Visiting Chicago in June - Where to stay? (Aurora, Naperville: hotels, home)

[SA5]

My family of five will be visiting Chicago this June for just two nights. We will be driving up from our home in San Antonio and I'm thinking we're going to want to stay somewhere in the suburbs and take the train into the city on one of the days.

Not knowing the area, I don't know where we should stay. I would like to be near a train station and places to eat, but other than that, pretty flexible. Any advice?

[alwaystraveling25]

Originally Posted by SA5

My family of five will be visiting Chicago this June for just two nights. We will be driving up from our home in San Antonio and I'm thinking we're going to want to stay somewhere in the suburbs and take the train into the city on one of the days.

Not knowing the area, I don't know where we should stay. I would like to be near a train station and places to eat, but other than that, pretty flexible. Any advice?

Is there a reason you are specifically staying in the suburbs? I am assuming you don't have friends/family here, since you are looking for a place to stay.

I know that parking in hotels in the city is very expensive ($40 or more a day), but if you have a family of five taking the Metra in everyday, well, that is going to be costly too.

Have you been to the city before? There is a lot to do, and trust me, you will be exhausted at the end of the day with all of the walking! My 57 year old mother recently visited me in the city (and I'm 25, just for a point of reference), and by the end of the day between walking and waiting for the bus we finally had to cab it home to my place - she was beyond tired with all of the city life and action.

I am not trying to dissuade you from staying in the suburbs for any means, but it might be worth the extra money for the hotel and parking not to have to take tired childen on the Metra for an extra 1/2 hour to an hour trip back to the hotel!

[chet everett]

I'm guessing that a family of five is going to be a lot cheaper to bunk down in the burbs than the City...

Funny thing is that to the best of my memory (and I humbly have to say I have pretty good memory for stuff like this...) there is no hotel real close to any train stations. Top of my head I am going to say the best bet might be stay in motel in Downers Grove near Butterfield and Finley then drive to the ramp in downtown Downers Grove and catch the Burlington to Union Station where there are free shuttles to most the tourist things like Navy Pier and Museums...

Not 100% sure you'd really be money ahead, and this is a bit more moving around than I'd do with really little (under 4 grade or so) kids but all in all a starting point for a plan.

Check out the tourist info from State of Illinois, Chicago and Downers Grove -- it is all there. I am too lazy to do it now...

[Drover]

The Courtyard by Mariott in Wood Dale offers complimentary shuttle service from the hotel to the Wood Dale Metra station.

There is also a Holiday Inn and a Ramada Inn right next to the Cumberland Avenue stop of the CTA Blue Line train which will also take you right into downtown, and do it a lot cheaper than a Metra train from the suburbs. Both hotels are technically within the city limits but they are well away from downtown so you won't be paying downtown prices. They both also have parking lots that are free to guests. Do a Google search on "Ramada Plaza Chicago O'Hare" (including the quotation marks) and "Holiday Inn Chicago O'Hare" (including quotation marks) to get contact info for each.

[chet everett]

Oh yeah -- the "airport hotels" are generally a bit cheaper than downtown and have free parking! As long as there is no convention that might be the way to go.

[Steve-o]

Go with Naperville. There are some hotels right off of Rt. 59 that are a short walk to the Metra station on Rt. 59 near North Aurora Road. I believe one is a Marriott, but dont quote me on that. I also think Naperville is a great place to take the kids downtown, and there are all the restaurants you can shake a stick at, as well as fun things for the kids to do.

[aragx6]

I agree about staying near O'Hare. Most places are far more reasonably priced than downtown locales but still have far easier access to the city when compared to places like Naperville (where unless you catch an express you're looking at an hour and fifteen minute commute to Union Station)

[SA5]

Thanks so much for the input. It's really hard to know when you're not from an area. My kids are 10, 15 and 17 and they enjoy riding the train (we did that in New York a couple of summers ago). We were also considering the area around Indiana Dunes but since we're going to Door County after Chicago, I thought it might be easier to stay north - would cut the drive when we go there. Any other ideas are sure welcome!

[SloopyJ]

You might like Evanston, which is the first suburb north of the city and home to Northwestern University. There are a few hotels there, including a Hilton Garden Inn and the more upscale Hotel Orrington. There are probably others as well.

Being a college town as well as a bustling "urban-suburb" in its own right, your kids might enjoy the activity there. Plenty of restaurants, shops, things to do, plus you're close to the lake, can tour around the lakefront campus of NU, and you have access to the city by Metra (heavy commuter rail) trains as well as CTA (the classic elevated, or "El") trains. Metra is a little quicker, but CTA is more "Chicago" and the ride from Evanston to downtown will take you by the Loyola University area, Wrigley Field, Lincoln Park, and the River North entertainment district.

[chet everett]

If you are coming from Texas and heading to Wisconsin a two day lay over near Ohare close to the Blue Line is far and away the easiest way to go. No detours, no worrying about the wrong turn in a dicey neighbor hood...