Has anyone stayed at the Westin North River? What is it like? How close is it to the city's main attractions, especially shopping and nightlife (bars...)?

The Westin River North (320 N. Dearborn) is not the most convenient hotel to shopping and nightlife but it's not a bad location. Dearborn is about 3 blocks from Michigan, most of the shopping is from 600-900 N. Michigan so you'd be about a 3/4 mile away from shopping.

Paul:

It's a great location if you want access to both the North Michigan Ave. and State Street shopping areas, and most of the theatres. It's right behind the House of Blues and Bin 36, a restaurant/wine bar.

If you're not a big walker (and I think Kris's estimation of 3/4 mile is off, but I walk a lot and might not be the best judge), a $5 cab ride will get you many of the places you want to go.

HTH,
Racy

Thanks for the messages - I'm coming next April (late) and it seems the only place I can get a reasonable rate - $129/night - does this seem good for Chicago or this hotel? Bearing in mind that I am not a US resident so cannot use priceline or hotwire.

Paul:

It seems like a reasonable rate -- I know the Holiday Inn is rarely below $99, and I'd think the Westin would be better!

HTH,
Racy

Paul, can you use www.Priceline.co.uk? I haven't used that one but I've used www.priceline.com.hk for Asia hotels (booking from the US) and it worked fine, almost the same as the US Priceline.

Racy, Mapquest had 600 N. Michigan at .6 miles and 900 N. Michigan as 1.05 miles so I split the difference 3/4 miles is only a 10-15 minute walk for most. It is a nice location, just not the closest to shopping on Michigan Avenue.

And if you're not walkers, cabs are plentiful and not awfully expensive.

$129 is a decent rate for a Westin if you can't access any of the discount sites, esp. since it's 5 months in advance. The Westin should be a nice hotel. They vary from city to city, of course, but my experiences at Westin have been positive. April is not high season in Chicago but that doesn't mean a convention won't be here that fills up hotels.

Paul, can you use hotrooms.com or Quickbook.com from the UK? They usually have some very reasonable rates.

You can probably do better on Priceline. I got the Westin North Michigan Avenue for $100 a night and others have gotten it cheaper. I suggest you bid for a 4 star on North Michigan Avenue and bid $80-$100 a night.

Have a great trip!