Shasta7143

Hello, every year my grandmother and my father and I take a baseball trip. This year, it is the Cubs and Brewers. We are going to be flying into ORD on May 26 and leaving ORD on the 31st. OUr first 2 games are in Milwaukee. So once we land in Chicago, we are driving straight to the game. I was wondering if anyone had some suggestions on Hotels by the ball parks. The hotel in Milwaukee we will only be staying one night. We dont want to pay an arm and a leg but location is really everything, or so we have found from experience. Any places that I HAVE to eat @? We are food LOVERS...we live to eat, not the other way around! We also like muesums and cultural things. Anything helps. I just like to know what the locals think. THANKS GUYS IN ADVANCE!!!!

tchoiniere

I did a very similar trip this summer (can't believe it was 3 months ago already)> Here is my trip report.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=35151474

I would recommend not having the car for Chicago. Maybe just rent one for the drive to Milwaukee. I stayed at the Ramada Inn in downtown Milwaukee and it was fine. Perfect location.

For Chicago, stay downtown. Its worth the extra money and time to get to Wrigley. Any reason you are not including US Cellular? It was a great stadium.

abram

The nicest hotel close to Miller Park is the Ambassador, recently restored to its Art Deco glory. www.ambassadormilwaukee.com

I think the best food in Milwaukee is at Sanford's. www.sanfordrestaurant.com

The Art Museum is worth a look, especially the Calatrava addition. www.mam.org

kelliebellie

I love this bar/restaurant in Milwaukee. It has a spy theme and is just very cool:

http://www.safe-house.com/

And definitely ditch the car when you head back to Chicago. The el train pulls up right next to Wrigley.

Book your Chicago hotel soon. Priceline is great for Chicago. Those spring weekends have many festivals and places book up.

Check this place in Chicago. It is a great location.

http://www.senecahotel.com/

Shasta7143

Thanks everyone. I will checkout all the websites and let you guys know.

That is the 3rd time I have heard someone talk about the Spy House...I guess its cool...I hope we get a chance to go.

Does anyone have any MUST EATS in Chicago...Im sure its all good!!!

TwoFatFeet

The closest hotel to Wrigley Field is the City Suites Inn on Belmont Avenue. It's not an amazing hotel but it's OK if your main concern is being near the park. There is a lack of hotel options in that area, so I would agree with Tchoinerie that you should seriously consider staying downtown.

Agreed on car, not necessary for Chicago.

Can you give us an idea on budget for food and cuisine preferences or things you want to try? Chicago is a great eating city. If you give us an idea you'll tons of specific recommendations.

For museums in Chicago, the Art Institute is a must (if you're into art) as is the Field Museum. The Museum of Science and Industry is another favorite of mine.

Shasta7143

We will for sure go to the museums!! That is a must for us. We are food people so we like EVERTHING. We are from Houston so we probably wont eat Mexican there b/c it is the best here...We want to have one really nice meal and then the rest just some local favorites. Nothing too fancy!

Okay, Im confused, i thought Wrigley WAS downtown...I am lost I guess. haha, HELP

kelliebellie

Wrigley is in Wrigleyville, which is a neighborhood inside the city limits of Chicago, but too far to walk to from the city center. The city center is the river that cuts the city into a north and south side. The museums are south of the river, the ball park is pretty north of the river.

The farther south side of Chicago starts to get dodgy. There have been a lot of shootings there recently.

If I were you I'd either near the river and Michigan in the heart of downtown, or by Watertower Place which is next to the John Hancock building about 10? blocks north of the river.

You should check vrbo.com for cool condo rentals, or Neopatrick just posted this place for condos on another thread:

www.spsuites.com

Shasta7143

thanks very much for the clarification. I will stick to the center or the north...got it!!

kelliebellie

I want to clarify though that the museums are perfectly safe to go to, and Hyde Park where the University of Chicago is located is fine. And the White Sox park is on the south side and fine.

Shasta7143

Got it. I hate that we wont be going to see the White Sox but next time FOR SURE...

tchoiniere

White Sox aren't home that week anyways. After visiting Chicago, you will want to keep going back.

Citylghts

I agree that you would do better staying downtown in Chicago than near Wrigley. Wrigley is only about 4 miles north of downtown.

If you stay at a hotel near Michigan Avenue, you can catch the Red Line Subway along State Street (toward Howard) and exit at Addison.

