Luzianne

We will be going Labor Day weekend - me, DH, three teens. I've been researching downtown and I have seen people say that you really need to stay downtown.

From what I have seen, a lot of the buildings are old. Some people think that's charming, but I tend to like BRAND NEW instead - you know, beds where thousands of people have not slept, buildings that have not been infested with rats or cockroaches for 50 years, etc.

Another problem - seems a lot of the hotels only allow four guests and there are five of us. That would mean getting two rooms, which could get quite costly at those prices.

Because of cost I checked into Fairfield Inn and would have booked two rooms there, except there are no nonsmoking rooms available there. Same with Residence Inn, where I was going to book a two bedroom - no nonsmoking rooms available.

With the cost of parking downtown (we will be driving), the cost of hotels and probably having to get two rooms at high prices and no nonsmoking available at least in the less pricey places where two rooms would be feasible, I'm wondering if it might be better to stay in a suburb and take a bus downtown each day. Are the buses safe? Are they convenient?

If you tell me we really HAVE to be downtown then I will take your advice, but otherwise I might look into suburbs.

What are the nicest, most upscale suburbs around that are convenient to downtown?

cassidy2002

Well, I will highly reccomend staying downtown. Of course, parking DT is an issue. So if you are driving into downtown you can expect to pay per day, I think. I stayed at the Days Inn off of Michigan Ave (a side street off of Michigan I should say) (?) right across from Navy Pier and NEVER felt like the room was infested w/ rats, cockroaches, etc. etc. I had a breathtaking view of Lake Michigan from my 10th floor room. Old building does not equal skank, by the way. Check out Priceline to get two rooms, although the holiday weekend could hurt your chance at really great deals.

AAFrequentFlyer

Forget about buses. It would take you hours from just about any suburb to downtown. Your other best bet is to get a hotel around O'hare airport. Make sure it's close to the El or at least it has a shuttle running to the nearest station. The El will take about 40-45 minutes to get you right in the middle of downtown. If it was me, that's not the way I would do it, unless I was only there for 1 day, but you asked for options and that's about as best as it gets.
Downtown Chicago is one of the most beautiful, architectually rich city center in the country. The hotels range from some grand old jewels to brand new modern marvels. And yes there are some dumps. Again, if it was me, I would look for someplace in the downtown area. All the mid-range chains are well represented in the area, from Holiday Inn to Hilton and everything in between. I'm sure others will give you more specific recommendations.
Good Luck and have a great trip!

dln

Check out a hotel called the Willows. It's just slightly north of Lincoln Park in a quiet residential area that is very pretty and safe. They have rooms large enough to fit five of you--two doubles and one roll away. It's an old hotel, but beautifully renovated. It's also just five minutes into the city by bus, if you want to just park your car and forget about it.

AAFrequentFlyer

Just to get you started, I was able to find a 2 room suite at the Doubletree Suites Chicago Downtown for $151 per night over the Labor day weekend. It a new, modern hotel. I believe the suites have fridges and micros. www.hilton.com
Also check the following:
http://www.180096hotel.com/index.html
http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/pc/home
Plus all the regular sites: Orbitz, Travelocity, Expedia, etc..
Good Luck!

Luzianne

Thanks for the replies. I am going to do some more research based on the information you have given me, but in the meantime I booked two rooms at the Sofitel at $179 a night each, just so we are not left with nothing. We are allowed to cancel up till the day of checkin.

So in the meantime I will look to see if I can find something more reasonable; if not we will be at the Sofitel. My husband is going to die, though, if we end up staying at the Sofitel and he figures out we are paying $360 a night (for two rooms) plus parking!

I will check into the Doubletree. I didn't realize it was a newer hotel.

What other hotels are new?

kkj

Staying in Chicago would give you more options. I'm wondering why do you need a car. If you are willing to stay in the suburbs and take a bus downtown each day then why not stay in the city and not rent a car?

Luzianne

Hi kkj. We aren't renting a car - we are driving to Chicago from Kansas City. Not really far enough to make it worth flying, I don't think.

obxgirl

Southwest often has great rates for KC to Midway but since there are five of you, driving is probably more cost efficient.

I agree with the others about staying downtown especially if you're only going for a long weekend (and a holiday one at that),

We have stayed at the Homewood Suites (a Hilton subsidiary) on East Grand Ave one block off of N. Michigan. I'd stay there again in a heartbeat. Separate bedroom, queen pull out in the living room, full kitchen. There's also a complementary breakfast which was extensive (omlets, waffles, fresh fruit) and a evening reception where the food wasn't quite as appealing (to me) but the complementary wine/beer was just fine thank you.

Rates are $150-$200.

Flyboy

You're getting good advice here. I would definitely stay downtown in the Michigan Avenue area. (If it is the one I'm thinking of, the Sofitel is a rather new hotel and the bar there is considered kind of hip.)

