Need information on Chicago transit system PLS
 

Going to be driving to Niles Ill. on business. We would like to stay on an extra few days as we've never visited Chicago. Is there a hotel near Niles that is also near a transit system that will take us to downtown Chicago? I have heard about the Doubletree Hotel on Milwaukee Ave. but not sure how close that would be to transit.

This doesn't answer your question, but I'm curious about a couple things:

Will you be tacking on a few days and spending all of your time those days in the city?

If yes, is there a particular reason that you don't want to transfer to a hotel that is in the city for those days? It makes for a much more pleasant experience if you stay right in the heart of things. :)

If you want to stick with the suburbs, either stay in Evanston (new Hilton Garden Inn or classic Omni Orrington) or try the new Glen area in north Glenview (near new Metra train station are a couple of new hotels - Hampton Inn is one).

To me, Evanston is much more interesting, and you have both the El and commuter train options for getting downtown.

A third option in that area is to stay in Skokie near the Old Orchard Center and drive to the Skokie Swift parking lot - $1 a day. But the Swift does not run on weekends.

There are a lot of hotels on Milwaukee Avenue, but tthat area is not well-served by public transit. You would have to drive about 15 minutes to a Metra station.

jlm- part of the reason is I don't want to drive into Chicago, chicken that I am! Also I figured it would be really expensive to park and hotel it downtown.

Staying in Evanston and taking the "el" though would require you to take the Purple Line and switch to the Brown line at Howard street unless you were going downtown during rush hour (and I don't know why any tourist would volunatarily squeeze onto the "el" during rush hour unless they for some reason feel the need to experience what life would be like in a sardine can). Granted it is isn't difficult to do, but it can make for a long train ride. If I were staying in Evanston, I would take the Metra. Driving and parking downtown is indeed expensive, but staying out in the burbs and taking the train in really cuts into your day. If you must stay in the 'burbs find a place near a Metra stop, but be aware that on the weekends (especially sundays) they run quite a bit less than during the week.

Having never been to this area, what is the "Metra".is it a subway? I am looking at staying at the Northbrook Hilton. They say they will shuttle us to the train but now I don't know what they mean -would that be the el or the metra?.

Metra = suburban commuter trains. "L" or "el" = subway. Both go to Evanston. The Metra will get your downtown quicker, but runs less frequently. The "L" will get your downtown (eventually) and only costs 1.75 each way (for the time being). If you are staying in Northbrook, I would assume that you would be shuttled to the Metra.

Thank you very much Vittrad. It is becoming clearer! Would we have to transfer if we took the metra from Northbrook to downtown? How much might it cost to go this way return? We would be there on Friday and Saturday so would metra run fairly often? Is there a place where I can get the schedule?

http://www.rtachicago.com/

CTA and Metra schedules and maps are here.

If you don't mind giving up a decent chunk of your day in transit (and some don't!) you might save some money doing it this way. But, depending on when you're coming, deals can often be had for hotels in Chicago. I've gotten as cheap as $60/night in the fall and $75/night (weekends even) in the summer using priceline. Parking at a hotel will cost you another ~$30/night but if you get a Loop hotel you could park at Grant Park or Millennium park for less than $15/night.

And, if you drive into Chicago during a non-peak time, it's not so bad.

If you're interested in this, I'd be happy to help with more details. If not, the others are well on their way to helping you with the the other option. :)

Just my less than 2 cents, but I live SW and still take a room in the city a couple of times a year.

And as a visitor and total newbie (you say you probably will not be back as well)- you just won't get any of the same taste or feel taking the MTA systems. Distances are LARGE, even in the areas you are inquiring about.

There was one poster here who was not staying in the city, regardless, and then came on with trip report and bashed the lack of "feel" etc. Hard to get if you're on a bus or train.
Priceline has some steals for May. April is much higher, I think because of the Lyric opera running its week long "ring" cycles three times running.

OK..I am now officially considering this idea of staying downtown - one million people can't be ALL wrong, right!?! But how is the drive from Northbrook area into downtown? Horribly busy and confusing? I am thinking we could probably drive on a Thursday afternoon or Friday morning (after rush hour). What location and ** would I look for on a priceline bid to be in the right area-would want to walk everywhere. Thanks so much for all this input.

Chicago is a long, skinny city, so you may not be able to walk "everywhere" depending on what exactly you want to do.

The best areas to bid on priceline would be NMA, Loop or River North. I don't generally bid lower than 3* for Chicago, but there are decent hotels lower if you do your research.

Before doing any bidding, please read the FAQs and hotel list at www.biddingfortravel.com and www.betterbidding.com. You'll get very useful info on how to maximize your bidding options to get the best price.

