kflodin

Hi, my daughter and I are visiting chicago to see the Univ. of Chicago on 10/10 through 10/13. She'll also be meeting friends she met in summer camp and we both want to get to know the city (neither of us have been). We figure friday will be all about the campus (we have a scheduled tour), but the rest of the weekend is more open. Any suggestions on where to stay? We'd like to avoid a car... is that wise?

kelliebellie

The University of Chicago is not in the best of neighborhoods. It is south of the city. Do you want to be near the school or near downtown? Public transportation is great, so you won't need a car. Familiarize yourself with the El map:

http://www.transitchicago.com/maps/systemmaps.html

It looks like the green line puts you pretty close. You might have to hop a bus or taxi.

Here is a great place to stay on the north end of downtown. It is right next door to the John Hancock Building:

http://www.senecahotel.com/

Priceline is good for Chicago too.

kflodin

good advice. I will look into your suggestions; thank you!

marilynl

Many of the schools in proximity to the University of Chicago do not recommend using the Green line to get to Hyde Park. The Green line is considerably west of the school, and isn't regularly served by cabs.

I believe that Metra is the better choice for Hyde Park, or one of the express buses from downtown.

My daughter goes to school in Hyde Park, and the public transportation choices from there are not ideal.

marilynl

Yes, I just looked at the U of C choice, and they recommend the No. 6 bus or the Metra electric. These both go from north of the river--the bus goes south down State Street and the Metra has stations on Michigan Avenue at Randolph and further south. This might make staying downtown at somewhere like the Palmer House or Hilton a better choice than staying way north of the river.

Racy

The Hyde Parke Express is the #2 bus, which probably gets you closest to where you're going. Ideal hotel locations would be along Grand Ave. just north of the river, or in the Loop along State Street. The bus stops immediately outside the Renaissance, for example.

I wouldn't stay as far North as the Seneca.

If you want to take the Metra, definately stay in the Loop, as that train doesn't go north of the Randolph Street (Millenium Park) station.

Don't take the El unless you know where you're going--it's too far and in pretty urban areas.

bobludlow

Stay in the Loop, which is Chicago-speak for downtown. It is full of great sights like the Art Institute and the Navy Pier. Have fun!

kelliebellie

I just checked some prices. Chicago can be very expensive on the weekends. They get a lot of trade shows in that fill up everything. It looks like everything downtown will be over $200. If you Priceline, it sounds like region 4, Millenium Park would be the best for the bus? If you don't mind going further you could add region 5, north Michigan Avenue. I would forget region 1, Greater Chicago. There will be some fleabags in that group. Anyone concur?

kflodin

hmmm. the hotels do seem steep, so if I have to bite the bullet and pony up for $200+ per night, I want to make it good. I'm coming into Chicago to see Univ of chicago with my daughter on Friday, but then we have th whole weekend to poke around the city. I do want to be well-located and have taken the transportation issues in mind that have been mentioned here. does the river north area sound like a good choice? it seems a little funkier than the other nice areas (loop, magic mile, etc.), and it seems a tad closer to univ of chicago campus should we want to revisit the campus over the weekend? if those in the know agree that it's a good neighborhood for our needs, any hotels you recommend. Again, value would be good, but we understand it might add up to the $200+ range. At least at that cost, I want to make it nice!

and again, I'd like to avoid a car AND we've never been to Chicago.

ChiDad

kflodin,

Use priceline and you should get a great hotel for under $100 per night. The Hyatt Regency on E. Wacker, The Palmer House and the Chicago Hilton Towers would all be great hotels that you could take cabs or public transportation from to get to Hyde Park.

Check which weekend is the marathon, though. If you hit that, all bets are off for a reasonably priced hotel.

Kevin

marilynl

I think River North is generally considered to be the area north of the Chicago River and west of Michigan Avenue. It would NOT be closer to the University campus, which is in Hyde Park. (I'm assuming your daughter is looking at undergraduate programs on the main campus, roughly 5700 South, and not anything at the Gleacher Center?)

River North would be a fine area for restaurants and entertainment, seeing the rest of the city over the weekend, etc. Actually, ALL of the areas--Loop, River North, Michigan Avenue--are within walking distance of each other. I'm not sure about currently, but many people in the past have used priceline and gotten great deals.

kflodin

Kevin
Good point on the marathon. Yikes. I checked on-line and sure enough the marathon is that weekend (Sunday, 10/12, and we're there 10/10-13). I went on priceline and bit the bullet. I booked The Hyatt Regency for $252 a night. Given the marathon, I think that will have to do (it was among the best rates quoted in the centrally located neighborhoods we've been discussing), and it looks quite nice, so I'm sure we'll have a lovely time. I'm sure I'll be checking in on what to do/things not to miss when I catch my breath from this hotel search! Thanks, everyone.

JJ5

I was doing priceline for that very weekend and didn't take something at 1/2 that right next to where you will be.

That's steep. Don't forget you have about 17% or more taxes added after that cost.

I wish I would have seen this thread sooner.

Have a good time- but don't judge Chicago by that weekend- because it is not a normal one.

I would triple check that your bus route isn't altered or detoured in any way if you are roaming on the 12th re transit, especially. Loop streets, some of them are closed completely.

My DIL ran two years ago and it was so mobbed that my son couldn't even get to the curb location to see her at any one point.

No car, don't bring a car here.

I would plan something inside or away from the mobs- maybe the Art Institute or Shedd.

