CHICAGO
 

We're heading for Chicago at the end of May. We are not familiar with the area and looking for a hotel on-line is a bit scary. Are there areas of Chicago that an outsider should stay away from? Are there groups of casino's in any one location? Any info would be helpful. Thanks.

There are no casinos in Chicago proper, only in the burbs. There is one in Elgin, which is about 30 miles northwest of Chicago. 1 in Aurora, which is about 30 -35 miles west of Chicago. 1 in Joliet which is southwest of Chicago. & then in the Gary/Hammond area of Indiana, which is southeast of Chicago. As far as areas to stay in, somebody with more knowledge about that will hopefully answer that question.

Do you want to stay in downtown Chicago?
If so, you can stay at the Drake (high end hotel), there's a Holiday Inn by the merchandise mart...by Michigan Avenue...there's also a Park Hyatt on Michigan Avenue.

As far as safe places to stay, if your hotel is on or near Michigan Ave you should be okay!

Make sure it's North Michigan Avenue.The Streeterville area or the Gold Coast

When I was in Chicago in Jan I remember hearing that some people were going to Harrah's, then I saw a billboard ad for it. You might want to check their website to see it's location.

Not sure where to stay away from but I always stay near Michigan Ave.

I believe Harrah's and Binion's are both just over the border in Indiana. Take the Skyway (I-90) east to IN and it is the 1st exit past the border of IL-IN, I'm pretty sure.

There are areas of Chicago to avoid, but they are not areas a tourist would have a reason to visit. The main consideration in staying in downtown Chicago (including North Michigan Avenue) is whether you have a car; if so, be prepared to spend $25 a day to park.

If what you want to do is gamble, why not stay closer to the casinos? It's cheaper and the parking is free, plus you'll avoid traffic headaches to and from the city. If you want to enjoy Chicago's culture, nightlife and neighborhoods, that's a different story. There are plenty of places to stay, as you are finding out. Take a look at
http://www.chicago.il.org/HOTELS.HTM

They also have a link to some of the casino areas if you click under "Beyond Chicago."

If you're coming to Chicago to see all the touristy sights, then you'll definitely want to stay downtown, specifically N. Mighigan Ave. Most of these hotels are at least $150/night. I do know that you can get great deals on Priceline. A friend of mine just got the Marriott on Michigan for $70/night. Check out www.biddingfortravel.com it gives you tips on how to use priceline.

I would also look at www.quikbook.com. They usually have good hotels in the Michigan Ave. area or in the Loop for under $125.

The closest casino to Chicago is the one in Hammond, now called Horseshoe Casino(formerly Empress), about 30 minutes by car from downtown. None of the casinos are easily accessible by public transportation from Chicago but I've seen shuttles on the highway going to the casino from downtown. There are several more in NW Indiana, one in East Chicago IN (Harrah's) and two in "Buffington Harbor" which is actually Gary (Trump and Majestic Star). Trump and Harrah's have hotels near the casino, Majestic Star is close to Trump. Nothing within walking distance of Horseshoe.

If you're staying downtown, the hotels in the north Michigan Avenue area are all OK, as are the ones in River North. Loop hotels are OK, just be aware after dark as the business district can get deserted if there isn't any theatre going on.

As a 1st time user of this site, I realize that I have not supplied enough info to get the answers I need. So here goes. 1st we're Canadian, so downtown hotels are pretty much out of our price range. 2nd we're driving in. 3rd we're afraid of booking a hotel sight unseen and ending up in an undesirable area. 4th we're interested in the 'touristy' sights of Chicago, but we also like to gamble. I guess we'd like to know some nice areas within driving distance of Chicago. Thanks again.

Quikbook sometimes has the Hotel Seneca available for $89. It's a block off of Michigan Ave. It's an old apt. building that has been converted into a hotel. I have stayed there several times. That's about as cheap as you can get in Chicago in a good neighborhood. The lake is nearby, Lincoln Park zoo isn't far, etc.

