snowrooster

We (family of four) are planning a trip to Chicago for a few days this summer. We will be driving from Cincinnati and would like to stay outside of the city, but close so it doesn't take us too long to drive in each day.

Basically we are looking for a suburb of Chicago that is going to be a convenient and relatively easy drive. It doesn't have to be super high end, but we don't want to stay in a run down area either. Any suggestions? I've done a bit of research on hotels, but there are so many options in so many different areas, it is hard to know where to look!

Thanks!

exiledprincess

Have you given up on your quest for a hotel within Chicago proper (per your other threads)? If you are still looking at that option, I can only suggest that you do not drive into Chicago.

If you stay in a suburb, the commute each way will be at least 1 hour EACH WAY to "downtown" Chicago - and that is if you don't try it during rush hour (basically 6:30-9:30 a.m. and 4:00-7:30 p.m. on weekdays). That is a lot of time eaten up out of your vacation stay for just commuting each day.

You'll also be paying a lot of money for parking in Chicago if you drive in. Once you park your vehicle, you do not want to move that vehicle again until you are leaving the city. Not very many parking facilities (usually only the highest priced ones @$50-60 per day) will give you in/out privileges. And anywhere else you are traveling to will also charge substantially for parking.

What you would do is go to the various attractions via public transportation (CTA busses and 'L lines) once you park your car. Take a look at the CTA's website for information on Visitor Passes. Also, since we don't know the age of your family, review the fare structure for children's ages.

If you don't want to pay a lot for parking downtown and you are still determined to find a place in the suburbs, then I suggest that you limit your searches to only those suburbs serviced by the various CTA 'L routes (for example, the Blue Line services O'Hare airport) or the various Metra lines. Take a look at the cities and towns on the METRA website.

I wouldn't recommend staying out by Midway Airport, even though the Orange Line services it many times daily.

clarkgriswold

Try Evanston or Oak Park for downtowns with hotels and train stations for both Metra and CTA trains. I don't think you'll want to be driving and searching for parking all the time. Also, Staybridge Suites in the Glen (North Glenview) is walking distance from the Metra station. You could also check Lisle and Rosemont.

exiledprincess

Did you ever consider taking Megabus or Greyhound/Greyhound Express from Cincinnati into Chicago? Looks like it's about a 6 hour trip.

Would save you $$$ in parking costs.

exiledprincess

Clark, I didn't mention any suburbs in particular because the OP is coming from Cincinnati.

Didn't know if they'd want to drive all the way around Chicago to get a suburb on the north/northwest side - or through Chicago traffic, such as to get to Evanston.

HappyTrvlr

The Megabus from Cincinnati will drop you off at Union Station, easy and cheap.

snowrooster

The hotels in downtown Chicago are much more expensive than those in the suburbs (we plan to get 2 hotel rooms), and they charge you to keep your car there. We have a handful of places we plan to visit in our 3 days so we shouldn't have to move our car around too much, so I do believe staying in the suburbs is the economical option. This is not our first time visiting Chicago at all (just the first time w/the kids) and we have dealt with parking there, as well as many other cities, before.


Suggestions for suburbs close to the city would be appreciated. Evanston seems like a good option.

Thank you!

snowrooster

There are a lot of nice well priced hotels near O'Hare. Would this be a good option?

ChgoGal

Hi, snowrooster.

If you need to have your car in the city, I imagine any suburban hotel would be fine. Rosemont, near O'Hare) comes first to mind. I believe many of those hotels offer a shuttle to the (very nice) Rosemont Blue Line CTA stop in to the city.

As to driving in/out from suburbs, I can't give better advice as to which offer better flowing traffic. As you can imagine, you'll need lots of patience getting in/out of the city, plus be prepared to pay $25-$40 to park someplace, without in & out privileges, though that may be worth it if your children are very small and you have to haul a lot of gear. Otherwise, the blue line train (Rosemont CTA) or Metra suburban lines will be a lot cheaper and will save you a great deal of stress. And so long as you avoid business rush hours (7:45 am-9 am, 4-6 pm), you should have no issue getting baby strollers in the cars.

Have you considered looking in the Chicago neighborhoods?

(This hotel is in the city, actually.) The Best Western River North offers free parking.
http://www.rivernorthhotel.com

The Lincoln Park Inn is in a great neighborhood, and offers on site ($30) or off site ($15) parking. (Though as I live in the neighborhood, I think the off-site parking is likely on Hampden Court or in the Century Centre Shopping Center which would be very, very close.
http://www.innlp.com/wp/

Days Inn is just on the other side of Clark Street from the Lincoln Park Inn and might be an option.
http://www.daysinn.com

A bit further north is the Hawthorne Terrace. They offer paid parking, but up there, you should be able to find a cheaper lot, or even street parking.
http://www.hawthorneterrace.com/chic...el-suites.aspx

Good luck with your search!

snowrooster

Thanks, ChgoGal!! Very helpful.

Our kids are 11 & 13 - which is why we need two hotel rooms - they are getting too big for us to double up in beds!! So that limits our budget per room. We don't want to pay more than $150 for each room, and we'd like to find a place that offers free breakfast.

I thinking more and more about staying somewhere like Rosemont/O'Hare and leaving the car at the hotel. I am just so used to the flexibility of having the car.

I guess I need to do some research on the public transportation in Chicago - I guess it is called the CTA? It is good/reliable?

At this point we plan to visit Shed Aquarium, Science & Industry Museum, Field Museum, Navy Pier (and do a boat cruise), and possibly Lincoln Park Zoo.

When dh & I have been to Chicago before it was easy since we just needed one room and then spent most of time visiting friends and took cabs!

