Fran

Hi, we are planning a visit to Chicago in late October. I am trying to secure hotel reservations (we need 2 room) and I've been shot down many times already with Priceline (I guess I was being a little TOO cheap!) anyway, while I was waiting to "re-bid" I started investigating Hotwire. I have never used this service (only Priceline for NYC hotels) and I have a few questions I was hoping someone could help me with: 1) Is there a site for Hotwire like there is for Priceline that gives a list of hotels recently "won" etc? 2) Hotwire has really broken down the city into many districts - I started getting a little confused - anything within the city (not outlying areas - I'll avoid those) that I should stay away from? And, last, but not least, 3) has any one out there recently booked a hotel in Chicago via hotwire? I'd really appreciate you sharing your experience. Thanks in advance for your help.- Fran

BC-Fan

Recently booked the Swissotel via Hotwire for $86 per night. This hotel showed up on Hotwire as a 4.5 star property. By all accounts a nice property at a nice price.

I also tried Priceline but wanted a 5 star property because the diversity of 4 star properties in Chicato concerned me.

I had previously had great luck with Priceline and a 4.5 star property. We received the Waldorf in NYC last October and had a wonderful experience.

Good Luck!

thereuare

I would still try Priceline as you'll most likely ultimately save money over Hotwire. I don't know of any board for Hotwire like biddingfortravel for Priceline, but BiddingForTravel does have a hotwire section (although it's minimal). Remember also that Hotwire often rates hotels higher than Priceline, so many of Hotwire's 4stars are only 3stars w/ Priceline.

If you end up not booking thru either, check out a consolidator, www.hotrooms.com which has some good rates for Chicago and Washington DC, as those are the only 2 cities they deal with.

kal

Aloha Fran, Just returned from Chicago.
We got the Westin on No. Mich/Mag Mile area for $75/night thru Priceline.com.
How "cheap" and what area were you bidding?

They recently remodeled the lobby (just finishing when we left) and some of the rooms were redone recently too.

Great location for the Westin..right next door to the Hancock Tower. A lot of restaurants, sights, the el, the lake within walking distance.

On Hotwire, I'd say you'd be OK staying in the NoMich/Water Tower, Mag/Mile/Wacker, Gold Coast and possibly Chicago Loop areas in that order, IMHO.

The Chicago Loop probably has one of my fave hotels, Palmer Hilton. We liked the Westin No Mich Ave location better, tho.
Good luck,
Kal

Fran

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to comment. I did check out hotrooms.com, and they were certainly reasonable for Chicago, but not as inexpensive as PL or HW. I'm still "locked" out of Priceline, so I'm playing with hotwire while I wait. I had bid up to $80 on PL (bidding on 2 rooms), but I think the inventory for Oct. was fairly low at that time. Since I have been on the sidelines, it looks like the majority of recent Priceline "wins" have been the Hyatt on Wacker for $48. Hotwire has a boutique hotel (their 3* list) for $58, in the North Michigan Ave - Water Tower Place area. Does anyone have a GUESS as to what this could possible be? Amenities include a gym and a restaurant (this doesn't matter to me, but may help determine what the property is.) Anyway, yes I realize that $48 is cheaper than $58, but I would prefer a boutique hotel over the Hyatt, unless of course the boutique turns out to be a dump, where as I will have 3 other very annoyed people with me for 5 days.

kal

Fran, My TOTAL guess would be The Senaca??? http://www.senecahotel.com/about.htm

Located right behind the Hancock/Water Tower Place.
Gym, Restaurant and "European-sytle". We walked by it a few times and it looked nice.
But, once again, total guess!

Let us know what you pick and how it turns out.
Kal

hotwire

The boutique hotel could possibly be the Tremont - website tremontchicago.com

I recently got the Tremont on Hotwire for $68, and your description fits.

Fran

hotwire ([email protected]) I checked the website - is it really this nice? And most importantly - was it CLEAN?