Since you're driving in from the west, here's something you might want to consider with AAFrequentFlyer's suggestion, which is something I've done myself. Just park the car right out at O'Hare in the economy parking area, Lot E. It will cost you $13/day out there vs. close to $30 in town. Hop on the free ATS "People mover" train to get to the main terminal buildings. There is an El station in the lowest level of the main parking garage that you can access from Terminals 1, 2, or 3 via pedestrian tunnel. The fare into the city is $1.50 per person. A taxi from O'Hare tends to run in the $35 range, depending on the time of day, traffic, etc.

(In your case, with five people, I would probably just bite the bullet, drive in and pay for parking near your hotel.)

bucky

i live in a chicago suburb that is 25 minutes train ride into the city, but i would definitely recommend staying downtown. we took our 3 kids downtown years ago and the five of us stayed comfortably at the doubletree suites right by water tower place. it was a very nice hotel. i don't know how new it was, but it certainly was clean, no roaches, etc. we had our car, which we didn't use, and i think we parked it right at the hotel but i don't remember if there was a charge.

Luzianne

obxgirl, thank you! I went to Homewood Suites website and they had a King suite available for that weekend for much, much less than we would pay for two rooms at the Sofitel - plus that breakfast buffet is nothing to scoff at with three teenagers! Parking is $32 a night I think it said, but with what we are saving on the room I don't consider that a big deal. Thanks again!

dweebe

I stayed at the Double Tree Suites over the 4th of July weekend and the place would be great. It's only about 12 or 13 years old and was recently rennovated. Their suites with two double beds and a pull out couch would be perfect for you. Stay downtown if that's where you are visiting.: I tried staying in the suburbs once and regretted it.

BTW: The Days Inn by Navy Pier is now a "W" hotel. (Westin's upscale line.) The bar there is one of Chicagos top hot spots, but in my opinion is a way overpriced too crowded meat market. Hotel guests usually don't get stuck waiting in the hour-long lines to get in.

Cerlaurie

You definetly should stay downtown. There are a number of new hotels - one of which is the Homewood Suites which is only a couple of years old. There is also a new Embassy Suites that is closer to the lake and they also include a full breakfast. But the Homewood Suites is in a great location, too. I am not sure how much parking is there but most hotels charge between $25-35 a day. There is a shuttle near the Homewood Suites to Navy Pier but it is also a very nice walk straight down Grand Ave (less than a mile).

swalter518

The Sofotel is supposed to be beautiful. ALso there is a new hotel at Michigan and Wacker--I believe it's the Hotel 71 but it may be another number, sorry! We live in the burbs and stayed there so we didn't have to drive the half hour home one night, that's how much we love just being in the city. Definately try priceline or hotwire--our room was only $79!

siems1111

I stayed in Chicago a few months ago for $80 a night at the Westin on Mich. Ave. I got the rate through hotwire and although you usually aren't supposed to know what hotel you are getting...I read the reviews and noticed that someone called the beds "heavenly"...it was a dead giveaway...and a dead steal if you ask me! The hotel was nice and of course the beds were...heavenly.

dgreeney

All of the hotels in downtown are great. I have been to Chicago many times to visit my son. On all my visits I used priceline. Never paid more than $60 a nite, and have stayed at great hotels. Also, I never had a car, you don't need one in Chicago. The El is great. If you do have a car, drop everyone off at the hotel, park the car somewhere away from downtown, leave it there during your trip, and take the El back to the hotel downtown.

rjw_lgb_ca

I'm glad you've decided to stay downtown. Chicago is too great a town to spend all your time driving (or riding the train) in from the suburbs, especially for a weekend visit.

However, I will never understand why people have such a thing against hotels in older, often historic buildings. Beds get replaced fairly often in better hotels, and bug/vermin infestation is something you might see in Skid Row, but not some place like the Inter-Continental or the Knickerbocker. What kind of dumps are you thinking about?!? "Old" doesn't mean "decrepit". You do your research, you'll avoid the fleatraps. I happen to like staying in places with character-- it makes me feel closer to the City Experience.

Having said that, given YOUR specific travel needs, the newer "motor hotel"-type property will best meet your requirements, at a good price. Your family will be too busy taking in all that Chicago has to offer-- save your money wherever possible. This Homewood Suites location is good-- I think you'll have a great time!

AAFrequentFlyer

All the priceline suggestion people should try to remember that they are trying to get a room for 5 people. Priceline terms are very sticky about 2 people per room, so yes they could get 2 rooms, but it's still a chance. Some hotels don't mind, but some definately do. Just a thought.
I still back any one of the "suites" hotels idea, because you do get 2 rooms, so the parents get a bedroom(and privacy ) and the kids stay in the other room. Plus they will at the very least get a fridge and micro, and maybe even a full kitchen, a great money saver for a family.

martytravels

In addition to the "old" buildings, Chicago has some of the best modern architecture you're going to find - anywhere. You'll really be missing out by not staying downtown - the dining, shopping and entertainment and anything else worth going to is there. The 'burbs are typically bland and generic for the most part. You could wake up in suburban Chicago and not know if you were in suburban Detroit, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Atlanta, D.C. ....