As a more scenic alternative, you can take a Number 145 or 146 bus northbound on Michigan to Addison. Both travel express along Lake Shore Drive, then make local stops beginning in the Lakeview neighborhood.

When you exit at Addison, just walk about 5 blocks west to Wrigley. For maps, check www.transitchicago.com.

You may also want to look into buying visitor passes. They allow unlimited rides for a 24-hour period. Passes are currently $5 for 1-day and $9 for 2-days, however fares are supposed to increase January 1.

If you decide you must stay near Wrigley, you can also check out the Best Western Hawthorne Terrace, The Willows or The Majestic, which are owned by the same company as City Suites.

The one thing to note about City Suites is that it abuts the L track. For some that's not a problem, but if you're a light sleeper you may want to take that into consideration as the trains run 24-hours.

Shasta7143

We are all light sleepers so i will take that to heart. The only thing is, the hotel rooms are a lot cheaper near Wrigley than downtown. Everyone keeps saying look @ priceline for hotels in Chicago, Maybe I am just frugal but I dont think there are many cheap options. We are going to be spending over 600 dollars a piece just for our Chicago tickets, so we wanted to find a hotel that was clean and was in a great location. We really dont care about bells and whistles. Any suggestions?

Thanks!!!!!!

tchoiniere

1 thing you have to weigh is how much is your time worth? Taking the EL from Wrigleyville to Chicago isn't a quick trip. IT can add up quickly to get down to downtown especially the Museums, etc. We were initially thinking the same thing but due to our schedule decided that being closer to the restaurants, museums, etc was more critical than saving some money. It all comes down to how much are you willing to spend per night on a hotel. We got a great rate at the Hard Rock (around $240 per night per room - 2 rooms). Try quikbook.com for discounted rooms as well. You may find that there is not much of a difference. Staying right in the heart of downtown really made a tremendous difference in our trip.

600 a piece for Chicago tickets? Is this your airfare or am I missing something? I saw your other post and you are coming from Texas. That sounds very expensive but just my opinion.

1 option for Chicago to Milwaukee would be to take Amtrak and then pick up the rental car at the airport (Shuttle between the 2 is convenient). When you are done in Milwaukee, drop the car off and Amtrak back. May be a little cheaper.

kelliebellie

Are you spending over $600 each on airfare?!?

I just checked and Continental is only $255 roundtrip. Or are you meaning baseball tickets?

And you really, really need to check out vrbo.com for condos in Chicago. How many rooms are you needing? Because you could all fit in one condo.

Shasta7143

i meant baseball tickets...yea we got airline tickets for 250! I was shocked!

CollegeMom

There is also bus service by Coach USA (about $41 pp round trip) from ORD airport and downtown Milwuakee or the Milwaukee airport (MKE). I am not sure how that compares to amtrak, but it is another option. I would agree with seeing the Art Museum in Milwaukee and Museum of Science and Industry and Art Museum in Chicago. Are you looking for high end restuarant suggestions or what price range and type of food. Milwaukee has many German, Thai, Italian, etc. restaurants so type and price would help for narrowing recommendations. Depending on the hotel/restaurant location, a car might be helpful in Milwaukee, but there is taxi service with many hotels ofering shuttle service from the airport which you could request even if you took the bus from ORD to MKE. You do not want a car in Chicago. It is great to think of baseball on a night with snow predicted!

CAPH52

You mention not wanting to spend an arm and a leg in Milwaukee. Three years ago when we drove up for a game we waited too long to book a hotel on what turned out to be a festival weekend. We wound up at the AmeriSuites Airport location. It actually worked out very well for us. It's just off the interstate, so it's easy to find and an easy drive to the ballpark. It's clean, comfortable and economical. And the breakfast was better than most inexpensive chains. And it was quiet! We heard no airport noise whatsoever.

http://www.hotel-rates.com/us/wiscon...e-airport.html

While it's certainly not cheap, for a good German meal in a charming atmosphere, I recommend:

www.karlratzsch.com


You'll enjoy the games in Milwaukee. Miller Park is great! And it goes without saying that Wrigley is a great place to catch a game.

Have fun!

Shasta7143

Thanks, we will have to check karlratzsch out. Our budget for food goes like this: We dont really eat breakfast, maybe a coffee or muffin, but we like to spend our calories on lunch. We are lunch people. We will probably eat @ the ballgames everyday...but would enjoy to eat @ a nice restaurant $20 a plate maybe one or two nights. Not sure if that is expensive to you guys or not.

Thanks for the bus advice, I will check it out!