visiting downtown chicago soon, where to stay that's reasonable priced & SAFE

[Atlantis]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

If your talking about the Days Inn on Clark street near La Salle, it closed a couple of years ago and has now re-opened as something else. It's still a hotel, though.

There is another Days Inn on Diversey Avenue near Clark Street, however. It's not awesome, but it's in a cool neighborhood. Also, you might find a deal downtown through Expedia, Travelocity, or one of the like. I've stayed in four-star hotels for $80 a night using those sites. Hotels that are typically filled with business travelers really empty out on the weekends, and you can often find deals there as well.

I remember walking by that Days Inn. You're right, that's in a cool neighborhood. That's a great location, close to the zoo.

I agree that the OP should try to get a good deal through a travel site. My mom gets good hotel deals at hotwire and priceline.

[aragx6]

Someone asked about how the "name your own price" sites work with multiple people.

Here are the issues. If you say two people, they guarantee the room will sleep 2 people, but that can mean a full bed. For a couple, that's probably fine, but business associates? Not so much.

For a family, if you need two rooms, there is no guarantee that your kids' room will be anywhere near yours. Most parents wouldn't feel comfortable with their kids on the 5th floor if they're on the 7th.

Or if you don't mind everyone in the same room together you can book 2 adults, two children for example and they guarantee your room will sleep that many. What they can't promise, however, is the number of beds. Hotwire's site says that they may offer cots or pull-out couches. This might end up being unpleasant for some.

That being said, I've seen some fantastic prices on there, and there's one thing you can do to try and make sure you'll be happy.

On Hotwire, some of their listings have a little icon that says "customer favorite" which will show the tripadvisor.com rating for the hotel.

When I went to Milwaukee I saw one of these customer favorites and it was a 3 star hotel in the downtown area and had a 4.5 rating from trip advisor. So, I got on trip advisor, and found that there was only one 3 star hotel in the downtown area with that high of a rating. In this way I was able to know the hotel I was staying at before booking- which made me feel more comfortable booking.

[pianogal34]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

If your talking about the Days Inn on Clark street near La Salle, it closed a couple of years ago and has now re-opened as something else. It's still a hotel, though.

There is another Days Inn on Diversey Avenue near Clark Street, however. It's not awesome, but it's in a cool neighborhood. Also, you might find a deal downtown through Expedia, Travelocity, or one of the like. I've stayed in four-star hotels for $80 a night using those sites. Hotels that are typically filled with business travelers really empty out on the weekends, and you can often find deals there as well.

the Clark & Diversey one is what I meant. On any travel sites, it will be listed as "Days Inn-Chicago-Lincoln Park)