Tracy

My family and I are visting Chicago during the marathon, which my husband is running in. We had planned on driving instead of flying. We currently are planning to stay in Oakbrook, but have an opportunity to stay downtown, is Oakbrook that far of a drive to do every day? Would the parking costs downtown be the same if we drove in from Oakbrook or parked at a hotel downtown? Would the differnce in cost of hotel which is $79.00 in Oakbrook and $265.00 for downtown, be worth it? I'd love an opinion. Thank you.

Debbie

Tracy-I live in one of the northern suburbs of Chicago but go to Oakbrook quite frequently.I think that it would be wonderful if you could stay downtown during the marathon as driving around Chicago always presents itself with alot of traffic problems. However, be advised that the city of Chicago has its own "entertainment tax of about 15%" added on plus you would still be paying about $15.00 to 20.00 a day for parking with the hotel lot.If you drive in everyday, parking can be found (depending on where you park?) from $10.00 to 25.00 a day. The drive from Oakbrook(depending on traffic/construction/time of day,etc. could be anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour or so.
Chicago is a wonderful city-clean,friendly and lots to do but remember that there are about 8 million of us in the metropolitan area? Any other questions-email me and I will try to help you. Debbie

Elaine

My husband ran the NYC Marathon a couple of years ago and the last thing he wanted to do after running 26 miles is go anywhere except bed! A block would be too far to drive or walk! With the crowds expected with the Marathon, I'm sure you'll be stuck in the car without getting very far. So I would suggest you, at least, spend the night in town after the run so you don't have far to go. I was just in Chicago on a week-end visit and it's a great place to walk around but it would be frustrating in a car. The transit system is great - we even took the subway from the airport right downtown, bypassing all the cars stuck in the traffic jam on the highway. I stayed at the Cass Hotel, nothing fancy but the beds are comfortable and rooms clean. http://www.casshotel.com/
Also, there's a Motel 6 just off Michigan Ave. that had rooms for $100/night. But they might be booked up! Also, www.hotrooms.com may have last min. deals for rooms - only thing is you have to pay if you cancel. The Congress is right at the start & finish & they had rooms for $100/night through my travel agent. Trust me - your husband will be glad the sooner he can collapse somewhere warm & comfortable after the run!

Jim Lloyd

I stayed in Lombard which is near Oakbrook and I stayed at the Embassy Suites there. If I were to travel to Chicago again I would for sure stay there and not downtown. I was able to take the METRA and with fares being low it saved a lot of money compared to the cost of parking and having to battle trffic downtown. I saw some of the downtown hotels while I was there though, and the nicest in that area were in my opinion: Sheraton Hotel and Towers, and Hilton and Towers, Swissotel also looked nice.

If you have any questions on the area or hotels please feel free to e-mail me I was there not too long ago and saw many places.

Hope this helps!

Kris

You might want to try the www.chicagomarathon.com website. They have a list of preferred hotels with better rates for marathon participants and it looked like some might have some availability.

If you do decide to stay in Oakbrook, make sure you give yourself lots of time if you drive. A lot of the streets downtown will be closed for the race course and everyone will be trying to park at the same place. Most of the street parking will probably be blocked off as well.

If you decide to follow Jim's advice and take Metra, the station that you will be dropped at is across town, at least a 15-20 minute walk from Grant Park. I don't know about cab availability that time in the morning on a Sunday. www.metrarail.com is the website for train information.

If the decision were mine, I'd stay downtown for the convenience and not having to get up that much earlier. I believe it starts at 7:30, add to that the drive plus sitting in traffic waiting to park and it'd be an awfully early morning.

Jim Lloyd

When I stayed at the Embassy Suites Lombard the hotel offered guests a complimentary shuttle to the METRA station so it required no parking or driving hassles to speak of. When I was down in Chicago I had no problem getting a cab, even right outside the train station downtown. Staying downtown has many advantages although you will have to pay for parking everyday even at the hotel, which when staying out in the suburbs was free and I had no problem finding places to eat, or do shopping, etc. The reason I stayed at Embassy Suites Lombard was because I got a free breakfast everyday, a two-room suite, and a complimentary evening cocktail reception. My rate was about $130 a night although when adding in the benefits you get for the rate that is where I would stay.

Hope this is of help, if you have any additional questions please feel free to ask.