they will drive you there. It sounds like a winner. But I have never stayed there or even heard of the place. You might want to check out reviews on Trip Advisor to see what the hotel is like.

But this is just a start. You can look at the Chicago Tourism site yourself and check out the hotels. There is a Hilton and Fairfield Inn, etc. But I didn't check into those because I thought the price might be out of your budget. But you can check just in case.

You can take the orange line directly in to downtown and then get off somewhere in the loop, depending on where your friend is. There is no way to get on the wrong train since Midway Airport is the end of the orange line and it only goes into downtown.

http://www.transitchicago.com/assets/1/maps/ctatrainmap.png

Maggie

 

[sbpebbles]

I did a quick search on the Chicago Travel and Tourism site and found The Carlton Inn near Midway. It is around $90. It has free parking. It is within walking distance to the Orange Line L stop or they will drive you there. It sounds like a winner. But I have never stayed there or even heard of the place. You might want to check out reviews on Trip Advisor to see what the hotel is like.

But this is just a start. You can look at the Chicago Tourism site yourself and check out the hotels. There is a Hilton and Fairfield Inn, etc. But I didn't check into those because I thought the price might be out of your budget. But you can check just in case.

You can take the orange line directly in to downtown and then get off somewhere in the loop, depending on where your friend is. There is no way to get on the wrong train since Midway Airport is the end of the orange line and it only goes into downtown.

http://www.transitchicago.com/assets/1/maps/ctatrainmap.png

Maggie

Ok i need a little subway help here: a lot of the hotels I'm looking at I've been able to do a transit directions on google and it tells me how long and which train to take..Is it normal to take a hour plus to get most places around Chicago from downtown? and yes it was in NORTH CHICAGO the city that other hotel i found was but i did my search and realized how far it is away..this is just getting to be one big headache and looks like it will end up costing me more than I had planned on..maybe I'll just drive down for the day...

 

[maggiew]

I posted a link to the train/bus website on my previous post. That should give you an idea about the train system.

Yes, it would probably take you an hour from Midway to downtown on the L. Same from O'Hare to downtown. But getting anywhere within the downtown area is pretty quick.

Maggie

 

[sbpebbles]

I posted a link to the train/bus website on my previous post. That should give you an idea about the train system.

Yes, it would probably take you an hour from Midway to downtown on the L. Same from O'Hare to downtown. But getting anywhere within the downtown area is pretty quick.

Maggie

So coming from WI on 90 do I hit O Hare first or Midway? also any tips on what time to arrive as to avoid traffic? i was thinking mid afternoon, say 2ish, since it's about 2 hrs for me to get there

 

[robinb]

So coming from WI on 90 do I hit O Hare first or Midway? also any tips on what time to arrive as to avoid traffic? i was thinking mid afternoon, say 2ish, since it's about 2 hrs for me to get there

You would hit O'Hare on the way in on I-90 and you shouldn't go by Midway at all. I live in Madison and it takes me about 3 hours to drive to downtown Chicago (give or take, depending on traffic) and I use my I-Pass. It will take you closer to the 3-hour mark if you stop to pay every toll instead of using an I-Pass.

I stay in the Chicago area all the time and I refuse to pay a lot for a hotel. I like to stay either at O'hare or out at Oak Brook. I stayed in Oak Brook for a month last August when my mom was sick and I paid a maximum of $33 per night on Priceline. You will pay a bit more for Hotwire but if you need 2 beds you can indicate there are 3 people in the room and you will get 2 beds. There are regular Metra trains into the city from Oak Brook and every hotel has free parking. O'Hare is also a good place to stay and it's a lot cheaper than downtown. I have stayed at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare for just $40 per night. I *did* have to pay for parking but I paid over at the River Road El Station which was $12 overnight (I think). Speaking of which ... most of the hotels have a shuttle to the airport and from there you can catch the Blue Line El into the city. It's about a 45 minute ride.

 

[maggiew]

Oh, sorry. For some reason I thought you said you were coming from Indiana. That is why I suggested Midway. But coming from Wisconsin you should hit O'Hare first. Don't even try to go to Midway!!!

Maggie

 

[headoflife]

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!

We did get it for around $60 in summer last year. We did nto park there, since the parking was outrageous. I used Priceline, even though it was a little risky since I needed 2 beds with my family of 4. I used bidding for travel to look at other winning bids, and using some strategy for free rebids, got this. We stayed a couple of nights and had a great time.

Good Luck getting what you are looking for!

 

[Gr8t Fan]

Personally, I'd stay away from the Carlton Inn Midway. I've never actually stayed there but it's not in the usual cluster of Midway hotels, it's actually across from a high school near the middle of nowhere.

As robinb said, Oakbrook is a great choice that has a ton of very nice hotel rooms you can get very cheaply using Priceline or Hotwire and it's just a short ride downton on Metra.

 

[sbpebbles]

Personally, I'd stay away from the Carlton Inn Midway. I've never actually stayed there but it's not in the usual cluster of Midway hotels, it's actually across from a high school near the middle of nowhere.

As robinb said, Oakbrook is a great choice that has a ton of very nice hotel rooms you can get very cheaply using Priceline or Hotwire and it's just a short ride downton on Metra.

I think I'm gonna look into Oakbrook then

 

[sbpebbles]

You would hit O'Hare on the way in on I-90 and you shouldn't go by Midway at all. I live in Madison and it takes me about 3 hours to drive to downtown Chicago (give or take, depending on traffic) and I use my I-Pass. It will take you closer to the 3-hour mark if you stop to pay every toll instead of using an I-Pass.

I stay in the Chicago area all the time and I refuse to pay a lot for a hotel. I like to stay either at O'hare or out at Oak Brook. I stayed in Oak Brook for a month last August when my mom was sick and I paid a maximum of $33 per night on Priceline. You will pay a bit more for Hotwire but if you need 2 beds you can indicate there are 3 people in the room and you will get 2 beds. There are regular Metra trains into the city from Oak Brook and every hotel has free parking. O'Hare is also a good place to stay and it's a lot cheaper than downtown. I have stayed at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare for just $40 per night. I *did* have to pay for parking but I paid over at the River Road El Station which was $12 overnight (I think). Speaking of which ... most of the hotels have a shuttle to the airport and from there you can catch the Blue Line El into the city. It's about a 45 minute ride.

Yea I'm in the country about a hour north of Madison so looks like 3 hrs it will be then..I don't have an I pass so i'll be paying for each and every toll, joy oh joy lol....What times are rush hours? and thanks for recommending Oak Brook, I'm gonna look into it now..I figure if i'm coming that far my friend can at least commute a lil to come see me lol

 

[robinb]

If you are an hour North of me it will take you 4 hours to Chicago since you need to stop for tolls. Where does your friend live? Cross streets or neighborhood name are enough for me I ask because a lot if people who live in the city don't like to drive out to the burbs because it takes so long. Especially if they live north where the highways dont go. Rush hour can be all day in Chicago, but the highways are most busy when people go to work and cone home. I would call your friend to see if he would be ok with oak brook before you bid. Priceline and Hoteire cannot be cancelled.