TurkMan3

Hello, I am looking for any help on planning a vacation to Chicago in July. We try to travel to at least one different place we have never visited each year. It looks like we are possibly now choosing Chicago this year. We have traveled to Hawaii, all over the United States, Mexico, Europe, Dominican Republic, Turks and Caicos, etc. So we are pretty open to anything. It will be 4 adults, which includes my wife and me, my parents, and my two children ages 4 and 8. From a budget standpoint, we aren't completely frugal, but we don't need to stay at the Ritz by any means. We are looking for a recommendation on what area to look for a hotel. In terms of priorities, we would like to have a nice pool area with a bar to relax and proximity to elements of the city with shops, restaurants, attractions, etc. We all have different preferences on what we enjoy most, so we try to do a nice mix of relaxation by the pool and a little investigation of the local history and culture. Any recommendations first on places to stay would be greatly appreciated. We've frequently done the suites deal with the whole group usually with a separate living area so that the children can go to bed earlier. A balcony would be nice. It would just be nice to be close enough to find places to see as a diversion for some days and maybe an evening stroll or some kind of ghost tour, etc. I really have little to no knowledge of Chicago ironically. Do we need to rent a car? What is the best area in which to stay? Is the public transportation adequate means of travel? Any particular sights that are "must sees?"
I appreciate any information you could provide.
Thanks in advance.

exiledprincess

A big question is when in July are you planning on visiting, Turkman3?

Because of the Grateful Dead tour concerts July 2-4, the hotel room rates are crazy expensive. Hundreds of dollars more a night than their average. Expect to find very, very little choice from alternative lodging sources.

exiledprincess

I should also mention that Chicago is a major convention city. Larger conventions and events such as the above - and Lollapalooza at the end of July - cause those hotel room rates to really soar.

The Choose Chicago website has a convention calendar which gives a list of the various conventions, as well as the expected attendance.

Bitter

FWIW, I have stayed at both Embassy Suites downtown and find them both serviceable and in good locations. princess has excellent info and makes a great point. It is almost ridiculous how the pricing and availability changes from week to week depending on what convention or event is in town.

Citylghts

You do not need a car. Public transit is easy to use and will take you to 90 percent of the places you want to see including both airports. Check www.transitchicago.com for info, a trip planner and how to track trains and buses with a smart phone.

For what to see and do while you're in town, check www.choosechicago.com, the city's official tourism site. Most sights, hotels and restaurants are in a relatively small area and the city is very walkable.

For hotels, look in the Magnificent Mile, River North, Streeterville and Loop neighborhoods. The Loop is the primary business district south of the Chicago River. River North lies to the north and the Magnificent Mile is the shopping district between the river and Oak Street. To the east of the Mag Mile is Streeterville.

SeaF

River North or Loop for areas to stay in

Some attractions:
Chicago Architectural Foundation's river cruise,
Second City improv,
Try deep dish pizza if you are inclined,
Go to the Signature lounge on the 96th floor of the John Hancock tower for the view

Citylghts

In addition to the Grateful Dead reunion July 2-4, U2 is also in Chicago for one of its ten North American stops. July 12-14 will bring 23,000 food technologists into the city and the current estimate for Lollapalooza (July 31-Aug 3) is just shy of 300,000 people, so hotels will be at a premium during those dates.

SusanM

We recommend the Chicago Architectural Foundation's river cruise a lot here, and for good reason. If the day is nice, it's a really good way to get out on the water. The kids will enjoy just being on the boat, and the adults will enjoy the knowledgeable commentary on the architecture of the city. Other companies offer similar tours, but CAF does it best, IMO.

TurkMan3

We were originally thinking of traveling the dates of June 30th through July 7th as it worked in our schedule. My wife and I are both teachers, and I coach College Wrestling. So I have camp obligations in the summer. In addition, we have another family outing planned for July 11th to 17th. So unfortunately the only times that would really work in our schedule would be the date I mentioned we are currently attempting to travel or right after the other family outing sometime beginning near July 18th or 19th as a departure date.

longhorn55

Check out the City Pass for Chicago. We found that we saved money on admission prices by using it and we also bypassed some long lines of people waiting to buy tickets. Another good activity for families is the free Lincoln Park Zoo.

tomfuller

Depending on where you are coming from or going to after Chicago, you might want to arrive in or depart from Chicago on Amtrak rather than flying both ways.
If the hotel situation is crazy expensive, you could commute on the Hiawatha to and from Milwaukee.
My DW and I have stayed at the HI Hostel (biggest in the US) on Congress. This probably would not work for your group.

Annaandlulu

You definitely don't need a car in Chicago. The Mag Mile area (as Citylghts suggested above) would probably be your best bet for a hotel!

I would suggest a trip to the Art Institute (the second best Impressionist collection in the world outside of Paris). They have some things that kids might like, such as the miniature rooms and the Arms & Armor section. Then, take a walk east to the lakefront. Walk down past the marina, then around to the riverwalk. It's a beautiful walk to do late afternoon/evening! You could then walk up Michigan Avenue from the river and stop in somewhere for dinner. Maybe take a taxi to Uno's for the best deep dish pizza.


