No rooms in Chicago
 

Please help! For the past 2 weeks I've been trying to find a room in Chicago for our family of four (kids 17 and 14). We wanted to spend AUg 4-6 there. No luck! I've decided our best bet is to stay near O'hare and take train in. Any suggestions as to what hotels are close to train or where I can find that info> Also how we can find out train routes etc? thanks

Maybe you have a reason, but if you're staying two or three days, why would you remain at the airport and take trains back and forth every day, which would also force you to be "stuck" in the city for the full day instead of being able to use your hotel room? It would make much more sense in my opinion to take a train into a hotel in the city so that you have a convenient base for getting around. Then one train back to the airport when you're ready to leave. There are thousands of hotels in Chicago. What price are you looking to play?

You can take a train directly from the airport to downtown.

Um, Neo, did you read the post? The train commute is a last resort because she's been trying to find a hotel in-town for the past 2 weeks.

You're reading it differently then I am then. I read it as if all along they thought their best bet was to stay near the airport, but they aren't having any luck finding a place. She doesn't indicate that her decision that their best bet to stay near the airport was a change of decision or her original decision. But I suppose you could be right. I do see how it could be read that way.

Yeah, I guess it could go either way, but I figure if she's been trying for weeks, then she would've asked about train routes etc. earlier and not given all the backstory.

I'm reading it the same way as Anonymous. My first thought would be to stay at the Hilton O'Hare which is connected to the airport. There is at train in O'Hare that will take you into Chicago. I don't remember the exact routes, but hopefully this will give you a start on your planning.

A quick look at Expedia shows that the Hilton is available for $159/night. Good luck!

rph326

So crazy, I can't believe there are no hotels available. I checked Travelocity and the only hotel I could find in Chicago available was the Hyatt Regency McCorrmick Place. The rate was $339.00 per night. Ouch! The other idea I has was possibly staying in Evanston and taking the train in to Chicago. Evanston has many restaurants and shops to walk around. If you haven't alread, you might want to try and call a few of the hotels directly to see if there are any rooms. I was having the same problem a few weeks ago when we were traveling to Indianapolis for a weekend. Couldn't find a room on the internet to save my life. I finally called a few places directly and found they did have a room or 2 available. Good Luck. Hopefully you will be able to make it to Chicago.

The suggestion of a close suburb w/a train or El is a good one--Oak Park and Maywood are close. Even Hinsdale and Downers Grove are on train lines that get you to the city in 30 min or less. Those more familair w/Chicago should be able to help.

BTW, Anonymous, I agree w/your reading of her/his query. It seems obvious...

OK, I'm beginning to agree with the interpretation. I guess it never seemed reasonable that there were NO rooms in downtown Chicago, so that possible interpretation never even came into my mind. I've been out of the country for a while, but what the hell is happening in Chicago that weekend? Must be big!

Lollapaluza (spelling?) is that weekend. But surely that wouldn't be what's taking all of the rooms?

Lollapalooza.

The Cubs are in town, plus there are several festivals (Bash on Wabash, Northalstead Market Days) in addition to Lollapalooza. I imagine that the few hotel rooms available are going for a premium price.

I did some checking,and it appears that even Evanston and Oak Park are are booked up. So O'Hare may indeed be your best bet. The Hilton gets good reviews on Trip Advisor, and the Blue Line from O'Hare will take you straight to the Downtown Chicago/Loop area in about 45 minutes.

Best of luck!

This may be a very long shot.

I am in the UK and I googled your requirements and the MARRIOTT CHICAGO
540 NORTH MICHIGAN AVEUNE was available for a family of 4 for your dates. Unfortunately it's only bookable in the UK but it shows they do have availability. You might get lucky if you call them, you never know! Good luck

P.S RPH --

To answer your questions about train routes and schedules, go to
www.transitchicago.com.

This Web site has schedules, maps and a *trip planner* feature where you can enter your departing address and your destination and receive the correct bus/train routes to get there.

Again, good luck!

I would keep calling the big convention hotels as they are the most likely to have cancellations (and the fewest Lollapalooza fans.)

The Marriott Suites is a nice airport hotel (the Marriott O'Hare is much older and noisier.) The train line to O'Hare runs down the middle of highway I-90, so check out the distance on the hotel maps, or call the hotel and see if they provide shuttle service. You can plan any visit by public transit on transitchicago.com

Did you try International House at the University of Chicago? I noticed the Wooded Isle Suites, which is only a few blocks away from I-House, appears to be available on Aug 4 and Aug 6, but not on Aug 5. Both are in Hyde Park, near the Museum of Science and Industry and Lake Michigan (with parks and beaches), with excellent public transportation available to the loop (and you could bike there along the lake, if you rent bikes). The neighborhood is 8 miles south of the loop. This would be a lot better than staying at O'Hare, if you could get rooms.