As others have suggested, use Priceline.com. We were in Chicago last May and got the Sheraton Towers for $80 a night. My mother faired even better on got the Westin on North Michigan for $59 a night!!

We just stayed at the Wyndham for 74 a night I belive. It was a nice hotel. The only downside was that it is right next to Northwestern hospital so we heard ambulances quite a bit. It didn't bother me though that much. I don't know if you are up to hostels. But I went with some friends at the beginning of the summer nad we stayed in a youth hostel for like 20 bucks, I thinnk they may do group rooms or single rooms for a bit more. It is on congress avenue and they offerd some free tours and tickets I believe--DOn't know what you'd do with a car though.

An option may be for you guys to stay at the hotel at the casino and then drive into the city to see the sights. I know Trump Casino in Hammond, Ind has a hotel and it's less than an hour to drive into Chicago. Check out the casino websites (Somebody listed most of them in a previous post.)

If you want to stay downtown, your best bet for a cheap hotel is on priceline. Just be sure you check out www.biddingfortravel.com before you try priceline.

We stayed at the Westin by the Hancock tower. All I remember is that it was a decent hotel, I don't remember anything scary about the neighborhood, and it was easy to get just about anywhere.

Pattibarr --I live north of Chicago,go into the city often and truly enjoy it everytime. I also enjoy going to the casinos. I can tell you that most of the casinos in the Chicagoland area have been built in towns/cities that need "extra" revenue to rebuild "tired" areas and improve their lack of draw for tourists. In other words, you probably won't want to stay in any of the towns where the casinos are located if you are concerned about "bad" areas. The casinos and immediate areas are safe, but the hosting towns are all somewhat blighted, with the exception of Elgin, but even there it is dull and little else to do when not gambling. Just because you're Canadian does not mean you can't afford a Chicago hotel. Most of the downtown hotels offer great weekend rates to attract people into otherwise empty business rooms. Some even include parking, but that is rare. IN the city, I would avoid anything south of Congress, north of Addison and west of LaSalle. There's a lovely hotel called the Tremont. It is a little off the beaten path but within walking distance to everything. My parents have gotten rooms there in the past for $70.00 a night on weekends. Otherwise you can check the Intercontinental for around $150.00 per night on Michigan Ave. Days Inn, Holiday Inn and Best Western also are located in good downtown areas, close to the lake, shopping and tourist attractions. Again, I do not reccommend staying in the towns where the casinos are located. I would reccommend some suburbs to consider but frankly, weekend rates at hotels in the burbs usually go up due to weddings, conferences, reunions, etc. It's the opposite of the city. So, you're best bet is to try some websites and find a nice accomodation in the city. ONe more thought. The old Palmer House Hotel may still be run by Hilton. It's a great/old Chicago Hotel with good weekend rates. Close to theatre, shopping and attractions. Good Luck!

I just typed a long message and it got eaten-arrgh!

Here's a condensed version.

Priceline best bet, decent hotels, great prices.

Other alternatives:

Best Western River North, includes free parking, perfectly safe location.

Arlington House Hostel in Lincoln Park, $68 per night for private room with facilites www.arlingtonhouse.com

Days Inn Lincoln Park, has cheaper parking ($8-9 per day), accessible to downtown by public transporation, perfectly safe location.

Trump hotel is in Gary, not Hammond. Nothing to do in the surrounding area. If you want to stay near a casino, there is a Ramada Inn on Calumet Avenue in Hammond, about a mile away from the casino. Perfectly safe (I live less than a mile away), about 30-40 minutes to Chicago by car or commuter train. Once again, not really much to do or places to eat.

Do not stay out in Elgin (which has it's share of blight just like all the other communities), it is a horrible commute, it sometimes takes my coworker who lives there 2 hours to get into work during rush hour.

Other booking sites to try

www.877chicago.com
www.hotelkingdom.com
www.quikbook.com
www.hotrooms.com

Patti, just looked up the Tremont on BFT (Priceline strategy website) and people are getting it for $45 per night in May, a boutique hotel in a great location, right off Michigan Avenue.