You could go to Lincoln Park Zoo (Chicago's free zoo), and the neighborhoods surrounding it, Old Town and the Gold Coast, have some interesting history. You might like going over to North Avenue beach (also near the zoo). It's quite a nice beach with awesome views of the skyline. Enjoy!

exiledprincess

It's too bad that you are pretty much locked into those dates. The U2 concert dates are June 24 & 25 and June 28 & June 29. As I mentioned, the Grateful Dead tour concerts are July 2-4. You'll have people coming in before and after these particular dates.

So, even if you flew in on the 5th, you'd really have very little time to explore the city.

I personally wouldn't want to commute daily from Milwaukee via Amtrak's Hiawatha service. it's not a bad day trip, mind you, but not commuting. It's bad enough to commute RT from around O'Hare (almost an hour each way) and Midway (about 45 minutes each way) daily, via the Blue and Orange lines. You have to figure that any commuting into Chicago is in addition to commuting to/from the major attractions from the Loop area. So you'd be spending a LOT of precious vacation time sitting on a bus or train. Not fun, especially for two kids.

I'm only guessing here but I would think that any other area, city or town that is a decent place to stay and has reasonable access to one of the trains that service Chicago (i.e., Metra and/or South Shore) will also have much higher hotel rooms.

Not only are you dealing with these big concerts but they are around and during a major holiday weekend. (4th of July is on a Saturday this year.) IF you do find better lodging, it will probably require a three-night minimum stay because of the 4th.

Would you be open to the option of flying open jaw into Indianapolis and out of Chicago? Fly into the first, spend a few days in the area. Go up to Chicago for a few days and fly out.

That way you could time the stay in Chicago at the end of your planned visit (5th-7th). I won't answer how expensive those hotel rooms will still be on the 5th - but the other days may be much lesser.

Indianapolis has some great options for the kids (Children's Museum, Zoo in White River Park downtown). Pick up a rental car for a day or two to explore perhaps the Bloomington, Brown County area of Indiana (about an hour south of Indy). Then driving or perhaps taking Megabus or Greyhound up to Chicago.

Re Amtrak from Indy to Chicago: The Hoosier State's (between Indianapolis and Chicago) future is in doubt because of changes to the law. At this point, that route is operating on a month to month basis. The Cardinal route would still be running between the two, but it is the last leg of a much longer route, originating on the East Coast. The longer the route, the more likely the delays.

I don't see any reason to get into the nitty-gritty of what to see in Chicago unless you really know you will be going and for how long. I hope you understand.

Annaandlulu

I wouldn't stay outside the city if you do come to Chicago. As long as you are okay with eating the cost of, potentially, more expensive hotels in the city, you will still have a great visit. Things like Lollapalooza will make the downtown area more crowded, but it won't affect the rest of the city as much. There are always events going on in the city in the summer - it's not always possible (or necessary) to work around them. I think you should come when it works for you.

exiledprincess

Annaandlulu, giving you the benefit of the doubt in that you do not realize of how much we are speaking. Probably $100-200/nt. OVER regular room rates. Average rooms normally go for $200-300/nt. during high season in Chicago.

The OP will need 2 rooms due to the size of their party.

The OP can check the various sites, including the blind bidding sites (although I'd be pretty leery of anything that turns up on the latter during those dates). They probably will find *extremely* limited availability during and around the Grateful Dead concerts (July 2-4). Hotel rooms - and alternative lodging options - have been booked up solid for months.

I would expect similar room rates for the Lollapalooza dates. I know that for a nothing-special hotel room last year they were approaching or at $400/nt. - and I think the crowd was slightly smaller.

exiledprincess

@OP, since you've traveled all over the U.S., you might have already been to NYC and SF. Chicago isn't as expensive as those two - yet.

It's just the timing of your visit.

andrews98682

Turkman, as others have stated, there might not be any vacancies those dates -- and if there are, the rates will be jacked up. You might be able to find something affordable out by the airports or one of the suburbs, but then you'll be wasting several hours a day commuting. All that aside, most of the major hotels are in the Loop or the River North/Magnificent Mile area. There are a few hotels on the North Side, including the Hotel Lincoln, which is very nice. There's also the The Willows, Best Western Hawthorn, Days Inn Lincoln Park and a few others. Another possibility might be the Crowne Plaza in the West Loop and the Marriott by UIC/Rush Hospital. I'm not sure how expensive those hotels are or if any of them have balconies or pools.

Bitter

I did a quick search for July 2-7 and the prices downtown were nuts! If it hasn't been mentioned, you could stay out at the airport and train in daily. I did the reverse while attending a conference. Unfortuately, it is like 45 minutes to an hour each way.

You mentioned a ghost tour. I have done two "weird chicago" tours. The American Haunting Tour was reasonably interesting. Not sure what the age appropriateness is. I also did the "Gangsters Guns and Ghosts" tour, the second stop of which was the only bar in town where people still smoke (and likely every smoker in town was in that bar!). So the bus stunk after that, and we were just put off by it.

sf7307

I also did a quick search this time on Hotwire, and there isn't a single room available on Hotwire for July 2-5 other than in outlying areas.

WhereAreWe

If you go onto Travelocity and search for hotels in the Magnificent Mile area, you'll probably decide to switch the dates.

The week of July 4th the average is $551/night.
The week of July 19th the average is $288/night.

Obviously those are averages and you will find some that are cheaper, but the cheapest I saw for the week of July 4th was $321/night. That is easily double what you would pay if you went later in July.

Even if you stayed further out and took the train in, you'd have to deal with the 4th of July crowds. I would choose a different week so you can enjoy the city without the crowds and high prices.