First trip to Chicago (Lincoln, Industry: apartment, to rent, hotels)

[62mike]

I lived outside Chicago when I was two years old and have never had a chance to go back. I plan on going at the end of July with wife and two teens.

Where would you recommend to stay that I could enjoy:

Magnificent Mile
Lake view
Navy Pier

Is it possible to get a hotel that would meet all those desires? I am not sure of the proximity of each location. We love to stroll, eat, and shop so a hotel convenient to those things would be great. A high rise view of Lake Michigan would be fantastic too. We want to visit the pier but staying close is not essential. Shops, eating, and view are more of a priority.

Any suggestions?

Thanks for any help.

[chet everett]

No shortage of hotels withing walking distance of Navy Pier & Michigan Ave., most will be highrises and a short CTA ride from the Lakeview neighborhood.

What is your budget?

On the high end, the ultra-luxury places can top $600/night for a regular "dual king" room that teens might be OK with sharing with mom & dad. Alternatively you might want a suite or adjoining rooms that could be found at a discount of less that $400/night total. Priceline is a good way to get big savings if you are OK making a bid based on just general location and "stars" (don't go too low!).

[flamadiddle]

Not Lakefront, but if Riverfront will do, we stayed at the Wyndham Grand for less than $150 per night last year (2 King beds). If you can get a Riverfront room, the view and location are fantastic and we really enjoyed our stay. As Chet mentioned, Priceline and Hotwire have some really good deals. Also, spend some time on Tripadvisor. I would also recommend one of the Riverboat tours. They'll take you through the river and out on the lake.

http://www.wyndham.com/hotels/illino...hotel-overview

Wyndham Grand Chicago Riverfront (IL) - Hotel Reviews - TripAdvisor

[IJEJB12&2]

Given it's your first visit in a long time look to stay in the Magnificent Mile area. It will keep you centrally located to all the major attractions downtown. Chet is absolutely correct about Hotwire/Priceline deals. While I strongly advocate booking directly with a hotel, if you're budget sensitive but still want a nice hotel you'd be amazed at the deals you can find. Like a 5 star hotel for $200 a night. Seriously. Be careful if you do go that route, a lot of those sites are not actually booking you a king or double bedded room. You're booking a generic room and you get whatever the hotel has available. I work in operations at a hotel and I've seen this happen more times than I can count.

I would really avoid Navy Pier this year. They're working on this grand redesign and the construction is just a mess over there. Plus, the restaurants are mediocre in quality but charge a fortune. It is Chicago's biggest tourist trap.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by IJEJB12&2

Given it's your first visit in a long time look to stay in the Magnificent Mile area. It will keep you centrally located to all the major attractions downtown. Chet is absolutely correct about Hotwire/Priceline deals. While I strongly advocate booking directly with a hotel, if you're budget sensitive but still want a nice hotel you'd be amazed at the deals you can find. Like a 5 star hotel for $200 a night. Seriously. Be careful if you do go that route, a lot of those sites are not actually booking you a king or double bedded room. You're booking a generic room and you get whatever the hotel has available. I work in operations at a hotel and I've seen this happen more times than I can count.

I would really avoid Navy Pier this year. They're working on this grand redesign and the construction is just a mess over there. Plus, the restaurants are mediocre in quality but charge a fortune. It is Chicago's biggest tourist trap.

The food at Navy Pier is a pathetic rip-off, everything from the overpriced ice cream to the tourist oriented sit down places reek of insiders that are only out to fleece the stupid. That said, it is great place to walk and just look back at the city and that is free, so...

I also agree that is you are a "seasoned traveler" that understands who to talk to when you call a hotel and what what flexibility various folks have to offer an "unadvertised special" to potential guests you can get a nicer room for a remarkably low price. Of course if you are not comfortable asking for such a thing the online sites are still a way to beat the heck out of silly high prices of "offical travel" type reservation systems.

[McBain II]

If you haven't been there yet, go to the Museum of Science and Industry.

It's phenomenal.

[Gramercy]

If you're budget conscious you could always stay at the Comfort Suites on 320 N. Michigan. The rooms have kitchens (and washer/dryers), which is nice if you want to eat in some nights. I stayed there one night and really liked it.

[62mike]

Thanks for the replies and great advice. We definitely want to stay in the MM area I think. Yes those hotel prices are a bit more than expected. I have had good look with Priceline in San Francisco and Seattle getting 5 stars that normally we would never have stayed at otherwise. I am not opposed to wheeling and dealing over the phone either with the hotel folks but like many things its who you get sometimes.

The cruise on the river and to the lake sounds great. I figured the Pier was a tourist trap as all cities have them but appreciate the advise on the food. We will plan our meals at other sites on that day we visit and take in the atmosphere rather than the food it sounds.

Thanks again for the great help.

[flamadiddle]

While I would agree that Navy Pier is "touristy", it's a must in my book. It costs nothing to enter and is really scenic to just to walk around. You have to at least ride the ferris wheel.

There's a free trolley to/from Navy Pier with many stops (one along Michigan Avenue) > http://www.navypier.com/visit_us/trolley.html

Also, Navy Pier has a decent Cirque show that was well worth the discounted tickets we picked up here (*lots of other discounted tickets here too!)> Half price tickets to over 200 Chicago theatres | Hot Tix

I agree on the Museum of Science and Industry in addition to the "Field Museum". I'd also recommend the short trip to the Free Lincoln Park Zoo.

And here's a couple of the many boat tours >

Chicago's Original Architecture Tour | Wendella Boats

Chicago Architecture Tours & Navy Pier Speedboats | Seadog Cruises


So much to do... I could go on and on.

[jwuk45]

If you want to save money, don't bother with a hotel, use airbnb and you can get a very nice 2-bed apartment all to yourself to rent, in the middle of downtown, for between $150-$300 a night. Outside downtown, much less than that.