What are the dates of your stay? I know that the weekend of May 14 is horrible for hotels in Chicago. The weekend before looks very good, and I haven't looked at anything else yet. Trying to plan a weekend visit myself. :)

If you bid Loop for a first time visit, you will be in walking distance to the Art Institute or Field Museum.

If you bid on the River North area you will be more central and on the river to both directions, if you bid 4 star or higher you will probably get one of the very large hotels (Hyatt, Swissotel) that jut out a big into the lake.

If you bid Mag. Mile you will have tons of shopping and be closer to Water Tower area.

I myself have walked from Grant Park to Water Tower and back- within a day- but I always pick the River North area now, as I just love it and it "reaches" both ways easily.

If you want to do the Cultural Center, State St., Fields, Art Institute, maybe one live show- pick the Loop area.

I'm not sure whether Hyatt is in Loop or NMA zone, but I've never bid River North and got the Hyatt last year. But that's a great description of what you'll get in each area. My only concern with the River North area is how far west it extends, but I haven't done enough priceline research to know what hotels are in it. Also, maybe the west end is really nice. Haven't explored it yet in my trips to Chicago! :D

On your question about driving into the city from Northbrook - You'll be wanting to get on I94 Eastbound (logic wants it to be southbound, but that's the interstate system for you). Also known as "the Edens (expressway)."

I'd suggest you bid North Michigan Avenue or River North and I can tell you that we've never had a bad experience bidding for 2.5* In fact, I'd rather not bid for 3 or 4* on North Michigan just because the Hyatt Regency comes up so often and I do not like huge convention-style hotels.

Anyway, you most likely will want to take the highway to the Ohio Street exit and follow that straight east to the Michigan Avenue area (at this point, you'll have to refer to a good map since it'll depend on where you wind up staying.) We are misers about parking in downtown Chicago and hate parting with the $$. Finding someplace a little less than the going rate can be done with a little driving around the neighborhood. But if you're goosey about the congested traffic, it might be wiser to bite the bullet and just plop it in the nearest garage you find to your hotel. (Caution: I wouldn't suggest letting your hotel valet take it - that automatically adds a good $5-10/day).

Chicago is a wonderful city to visit - have a great time!

I have gotten the Hyatt bidding NMA/ Mag mile and River areas for 4 star or plus both. Maybe they changed it, or it's in overlap territory. But one time was about 5 years ago, so it could have changed since then.

Regardless, I love any size hotel and you may also. And the Swissotel has a VIEW,IMHO, that is worth the extra few blocks.

I notice that very frequently people are told to get NMA on first visit. If you are a shoppper, do. But if you are not- don't start there, but in the Loop.
Again IMHO, but I have lead many a group of Chicago first timers, and they all end up wanting to see museums etc. /shows and they are all Loop/Grant Park.

bashful, I'm going to tell you one more think that is opposite of what Fodors' posters belief system. You can use Priceline WITHOUT studying the biddingfortravel.com etc. Just start about $60 for a 3 star in the Loop for a first time visit and save yourself some time. If it doesn't work increase by increments. You can park in the Grant Park underground cheaper and easier and the whole thing will take you less time, be less complicated, and more fun in the long run. UNLESS you are a shopper and want to just shop on Michigan Ave. State Street still has some of the historic Chicago feel, and there is shopping there also.

Well now, JJ5, that's not the best advice in the world for a Priceline newbie since...if his first bid for NMA is rejected, he will not be able to "increase by increments' without changing the locale or star level - or, waiting 72 hours before bidding again. That's the kind of information that BFT makes clear.

Don't you mean, how is the drive from the Niles area, since that's where you're going to be conducting business?

In that case you can take either the Edens or the Kennedy, neither of which should be too frightening because traffic will probably be at a standstill during rush hour. You can check the traffic reports at 890 am, wbbm on the 8's of every hour. Another option is to just take Milwaukee Avenue into the city. It probably won't be any slower than the expressway, all the neighborhoods it passes through are safe, and you'll get a chance to see some of the neighborhoods that make up the mosaic that is Chicago.

Yes, you could be cut out for 72 hours, but that is not a big tragedy. bashful wants a room for a couple of days, isn't into fancy, is trying to save money etc. He/she probably is not a Priceline person, sure doesn't sound like it, and just wants quick information. He/she isn't planning the Normandy invasion. If you get cut out, you go to rack rates, Hotwire, or any of the other online discount web pages and read all the print. Hotwire prices will start at around $87 to $97 per day-so you see, if you bid more than about $75-$80 on Priceline, you just aren't getting a great deal anyway. In Chicago this works, I know it does. One weekend is different than the next- so you will win the bid or you won't, but you will get a discounted room. There are tons of sites for this. For two days it's more important that he pick a "best" location for what he/she really wants to do/ or park, rather than focusing all that time just on Priceline bidding.