Long driving trip-where to stay Washington DC, NY, Boston, Chicago areas
Oct 9th, 2010, 08:35 AM
#41
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Oct 11th, 2010, 07:39 PM
#42
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I used to live near the Best Western Hawthorne in Chicago, and it's in one of the best neighborhoods. It's a few blocks from Wrigley Field. Tons of excellent restaurants, great train and bus access to get to the Loop and Mag Mile.
There are a couple of other hotels nearby that generally get good reviews -- The Willows, City Suites, Days Inn-Lincoln Park and the Belden-Stratford.
The beauty of staying there is you won't be in a touristy area like the Mag Mile (nothing against tourists, by the way); you'll be among the locals, instead, in one of the most desirable parts of the city.
There are a couple of other hotels nearby that generally get good reviews -- The Willows, City Suites, Days Inn-Lincoln Park and the Belden-Stratford.
The beauty of staying there is you won't be in a touristy area like the Mag Mile (nothing against tourists, by the way); you'll be among the locals, instead, in one of the most desirable parts of the city.
Oct 12th, 2010, 11:23 AM
#43
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Thanks all! Sorry to be slow responding but since we are on our trip we are not on email as much as usual 
So to update you all, unfortunately the Best West Hawthorne in Chicago is booked for the days we will be there-but now I will google hotels near there to see what we can find as the neighborhood sounds great. Another friend also suggested Old Town and said it is closer to the lake but also a good place to stay.
In terms of NYC, we decided to stay in Manhattan. We decided ellenem was right-we only have 2 nights there and I will be in an event much of the days, so I don't want to spend the rest of the time schlepping on the subway. We are staying at the Ameritania-which is near where we need to be-it gets "okay" reviews on TA and they have $25/day parking which isn't too bad for the area. I am sure we will have a small room-but I got a King size bed so at least if the room is small it will have to at least hold the bed
So to update you all, unfortunately the Best West Hawthorne in Chicago is booked for the days we will be there-but now I will google hotels near there to see what we can find as the neighborhood sounds great. Another friend also suggested Old Town and said it is closer to the lake but also a good place to stay.In terms of NYC, we decided to stay in Manhattan. We decided ellenem was right-we only have 2 nights there and I will be in an event much of the days, so I don't want to spend the rest of the time schlepping on the subway. We are staying at the Ameritania-which is near where we need to be-it gets "okay" reviews on TA and they have $25/day parking which isn't too bad for the area. I am sure we will have a small room-but I got a King size bed so at least if the room is small it will have to at least hold the bed
Oct 12th, 2010, 04:31 PM
#44
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jpie,
There are no hotels in Old Town that I know of, but the hotels that I mentioned are all pretty close. They're in Lakeview/Lincoln Park, a few train stops from Old Town and a short ride to the Mag Mile and Loop.
There are no hotels in Old Town that I know of, but the hotels that I mentioned are all pretty close. They're in Lakeview/Lincoln Park, a few train stops from Old Town and a short ride to the Mag Mile and Loop.
Oct 13th, 2010, 02:21 AM
#45
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Parking with the hotel is very expensive in NYC. You're much better parking the car yourself by using the garage locator on bestparking.com But frankly, I don't call the reviews on TA for the Ameritania "ok." And it looks like you'd be paying ~ $250/night PLUS tax which adds ~ 15% to the price. Quikbook.com has a 4* "secret sale" hotel in Murray Hill for $199/night that's probably the St. Giles Court or St. Giles Tuscany, both of which are very good.
Nov 2nd, 2010, 02:41 PM
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Hi all-I just wanted to thank you all again for helping to make the east coast part of the trip so great!! We made it to Seattle where we will be house sitting for a month before heading back south to sunny California.
We did end up staying at the Ameritania in NYC. The nice guy at the desk gave us one of the renovated rooms when he heard about our long journey. It was on the 12th floor (the top except for the penthouse) and it was fine. The bed was a king and the room was kind of small but it did the job-no bedbugs (ala all the bad press for NYC). It turned out to be perfect for me because the event I was attending was only a 1 block walk. And they validate your parking at the lot right next door so it is only $21/day instead of $37. It was worth it to me since the cheapest I found on bestparking was around $16, and I would have had to cart all my stuff up from chinatown area. The hotel is older and if I had not had an event mid-town I would have preferred another neighborhood like Chelsea-but for this trip it was great. I was so glad I decided against staying off Manhattan as it would have made the commute very tough as the schedule turned out.
We ended up skipping Boston this time-we will have to make another visit. We swapped it for a drive through the Hudson River Valley up to Hyde Park to have lunch at the CIA (culinary institute) at their casual no reservations cafe. It was a great drive and a great lunch
In Chicago we decided to stay at the Majestic Hotel just south of Wrigleyville and we loved the neighborhood-so thanks all of you for steering us towards that area. It is an older boutique hotel so maybe a little less modern but charming and roomy. We had a bus that went right by the hotel and lots of great restaurants to choose from about 2 blocks away on Broadway.
I will write a longer "trip report" but I wanted to just reach out on this thread to thank all of you that so kindly helped us! I am keeping the Boston ideas for next time-but not sure we will be driving it this time. We racked up 7000 miles on our little Corolla in about 25 days-so it has earned a well deserved rest for the near future!
We did end up staying at the Ameritania in NYC. The nice guy at the desk gave us one of the renovated rooms when he heard about our long journey. It was on the 12th floor (the top except for the penthouse) and it was fine. The bed was a king and the room was kind of small but it did the job-no bedbugs (ala all the bad press for NYC). It turned out to be perfect for me because the event I was attending was only a 1 block walk. And they validate your parking at the lot right next door so it is only $21/day instead of $37. It was worth it to me since the cheapest I found on bestparking was around $16, and I would have had to cart all my stuff up from chinatown area. The hotel is older and if I had not had an event mid-town I would have preferred another neighborhood like Chelsea-but for this trip it was great. I was so glad I decided against staying off Manhattan as it would have made the commute very tough as the schedule turned out.
We ended up skipping Boston this time-we will have to make another visit. We swapped it for a drive through the Hudson River Valley up to Hyde Park to have lunch at the CIA (culinary institute) at their casual no reservations cafe. It was a great drive and a great lunch
In Chicago we decided to stay at the Majestic Hotel just south of Wrigleyville and we loved the neighborhood-so thanks all of you for steering us towards that area. It is an older boutique hotel so maybe a little less modern but charming and roomy. We had a bus that went right by the hotel and lots of great restaurants to choose from about 2 blocks away on Broadway.
I will write a longer "trip report" but I wanted to just reach out on this thread to thank all of you that so kindly helped us! I am keeping the Boston ideas for next time-but not sure we will be driving it this time. We racked up 7000 miles on our little Corolla in about 25 days-so it has earned a well deserved rest for the near future!
Apr 15th, 2012, 10:52 AM
#47
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I know you said you were looking for more places in NYC and DC, but I lived in Kansas City for 5 yrs. If you a looking for nice place to stay, pick a place on the plaza. Its on the Missouri side. You also need to eat at Ponaks Mexican Restaurant. Its the most authentic Mexican food. They have the best Margaritas ever! Say Hi to Nigel at the bar! You also need to stay long enough to have some BBQ. Try Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue and Gates! Have a great trip!