Fran

hmmm, the "Rants & Raves" for the Tremont are horrendous - hotwire ([email protected]) can you please share your opinons?

cheryl

I just got the Hyatt for $50/night at Priceline in November. You might want to try again. Good luck.

Mike

I know the "fun" of Priceline/Hotwire is the discovery of the hotel, but for $50 bucks, any "4-star" hotel is going to be really great. It is all about the gamble and just like playing the slots, sometimes it pays off and sometimes it doesn't.

I would argue with Priceline/Hotwire, there is always a payoff.

Chris

Mike any "4-star hotel" is NOT going to be really great if hotwire (or even Priceline) has over-rated it.

Mike

Chris, for $50 it will be "great." Now if you paid $150, then you have room for disappointment. But for $50, which wouldn't get you a room on the Interstate at a Motel 8, it's going to be "great."

xXx

have to agree with Mike on that one. another thing about PL is that it has a great lowest price guarantee. you can cancel your reservation (penalty-free) if you find a lower price, at the same hotel in a comparable room on another site, for the same days. PL lets you cancel within 48 hours of accepting bid. if it gets closer to October and you still havent nailed anything, you can always bid on PL and renege if you find a better deal right away.

John

Fran, I suspect the main reason for your turndowns is that it's too far out. Priceline seems to be most effective in the 3-6 week (or shorter) range, and you're two months out for late October.

Biddingfortravel.com lists only one boutique hotel that's been hit with PL in the north loop, that being the Omni Ambassador East. That hotel's website says rates in late October are around $160+ per night; somebody got it (for this week) at $65 on PL.

The Seneca is listed by PL as 2.5 stars.

Chris

xXx ([email protected]): I don't think you can cancel a Priceline bid . . .

Nice "win" on the Ambassador! Fran, if you try that type of bid - let us know!

B

I got the Raphael (fits that description) on Hotwire for $58. Got back two weeks ago - they overbooked and sent me to the Tremont - not 4.5 stars in my book, but a nice bathroom and freindly enough - "boutique" for sure. I'm going back and looking at Water Tower area in the $90 range - anybody have ideas what that is on Hotwire?

Harriett

If you're only going to be there over a weekend, check out the Club Quarters group (www.weekendhotels.com) -- this is a relatively new concept that a friend just told me about: they have locations in NYC, DC, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia and London, for extremely reasonable rates (beginning @ $79-$89 most locations). The catch is that the rooms are only available for arrival on Friday or Saturday, and checkout by Monday is mandatory unless it's a holiday weekend. They cater to (and may actually be a membership program for) corporate travelers, and the locations seem to be more business- than tourism-oriented. Still, they look nice and have good rates & amenities. I haven't used them yet -- anyone else have any experience?

Josie

Hello! This has been an interesting thread - very helpful discussion for PL & HW bidding. I'm getting ready to bid but need a little help choosing between The NMA area and SMA - The Loop. I think I'd prefer the Loop because I'm interested in theater & museums. . . as I'm reading here the NMA area seems heavy on the high-end shopping, great for most, but I'm not that into it. I don't know too much about the Loop area and don't want to find things shut down at night. Can someone please describe the differences between these 2 areas? And is it easy to get from one area to another via bus, like in NYC? Thanks in advance for your help.

Ang

The only problem with the South Michigan Avenue/Loop area is that it is the business district. It gets kind of dead on the weekends. Yes the theaters are open on the wekkends but many of the restaurnats and such shut down on the weekend thus not making it real tourist friendlyon a Sunday afternoon for example. Teh North Michigan Avenue while a shopping mecca (not high end though, you will see stores like the Gap, Casual Corner, Radio shack etc everywhere as it is a true mi shopping mix) is also a buzz of activity with plenty of restaurants, cute street performers, coffee shops and such. Unless going to the loop for a specific reason, North Michigan Avenue is the much better tourist location.