We'll be arriving at Union Station at 9am and spending one day and night in Chicago. Then next day, we'll be renting a car and starting a 3-week cross country trip. Not wanting to break the bank (and having no luck with priceline bids for loop/downtown hotels), I'm thinking we should stay at an airport hotel where there are plenty of car rental companies. Here's my question: would it be better to stay at O'Hare or Midway? Midway seems to be a shorter trip from downtown and is also closer to the route (88) we'll be taking out of Chicago. But I'd still like to use priceline and some posts here have said that the "midway" area can be pretty far from the airport itself, which would defeat the purpose (convenience) of choosing midway over o'hare. I appreciate any advice offered. Thanks.

The Midway hotels are closer to downtown but ORD is easier to get to. The hotels there are a distance from the airport and you have to take a shuttle to the airport and CTA Orange Line.

There are more hotels around ORD and several of them are walking distance from the Blue Line. If you'll be out late, the Blue Line runs 24-hours where the last Orange Line from the loop leaves around 1 am.

If you'll be taking public transit from Union Station, you'd only need to walk 2 blocks to the Blue Line. The Orange Line is around 4-5 blocks.

That's exactly what I wanted to know. I found a number of your other posts helpful, too. Thanks!

Citylights made a lot of good points, but there are other considerations. I don't know that either area has the advantage.

Some O'Hare hotels are walking distance from the Blue Line, but many are not. With Priceline you can't tell - you may still be taking a shuttle or cab. When it comes to the car rental, things at O'Hare are a lot bigger and busier. The Blue Line is also running at slower than usual speeds because of track problems; the trip is now about 15-20 minutes longer to O'Hare.

With your early morning arrival, will the 1 A.M. service cutoff affect you?

Are you departing on a weekday? There is some construction around O'Hare on 294 that may be a problem. You may want to repost and see if anyone commutes that way, or check cltv.com for a traffic report.

One time saver to consider is to pick up your rental by stopping at the airport in the evening, on the way to your hotel. You could drive to the hotel instead of waiting for a shuttle, and would be able to get away more quickly in the morning.

I wouldn't take either line late at night.

I am not an expert at Chicago and you also don't mention when you are arriving in Chicago but I would not want to stay at an airport motel. I booked the Embassy Suites Lakefront today on Hotwire for July 12-16 at $89/nt. There are some mixed reviews on Trip Advisor but it should be o.k. for me. It shows up at a 3 star suite hotel with pool and breakfast.

Thanks for the tips. I'm still trying for a downtown/loop hotel, but am finding it hard with 2 kids, 1 adult (today's $151 bid got rejected on priceline). I'll be there mid-June and posters here have said there are a lot of conventions at that time. The Chinatown hotel (22nd St) is about all I can find available within the price range I'd prefer. The location looks convenient, but maybe a bit sketchy (reviews vary from "quite safe" to "murder central"). Funny - I'm a graduate of the Art Institute and lived in Chicago for 2 years and rarely thought twice about going anywhere. But that was 23 years ago and it's different now with kids of my own!

You may want to check oakwood.com and see if they have any short term rentals. You're right that certain weekends in June are heavily booked, and have been for weeks. LindainOhio, that is a fantastic rate, and I congratulate you! But hotel prices here vary from day to day, convention to convention. Some weekends you can't find a bed downtown for less than $400.

You might want to check the Chicago Athletic Club - not at all fancy, but an excellent location.

There's a Crowne Plaze in Greektown/West Loop, a few blocks from Union Station on Madison or Monroe. That might be a good bet for you. If you're arriving on Amtrak, assume you'll get to Chicago much later than 9.

If we are flying into Midway late & would just like to crash for the night on the way to our downtown hotel the next day which area/hotels would you suggest? I am not finding much near Midway but anything in that direction outside downtown (to avoid parking fees)would be fine. Thanks.

Look at www.midwayhotelcenter.com
for 7 nearby hotels.

Three of them are Marriotts and two are in the Hilton chain, so it may be easier to use the company websites for comparison.

There is a Hilton right on the grounds of O'Hare, right in the middle of the domestic terminals. The other O'Hare hotels are off property, anywhere from 2 to 8 miles away. We stayed at the Best Western Chicago West which was fine for our purposes ($90). The shuttle was efficient enough. But I noticed that their sister property, BW Rosemont was closer & had a much more efficient shuttle.

Whoa, Hold it! You're arriving at Union Station which is Amtrak: in the West Loop. Why would you want to saty out at one of the airports? You say that you're going to spend 36 hours in Chicago. Stay downtown. If youre looking for a medium priced hotel in the Mag Mile district try hotels.com and look up the Red Roof Inn, Wyndom St. Clair, Embassy Suites or the Holiday Crowne Plaza (the old Allerton). If you wwant to stay in the loop try the Allegro. The Palmer house has decent rates but it is undergoing a complete remodelling while trying to stay open. It can be an obstacle course inside. Staying at one of the airports is NOT visiting Chicago!

Hertz has a rental station IN Union Station with the cars in the garage across the street.

I'll be flying into O'Hare late Thursday night (12:30AM) and will need to get to downtown by train...is it advisable (safe) that late? Or should I bite the bullet and take a cab?

It's safe, but at that time of night it will be about 20 minutes into the Loop by taxi, at least 45 by El. Unless you're really strapped for cash, I say take the cab.

Brushfire, because of poor track conditions there are a number of slow zones between ORD and the loop, so the trip is closer to an hour now.

Also to alleviate this problem, there have been overnight closures of the Blue Line to do maintenance work. Most of these have been on weekends, but you may want to check before you make your decision. www.yourcta.com.