Thanks!!

FrankS

When friends come out, they often just get something in Naperville or Schaumburg. They visit us, downtown and shopping at the local malls. This latest visit they got the Hyatt House on Hotwire(2 Queens, sofa sleeper & breakfast for about $60/nt)

clarkgriswold

Marriott Residence Inn just north of O'Hare would be a good property to consider. They have reasonable rates on "two bedroom suites" on weekends and you have full kitchen and free breakfast included. They shuttle back and forth to O'Hare should you want to jump on the blue line for transportation.

ChgoGal

Oh, good! Your kids are plenty old enough to take the CTA and buses easily. Yes, I can imagine the hotels are very expensive. I think you're going in the right direction. A hotel out by O'Hare would be great, especially if they offer a shuttle/walkable access to the Rosemont Blue Line CTA (yes, CTA is the Chicago TRansit Authority subway, though it is above ground most of the time, then turns into a subway very near the city).

The blue line is very reliable, especially in normal (non-winter) weather conditions. From Rosemont, down to the "Loop" (the loop is the downtown area, the loop is created by the elevated train that circles it), the ride is around 35-40 minutes, but it is stress free and doesn't feel terribly long.

You'll want to get a 1-day CTA pass from the machines at Rosemont ($10 each person) or (to save money) buy a Ventra card and load a 3-day pass on it ($20), so you can ride all the buses and subways/elevated trains while in the city, and back and forth to your hotel. The Shedd Aquarium and Field Museum is walkable through pretty Grant Park, but you'll need a bus to go to the Science and Industry, and Lincoln Park Zoo. Appears you can buy the passes ahead of time and have them shipped to you.
https://www.ventrachicago.com/purchase/

I would absolutely do the Zoo, if you go on a Saturday, you can combine a visit to the Green City Farmer's MArket, which is nice to get fruit smoothies, b'fast crepes and just wander.

A Rosemont hotel would be fine, but I also recommend looking at the neighborhood hotels as your children are old enough to carry their own things, and Chicago in the summer, in those neighborhoods, is a really nice place to be. The Days Inn Lincoln Park would be nice, as there's lots of b'fast places and shopping outside the door (TRader Joes, Urban Outfitters, Akira shoes, Walgreen's, Panera, STarbucks, Jimmy Johns, etc.).

I also thought of the Hotel Lincoln. A neighborhood hotel in lovely Old Town, near the Lincoln Park Zoo and the FArmer's Market. May be worth looking into, and even cramming the kids into one of the suites with you, so you can all stay in the city.
http://hotellincolnchicago-px.trvlcl.../hotel-lincoln

Good luck!

exiledprincess

I guess the question is: What's more important to you: time, money or convenience? You're going to have to lose at least one of them and, in some instances, two.

Before you go any further, have you checked what the convention calendar is for the period of time you are visiting? Chicago has a lot of conventions, some of them very big ones, and it greatly affects the cost of lodging. By scheduling your vacation stay at a time when the convention calendar is quiet, you can save a considerable amount.

With all due respect, the hours given by ChgoGal's for rush hour are too short. If you go to either the Metra or the CTA timetables, you'll see when the accelerated scheduling for the weekday rush hours begins and ends.

How do you anticipate getting from your hotel to O'Hare to pick up the Blue Line? If you are looking for a hotel with a shuttle (not all have them), you'll then need to confirm the shuttle hours of operation. Again, remember that it will take an hour to get downtown from O'Hare on the Blue Line and vice versa.

If you are simply looking for 2 "downtown" Chicago hotel rooms with 2 individuals each, you can always go with the blind bidding route of Hotwire or Priceline. That doesn't help out with the parking, though.

However, I have seen some hotel specials in the recent past where they give reduced parking rates (perhaps $25 or $30 a night instead of the going rate). Of course, that's for specific time periods, usually with black-out periods, and it may not be available to you when you are visiting. It's still a little early for these types of deals to be posted.

Also, please keep in mind the high hotel taxes and fees when you are looking at the total tab on the hotel

ChgoGal

Exiledprincess makes some excellent points. As for the rush hour times, I take the blue line from State/Lake to Rosemont a couple times a month, and it delivers me in 35 minutes (on good days) to 45 minutes; I haven't taken the trains during non-rush times (perhaps a few times to the airport on weekends), but the trains will not be as frequent. Where you may wait 5-10 minutes during rush, you may wait 10-15-20 during non rush.

Good luck with your planning.

exiledprincess

ChgoGal, although this is a moot point for the OP per their other thread, I'm going to mention this for the sake of others.

I'm also factoring in at least a 5-10 wait time for the Blue Line to actually leave from O'Hare. Could be a little more, but it's usually 5-10 minutes, in my experience. It would be unlikely for the train to leave just as soon as the OP and family step on board.

Bitter

For what it is worth, I had a multi-day conference at the Embassy Suites Rosemont a few years ago (there are additional hotels on either side, I think). I chose to stay downtown to enjoy the city, but every morning I would commute via the Blue line and walk the half mile or so to the ES, and return each afternoon to the city. (Lots of hotel workers and others were hoofing it from the station to the hotels etc.)

That said, your "commute" might be more tedius because you would be going in and out of the city with a ton of other true commuters.

ruwithme

I have skimmed through this thread, if you haven't found a place yet, have you checked out...The Flats at Loyola Station ?

jpie

Also there seems to be this hotel that gets decent reviews on TA BEST WESTERN River North http://www.rivernorthhotel.com/ that offers free parking. It is at LaSalle and Ohio. No free breakfast but rooms in July showing as low as $126. I am not from Chicago but maybe some locals can comment on it