I will be going to Chicago the weekend of May 23rd with some drinking buddies to celebrate our birthdays. I'm looking for some advice for inexpensive hotels (but not run-down) that will put us near the nightlife hot spots. I've been to Clark Street and hit the bars there but never Rush Street...is it worth visiting? Any advice--whether it's hotels or places to visit--would be appreciated.

Rush St... go there if you are in your early 20's. Very post college atmosphere, bars are aplenty!

As for inexpensive hotels, there is a Comfort inn (?) on Ohio St. near State St. Kinda tucked away but close to lots of restaurants & other bars. And I think there's a Motel 6 east of Michigan Ave. on Ontario. Both are in great areas.

I've seen some very good deals being bagged on Priceline. Check out: www.biddingfortravel.com for some insight. You could be staying in VERY nice digs for a very reasonable rate.

The Motel 6 quimby is refering to is now a red roof inn. There is also a new fairfield inn downtown that has resonable rates,

Hi Tommy-Chicago is awesome and you will have a great time. Go to citysearch.com and find Chicago, which can then lead you to inexpensive hotels. As for bars, Rush Street is okay but kind of cheesy. I don't know how old you are but there are some nicer restaurants where it's usually older men with trophy girlfriends or looking for them. If you are younger go to Lincoln Park area. Up on Webster is Glascott's, McGee's, and Kincaide's. Head west a bit and you'll hit Charlie's Ale House. Tilli's is on Halsted just south of Armitage and is cool, and across the street is the Marquee Lounge. Also try the Bucktown area, which is a little more funky but really fun. Leopard Lounge is cool, as is Nick's, which is more laid-back. Downtown is where you will find the more upscale places where it's really all just a scene. Lincoln Park is where a lot of action is, just not a lot of hotels around there. You can also stay downtown and just take a quick cab ride up to that area. Have fun-you can email me directly at [email protected] if you want more info.

One more thing..don't stay in the Loop-that's the central business area and it's dead on the weekends. I think you want more Magnificent Mile/River North/Lincoln Park hotels.

I came on here a while back asking the exact same thing. people told me to check the orbitz hotel search, and it worked perfect. I was doing business in chicago, but wanted to stay closer to the magnificiant mile, because i wanted a little more nightlife/activity. I ended up getting a great rate at the Farimont Chicago, but there are also great deals on lower budget hotels on orbitz as well (i had the office paying for half, so with the deal i got on orbitz, i could upgrade..... very nice)