Chicago hotel near public transportation
 

We are driving to Chicago for the Memorial Day weekend. We are coming from the south. I have looked at staying downtown, but everything I found is expensive, plus $25-$30 a day for parking.

Trip Advisor recommends the Ohio House motel on N LaSalle that has free parking, but it has no availability.

Is there any place anyone can recommend that we can find for a reasonable price that includes parking and is close to public transportation into the city? South of the city would be preferable, but my research leads me to believe this is not a very safe area for 2 women.

Thanks for any help anyone can give.

Consider, staying in the burbs with cheap hotels or park your car at the train station in one of the suburban Metra lines. Jump on the Metra and ride downtown in 20-25 minutes and use red line, blue line cab or whatever to get around or stay in a modest hotel in the Loop or Gold Coast, Streeterville. A car in downtown Chicago is a liability. Metra tickets are around $5 round trip. I don't live there any longer but lived downtown for many years.
The Metra is quite safe. Just sit back and read the paper like or commuter or speak to your companion.

If you stay in the suburbs, you're going to be spending a lot of precious time on the trains.Not that this is a bad thing -- just be aware.

Just a suggestion: I've had *very* good luck with Priceline for hotels in Chicago - even during the high season. Exg -- last July, was able to get rooms for $89 per night (Hilton). I've also gotten the Hyatt for $75 per night (also in the summer). A room in this price range would make the parking charges a little easier to bear (because there is no avoiding these in the city).

You still have lots of time, so try making a back-up, cancellable reservation (Hampton Inn Theater District, $229 per night), then try Priceline.

Good luck!

If you want to stay outside the central, try the Midway Hotel Center. The hotels here are on a campus and have a shuttle to the airport. From there, you can catch the CTA Orange Line train to the loop in about 45-minutes.

The other option would be one of the hotels around O'Hare on the NW side of the city. From there, you can catch the Blue Line to the city in about an hour.

There are several hotels in the Lakeview neighborhood about 4 miles north of downtown. Check www.cityinns.com, the Best Western Hawthorne Terrace or the Days Inn on Diversey. All are close to bus routes and trains and there's lots to do within walking distance.

Have you tried one of the bidding sites? You can probably find rooms for a reasonable price on Priceline or Hotwire. Parking at any of the downtown hotels will be in the neighborhood of $40 per day, but there are other garages a short walk from most hotels that are less expensive. The only drawback with those sites are they're non-refundable and non-changable.

Memorial Day is always a busy weekend in the city, so you'd do well to get a reservation asap.

I don't want to mislead anyone but staying in downtown is preferred just without the car. It is so easy to get around. Take the tour trolley and hop off and on all day long. Maybe the architectural tour by boat(book early), Save up and look at some of the boutique hotels off Michigan Avenue. You can save money but getting the train home every night is a bit much.

Thanks for all of the advice.

I have been checking on several options and have found a Super 8 at 7300 N Sheridan Road for $129 with free parking. Also found the Heart O'Chicago Motel at 5990 N. Ridge Avenue for $130 + free parking.

Does anyone have a suggestion as to which of these locations would be best for easy access for me driving in from the south and for public transportation into the city? The reviews for both on Trip Advisor are good.

I will consider priceline as the time draws nearer. I found what I think is a Holiday Inn Express near the downtown for $129 on Hotwire, plus parking of $30. I'm hesitant to make a non-refundable reservation until nearly it is time to leave because of health issues with my parents. Not sure if rates will be less or more as we get near the holiday weekend.

I also plan to keep checking with the Ohio House motel. It has received many good reviews and appears to be close to downtown with free parking. Does anyone have any experience with this motel?

Again, thanks to all of you who have replied.

7300 N. Sheridan is in the Rogers Park area of Chicago-very close to the Red Line train. I think you would be near either the Jarvis or Howard stations. Can anyone comment on the safety of this area? It used to be pretty dicey, although I hear it's getting better.

5990 N. Ridge Ave. is also close to the Red line (Thorndale Station) - I think this is the Uptown neighborhood? Again, I would double-check on the safety of the area.

Here's the transit website -- it has schedules and maps:

www.transitchicago.com

good luck!

I live 4 blocks north of the Super 8. There are areas of Rogers Park that are still a bit rough, but they're farther west and shrinking.

The closest Red Line station is Jarvis which is about 3 blocks. It would take you about 1 hour 15 mins to get to the loop. You could also take the Number 147 bus on Sheridan which runs express for part of the route and will take you to N Michigan Ave in about 45-60 minutes.

