Help me please: 1st time in Chicago. Finding Hotels (Cicero: appointed, how much)

[dragonjinse]

It's going to be my 1st times in Chicago with another 3 friends.
We are college students; therefore, our budgets are low.

We are looking for hotel (less than $100 per night). We planned to live in 1 room.
I found
Clarion Hotel Midway Airport
7353 S. Cicero Avenue, Chicago, IL, US, 60629

We all don't have a car. Therefore, we need to use bus and L for transportation to downtown chicago.
It's going to take us at least 50 mins from this hotel to downtown.

Is it worth it?

I also found other hotels that are in $100 range, but they are all 1hr away from downtown (travel by bus and L)

Please let me know if you know any places we can live that are under $100 per night and are closer than 1 hr travel by bus and L to the downtown

[southkakkatlantan]

When are you coming? I've had much success bidding on hotels here. I've gotten 4 star places for $60 a night. But I always bid last minute, as in 1-2 days before.

[dragonjinse]

June 5- June 10.
Where can I bid for the hotel?

Originally Posted by southkakkatlantan

When are you coming? I've had much success bidding on hotels here. I've gotten 4 star places for $60 a night. But I always bid last minute, as in 1-2 days before.

[brian571]

Originally Posted by dragonjinse

June 5- June 10.
Where can I bid for the hotel?

Priceline is the most well known and has been in the business for years. You pick which neighborhood you want to be in and the star level and name your price. It'll tell you right away if it's accepted or not. Hotwire will give you a price, star level, and a neighborhood, but it won't tell you exactly which hotel it is.

I've used both a number of times and haven't been disappointed. For example, I've gotten rooms at the Intercontinental and Conrad on Michigan Ave. for $99 per night plus tax. It definitely works to your advantage to use both closer to the date though. Hotels want high occupancy rates so they'll offer up rooms at a lower price a few days out. 2-3 days before is the best time to check. What I usually do is book something early that I can cancel at no cost if/when I find a deal on Priceline or Hotwire. I've ended up cancelling this reservation every time. I can always do better than a cancellable rate.

Good luck!

[jdiddy]

Originally Posted by dragonjinse

June 5- June 10.
Where can I bid for the hotel?

Where would Bill Shatner go to bid?

[dragonjinse]

Do you think it's possible for me to live in Clarion Hotel Midway Airport that takes me almost an hour taking bus and L to downtown?

It sounds really bad to me, but is it that bad though?

[marothisu]

I take it you're flying into Midway? Also, did you find that Hotel while searching for 4 people instead of 1 or 2? Most hotels quote a standard rate for 1 or 2 people, but if you're adding another few adults, they're going to charge you extra money per adult staying there. There are deals in the Loop sometimes where you could get a hotel for $75/night but it would probably put it over.

Have you considered airbnb?

[dragonjinse]

Yes, I looked at airbnb already. I will talk with my friends later.
No, we are not flying into Midway. But I got a discount there. It will charge me $50 per night. That's why I consider this hotel, but the transportation time to downtown is concerned me.

58 mins from taking bus and L to hotel.... So is it really bad or normal in chicago?

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by dragonjinse

Yes, I looked at airbnb already. I will talk with my friends later.
No, we are not flying into Midway. But I got a discount there. It will charge me $50 per night. That's why I consider this hotel, but the transportation time to downtown is concerned me.

58 mins from taking bus and L to hotel.... So is it really bad or normal in chicago?

So you are flying into O'Hare or bussing in? 58 minutes - really depends where you're going. The travel time from Midway to the very north part of the Loop is 30 minutes. So add in a 10-15 minute bus ride, plus waiting time and sure, it could be 58 minutes. The hotel you picked basically isn't even in Chicago. Chicago is a big city - it's 230 sq miles so just think about that for a minute.


Personally, I would recommend you stay near O'Hare if you can. I found a few for under $100/night there and some for like $100-$105/night. Plus, the blue line which is what goes to O'Hare runs 24 hours/day. The orange line to midway does not, nor do buses. The orange line stops running at like 1am and I don't even know about the buses that would get you to your hotel - probably even less. You'll get more out of your Chicago trip if you stay near O'Hare, trust me.

The key with the ones near O'Hare are seeing if there's any shuttles between the hotel and an L stop. For example, this one is $103/night and I think they may have a shuttle:
Hotel Room Deals & Reservations


Also,if you are flying in rom O'Hare to that hotel near Midway is probably going to take you close to 2 hours while taking the L and bus. I mean how cash strapped are you guys? Obviously you are not spending everything on a hotel. How much money are you leaving yourselves to eat and what not each day?

[emathias]

I wouldn't stay at the hotel by Midway. Look at Airbnb, look at Priceline, consider bumping up your budget by a few dollars each.

And if you do decide to stay at the Midway hotel, be sure to check the bus schedule and Orange Line train schedule, as neither of those are 24-hour I believe.