ChiDad

Or, if it is beautiful that day, take in the race. You can watch the start from the overpass on Randolph and all of the runners will go right underneath you. Grab breakfast after the race has stated and places aren't crowded at all. Walk over to the base of the Sears Tower for a great view. Lunch in Chinatown is another great place to combine seeing the marathoners and a Chicago institution. Finish in Grant Park where you can see the excitement of the finish line.

Chicago is my favorite marathon and I have had a few friends run it. October weather in Chicago is usually great (until it rains on the trick-or-treaters).

Have fun,

Kevin

kelliebellie

Wait, did you use the bidding option on priceline or just book one of their offered rates? If you didn't bid and you can cancel your Hilton, you might want to give bidding a try.

I tried to drive around the LA marathon once. Have you ever tried to drive around a marathon? I gave up.

kflodin

yeah, the NY Marathon runs through my neighborhood here in Brooklyn, so I know how mangled a city can get on marathon day. But I so appreciate your suggestions of how to navigate the city that day and what we might do... we will not have a car, which was our inclination even before we knew it was marathon weekend. this is the only long weekend we can arrange to make a trip to the midwest to see schools in that region, so it is what it is.

As for the hotels... the bidding thing intimidated me. It appears that you get what you get once you commit without knowing what the hotel is. Given that it's marathon weekend, I figured rates would be up everywhere so the one we got was what we had to settle for. Stupid? Is it worth giving bidding a try? what if we hate what we get -- are we locked in?

kelliebellie

I think if you stick to those two areas I told you about, I would give the bidding a try. I don't think there is a dump in that central area, but I could be wrong. Why don't you post a new thread about priceline bidding on chicago hotel areas and see if anyone has more advice to offer. I too have never used the bidding on priceline option. Very scary! But I have heard there are great deals to be found.

Orcas

Don't know what the #2 Hyde Park Express is, but the #6 Jeffrey Express is the one we have always taken from the loop to Hyde Park. You can get off on Stoney Island a block from campus. Ask the driver.

In downtown, you catch it on State Street southbound. I believe it runs up to just south of the river on Michigan and then loops west to State, where you catch it on the way southbound. It runs frequently. You can get the schedule off the internet, I'm sure. The metra runs from Randolf St., which is further south. We used to take the train a long time ago, but only take the bus now. I think this is because the bus runs more frequently.

marilynl

Yes, the No. 6 is the bus referenced on the University's website.

JJ5

I have used Priceline for Chicago repeatedly over the years.

Quite frankly, I think it is too late to get a great deal, but maybe not a good deal. It might be worth trying if you are not locked into that Hyatt, and can cancel it with no charges.

This is what I do, others do differently from risk tolerance levels etc., and/or not wanting a bad location to where they're going. But once you win on Priceline/bidding that amount goes on your credit card immediately. So there is no cancellation or reason that you can withdraw. You have to understand that from the beginning.

If you are intimidated or don't understand what you are bidding for- than don't do it.

I always get good rooms exactly where I want to be for between $69 and $99 a night, regardless of what is in town. How I do it is too hard to describe in length here, and it is too close to 10/10 to do that well for a marathon weekend. But you might get much better than $252 for that length of stay, IMHO.

Anyway, if you have the Hyatt reservation made- and you can cancel it- you might want to try this.

There are other myriad ways but this is what I do. I will bid 4 star only and IMHO, Loop only to start. Priceline keeps changing the groups, but I think right now they are Loop, Michigan Ave/North of the River (anything other than that you do NOT want)-in two separate groups.

Just start with LOOP only and 4 star only. It will tell you something like this "a 4 star hotel in Chicago is $275 a night etc. etc.- maybe $375"- and when you bid $89 or something it will tell you, you are way too low. Ignore that, IMHO. It is too late in the game to bid REAL, real low- but maybe this late, start with about $119. If you fail up to $155 or so, and you are refused another try- THEN add the second (North River/Michigan Ave)category and try again.

You can venture to 3 star and still get nice, nice places, but honestly- I wouldn't do 3 star this late- because you don't sound "unfussy". I am "unfussy" and don't mind walking 10 blocks now and again either- but the 4 star are all so "Hyatt-like" that you wouldn't stand a chance of being bummed.

You can do a search on Fodors, right here for Priceline bidding tactics to learn more about the bidding sites that will give you current winners for 4 star and what people won them for- exact $$. But I think it is too late to get a $99 or $119 anyway- so if you do not want to spend the time reading those dense sites- you might want to just try it as I wrote it.

There are some of us who don't ever read bidding quote sites and win Priceline or hotwire rooms all the time. And the super priced bidding wins too, not the rote quoted rates as taken that appear on their facepage formats, either.

Good luck! I have won Intercontinental, Swissotel, Hotel Alegro, Burnham, Hyatt, Renaissance- all at different times. One time I paid $69 each for two nights when the same room on the spot was getting $405.

If you don't want to bet, and want straight line good deal prices Loop only-
www.hotwire.com - NOT cancellable www.quikbook.com- which are cancellable

I bet they are sky high this late in the game though.

My nephew graduated from U.of C. and then was a grade aid there for 2 years doing other reasearch. Right now he is in Germany and Italy traveling for a company he only works for part time.

U.of C. graduates are totally and forevermore the first people hired anywhere. Still.

That neighborhood there in Hyde Park is doable but you have to know EXACTLY where you are going. Visit the Regenstein and John Crerar Libraries if at all possible.

I will quickly do a few sites I know to see what it out there for a straight quote and post again if I find a good one.