The Heart O'Chicago is in the Edgewater neighborhood. From there, you could take the Number 92 bus about a half-mile to the Bryn Mawr station, then catch the Red Line downtown. The Number 22 bus (Clark Street) is just around the corner, but would be much longer as it meanders through half the city. However, I'd recommend taking the 22 bus about a mile down Clark to Andersonville. It's a great neighborhood centered around Clark/Foster with lots of restaurants and shops.

Something else to keep in mind if you're outside downtown is that L trains run about every 10-15 minutes. On weekends and holidays, Metra trains only run every hour. So if you stayed in the far suburbs, you'd have to plan more carefully.

The Red Roof is very modest. Streeterville around 140 per night. Walk to everywhere. Keave care in suburbs abd train in. Couple of blocks off Muchigan, Redline and cabs abailable. Get yourself a weekend pass for the CTA

I have checked on the Red Roof and agree the price is good, but there is no parking. Have to pay to park in a public garage. We will be arriving on Friday evening and leaving around noon on Monday. Where would we park in the suburbs that would be safe and where I could leave my vehicle for that long? I think I read that some metra stations allow parking for only 24 hours.

As I do more research, it appears the least expensive places to stay are near Midway and O'Hare. I assume that Midway would be the logical choice since I am coming from the south. Is this a safe area and how difficult would it be to get from the hotel to the metra station? Is it safe to travel on the metra from the city to this area after dark?

Try Priceline (lots of hotels in the Magnificent Mile area, so relatively easy to get a good rate) and check www.travelzoo.com for specials. Of course, check hotwire.com as well.

What price range are you looking for? Expensive is relative.

You can park in the East Monroe Garage near Millenium Park for $20 a day (which is a great deal in a city as big as Chicago.) This garage is in a relatively convenient location, so some people could be dropped off at the hotel, and someone could park the car, and then take the bus/cab/el to the hotel.

I honestly think that spending $20 a day to park and then be able to stay in downtown near a lot of the sites is much better than taking the metra or el a long way in and out of the city each day. Also, it's easy to go back to the hotel for a rest, a change of clothes or shoes, drop off bags from shopping, etc if you're staying downtown.

Regarding parking at a Metra station and leaving your car there for the duration of your trip -unfortunately, I've found the metra Website supremely unhelpful in finding overnight parking options. I know that some stations have it (the station I always use is an hour and a half north of the city.) It might be good to just find a station that is convenient to your route, and call the "parking contact" listed on the Metra site.

Good luck!

Mlm59, remember that there are two train systems. Metra operates commuter trains from the central city to the far suburbs. CTA operates the "L" and buses within the city and some of the adjoining cities. The L lines are identified by color.

The Midway area would be fine and the trains would be busy well into the night. The Orange Line stops running about 1 am, so if you're planning to stay out late that's a consideration.

As I mentioned in my previous post, the hotels have a shuttle to MDW. Just follow the signs through the terminal that say "CTA trains to city."

You'll find more hotel options around O'Hare and it will only be a few more minutes driving from the Midway area.

It would be easier to advise you if we knew what you were hoping to see and do on your visit. For such a short stay, it seems counterproductive to stay somewhere really out-of-the-way, thinking to save money. It might make more sense to book right downtown, and put your car (for example) in the Grant Park garage for your stay. Staying in the Midway or O'Hare areas, you will be wasting a LOT of time just getting around, as you would in some of the neighborhoods like Rogers Park or Edgewater.

A final note: while I wouldn't necessarily characterize any of these locations as unsafe, they might give nonurbanites pause, as might traveling on the el at night.

mlm59, just another suggestion:

Best Western University Plaza, Evanston, has rooms for $169 per night, plus parking for $14 per day. Not free, but Evanston is a beautiful, *safe* suburb on the water and is fairly close to the city. This hotel is also just a couple of blocks from the regular "El" line (more affordable than the Metra, as others have pointed out)-- take the purple line to Howard St, then switch to the red line and go straight downtown.

Best of luck!

P.S. and then I will shut up -- :)

Best Western gets awful reviews on Trip Advisor. Hilton Garden Inn is the same price AND only charges $12 per night for parking. It's also close to the Dempster El Station.

Thanks to those of you who have given me advice. I have decided to book a room at the Red Roof Inn downtown. I will check further into parking options. I also plan to try Priceline and Hotwire as the time draws nearer.

As others have pointed out, staying downtown is so much more convenient.

My daughter wants to shop and go Navy Pier.

I want to do the architectural tour and explore some of the neighborhoods. We love to walk and aren't bothered by walking a few miles a day. We have been to Chicago before and visited the Field Museum and Shedd Aquarium.