I'd change my dates before I'd stay at O'Hare.

Did you try VRBO.com? What about Craigslist.com?

I think the Tall Ships are in Chicago that weekend.

correct me if i am wrong, but is the gerenal opinion that hyde park is a good idea for family of four??

i used to visit my grandmother there in her apt. and frankly, i would not feel comfortable on the streets with children in many places i had to go with her.
it was bad enough with the two of us..

alot of strange people walking around.. and some were very menacing.
i cetainly would not like to be pendant on waiting for buses on corners in that neighborhood. i always had a car there, and was very happy to get back to oak park or downtown.

Do a search on Rosemont hotels. This will give you a list of almost everything in the O'Hare immediate area.

There is nothing wrong with staying at O'Hare.

If you are bound and determined, Schaumburg may be an alternative. Lots of things there for teens. I guess it depends on where you are from. If you are already suburban people, might be a bad idea. However if you are rural, it might be cool.

Hyde Park is just fine for a family of four. I lived there for years and my Mom still lives there along with many friends of ours. My family is Hyde Pk/U of C from way back and I've known the neighborhood for years (eep - was even born there!). We visit a few times a year, children and all. I've taken my kids to the beach there, walked all over the neighborhood with them, and we've waited on plenty a bus. My over 80 year old Mom waits for busses there all the time. The worst that happened was a pigeon dumped on my sister's head one time, when she was waiting for a bus.

We've even stayed at the Wooded Isle Suites when there was a wedding and my Mom had no room for our family.

You're missing out if you haven't enjoyed the Museum of Science and Industry or the waterfront parks there; or visited the Oriental Institute, or the U of C campus. The university has good theater and films. The original Powells Books is on 57th Street in Hyde Park (Portlanders will know what I'm talking about) There are new gdns on campus, too, which I toured when I visited this spring. The midway is flooded for ice skating in the winter.

The Dixie Kitchen restaurant is great. Also La Petite Folie is a good restaurant choice. There's an interesting ice cream place under the train tracks on 57th Street, too. (another transportation option)

Just to the north and really part of Hyde Park is the Kenwood neighborhood, with its amazing old mansions that were built by some of the most important industrialists and businessmen of the day. They are still lovely. Some are B&B's but you'd have to ask the university about staying in one of them. They are run privately and are used by visiting professors, etc....That is, by the way, another resource - university housing at the U of C. You'd have to sweet talk them, but it would be worth a try. We've stayed in one of the B&B's, too, when we had another big family deal with more people than could stay at my Mom's. It was really grand.

All that said, I wouldn't stay at the Hilton or whatever the bigger hotel is in Hyde Park. It's pretty dumpy looking. You have to pick and choose, but Hyde Park is a great neighborhood.

Tall Ships week begins August 4th through the 10th combined with the great weather,King Tut at the Field Museum....well, you can understand why a room is difficult to find.

Sorry but the thought of staying in Maywood( you got to be kidding?),Downers Grove, Hinsdale,etc.is ridiculous!Part of the charm of Chicago is staying IN the city and wandering the different parts of it. The suburbs you mention would make it time consuming,expensive on the train (although on the weekends it is about $5 a person)and basically make you feel as though you could be in any city other than Chicago.If you must come that weekend, then do OHare area only as that will be quicker into the city. Unfortunately, Chicago's summer weekends are filled quite quickly but I do agree with others that I would call them directly as you never know. Good Luck!

It wasn't until I read dutyfree's post that I realized someone had recommended Maywood (had to go back and reread the posts as I'd missed it the first time). I know rph326 has decided on the O'Hare area. But, in case anyone else reads this looking for ideas, Maywood is <b>not</b> a good tourist destination!

hi CAPH--I did *not* mean it as a tourist destination, but only as a place that is close and would have good public transportation into the city. Is there something about it that is dangerous? My husband went there to consult at Loyola University Medical School and said it was a very quick trip from the Michigan Avenue area to the Maywood campus....

socialworker:

Maywood is near the top of the list when it comes to suburban Chicago crime rates. It is generally accepted that there are about 200 suburbs in the Chicago area soooo...That is really saying something.

I would NOT advise anyone to hang out there at night and to certainly not make it their tourist HQ.

Socialworker, Maywood is definitely not an area I would recommend. I see that placeu2 has already done an excellent job of explaining why.

try having a look at the following link:
http://destinia.com/hotels/hotels--i...erica/33131/en
these guys have a really widerange so i'd be surprised if you didnt find anything