Chicago Hotels
 

I am not having any luck finding a hotel in Chicago that I can afford. I would like to spend no more than $170.00 a night. I really don't want to use priceline.com. We will be coming to Chicago the first week in April for 3 nights and I thought I could find some cheaper rates.
We wanted to stay on the mag. mile if possible. I am not familiar with any Chicago hotels so if any one has any suggestions as to where I could get a nice room in that area for that price I would really appreciate it. Does anyone ever call the hotel directly to get a good deal or will I find the best prices on the internet? Thanks for any help!

If it were me I'd probably use priceline, but two other sites I'd check are www.hotrooms.com and www.877chicago.com

Also, do a search of this site for chicago hotels and you'll probably find some good info on finding budget rooms. The search box is at the very top of this page.

Also, if you find a deal at any non-hotel web site, it certainly wouldn't hurt to check the hotel website or call the hotel directly to see if they can beat it.

Check Hotel 71, the Hyatt on N. Michigan, or the new Hard Rock Hotel. They are just a little further south than Water Tower but certainly walkable and all on or just off Michigan Ave. You may also want to check the House of Blues Hotel which is just 2 blocks off Michigan. Try expedia.com too.

Patti5, Chicago is one of our favorite vacation destinations. With 8 trips in 10 years under our belt, the majority of the time I have found the best rates at the Chicago Conv & Visitors Bureau web page www.choosechicago.com. Take the accommodations link and go from there. One hotel we like is the Best Western Inn of Chicago. It is one block off Michigan avenue in a great location. They have recently renovated the hotel (I believe last year). We have not stayed there since renovations, but ever before that we thought it was a good hotel. I took a very quick look at April and they appears to have rates from $110 - $140..... This past December we stayed at the Homewood Suites and got an excellent rate of $109 per night using the link I gave you. Give it a try! Vacationmom

Are you going midweek or on a weekend, rates will vary depending on this.?

They may aslo be higher if it is a convention week...

We like quikbook for Chicago hotel rooms. They are showing a few places in your price range. The only one I'm familiar with is the Lenox Suites and I'd say the rooms are clean and comfortable but definitely nothing fancy.

Also try www.quikbook.com for discount hotel rooms. I checked on that week-end and the hotels are pretty expensive! However, in your price range, some of the quikbook hotels listed as available in your price range are the Seneca ($169), Lenox Suites, and the Allegro. I stayed at the Allegro for a week in December and give it mixed reviews. My room was fine, but my colleagues said their rooms were miniscule. The hotel also seemed totally overwhelmed at breakfast--the wait for a table was over 45 minutes one day--and one day that we did have breakfast there it took over 20 minutes for someone to bring us a coffee (actually, someone did keep offering us coffee, but we didn't have any coffee CUPS on the table and they wouldn't bring us any). Service seemed well-meaning but scattered. I have also stayed in other years at the Lenox Suites and it was just...ok. Nothing to remember, although, as a woman staying there alone, I wasn't happy that my room was at the end of a pretty dark corridor.
Hotel 71 seems to be pretty high for that week-end, unfortunately.
Did you try the Silversmith? I had a very good experience there; the rooms are quite pleasant with a Pottery Barn style decor.

also try the hotel fitzpatrick. it is right off the mag mile. it's a smaller boutique hotel and some clients i sent there said the beds were so comfortable.
below is a review from tripadvisor. mostly good reviews and i believe they are more reasonable than most hotels in the area.

also, there is a marriott suites on walton street across from the drake that may be in your budget.

http://chicago-hotels.tripadvisor.co..._Illinois.html

There is a HUGE convention (50,000 people) on April 2-4, and another half the size on the 5-7th, so rooms are going to be in short supply. I would not wait for bargains to pop up.

Take a look at the map at choosechicago.com to find some just-off-Michigan hotels. You can even book through that site, although I've noticed that Hilton and Marriott now have a lowest price guarantee on rooms booked through their own websites. Both corporations have quite a few Chicago properties, so I would definitely check them out. Good luck!

Patg, that is an excellent suggestion. Marriott's prepay deals are often excellent (if you are sure about your travel plans). I've prepaid for a room at the Marriott in Vienna, Austria--a 5 star hotel but the prepay rate is only 125 euro a night for a double.

Thank you everyone for all your help. There is a convention the first weekend in April so I changed my plans to Easter weekend and was able to find a room at Hotel Monaco for $119.00 a night. Hopefully that is a nice hotel in a nice location. I would think most things would be open on Easter.

That's a good location. The stores may be closed, I'm not sure but I'm pretty sure all the museums are open.

Hotel Monaco is not on the mag mile but in the loop. You can walk or take an inexpensive cab ride to the mag mile.
I've heard good thing about Monaco and its closer to several of the museums. Have fun.

If it's nice out though, you have a short walk (1 block) to Michigan and then you're very close to Nordstrom which is the south end of the shopping! You are also about 2 blocks from Fields on State Street.

Hotel Monaco is on the very north end of the loop, just on the other side of the river. If it's good weather you can walk to the Mag Mile. It's supposed to be a nice hotel and the location is fine. You can get a complimentary goldfish companion for your room :-)

The hotel is only a couple of blocks from the Cultural Center which is a fabulous building on the interior and also houses one of the tourism offices. It's between Michigan and Wabash on Randolph Street.

Easter shouldn't affect any of the museums and probably not a lot of the shopping either. You may find some of the restaurants doing an Easter brunch instead of their regular menu and it might be a good idea to have reservations if you want brunch.

I stayed at Hotel Monaco last fall and really enjoyed it! We also had a delicious breakfast at the restaurant next door on the corner...you'll know it when you're there.

We just got back from Hotel 71 and the price is great, walking distance to shopping and next to a small bakery for breakfast in the morning. The bar wasn't open yet, they were having electrical wiring problems but it should be open now.