advice on downtown Chicago hotels

[mama in the forest]

My kids & I are planning a trip to Chicago next month & we're very excited! I have special coupons for a discount on a combination of cool stuff like the Shedd Aquarium, Sears Tower, etc. My fantasy was that we would stay downtown for three nights and be close to all these things...but after doing some research on the hotels I realized they are out of my price range. I was finding $270-$400 and even beyond per night.

When I investigated some of the outlying city areas, the commute into the downtown area seemed a bit daunting for my big family.

I'm not sure what to do. Any mamas out there have some good advice for me on how to snag a downtown hotel room more cheaply? I tried hotels.com and saw a bit of a discount, but not much. Priceline.com seemed to only cater to areas by the airport, river, and other areas I am not familiar with.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

[chandasz]

Try:
Days Inn Chicago
644 West Diversey Parkway
Corner Diversey/Clark/Broadway
Chicago, IL, 60614 US Email this page

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They are on the northside of the city in a good walking around neighborhood. Walking distance to the el so you can get downtown easily. Not too far from Lincoln Park Zoo and the lake. It's called the "rock n roll days inn". Lots of bands stay there so you may see someone famous. Nice place though.

[missymod]

I second the Days Inn on Diversey. I had wedding guests stay there. It is near the lakewalk, Lincoln Park, the zoo, and the History Museum. A cab downtown would cost you around $10, and the El is nearby. (If you're hauling kids, it might actually be cheaper just to take a cab since the train is $2 per person.)
A few blocks north of the Days Inn, and maybe a tad pricier, is the Best Western Hawthorne Terrace. (Price range for Sept.-Oct. seems to be just under or over $200. It's very nice - I had guests stay here, as well.
There are no other options unless you stay downtown or in the burbs. Both these hotels are just north of downtown.

[missymod]

I second the Days Inn on Diversey. I had wedding guests stay there. It is near the lakewalk, Lincoln Park, the zoo, and the History Museum. A cab downtown would cost you around $10, and the El is nearby. (If you're hauling kids, it might actually be cheaper just to take a cab since the train is $2 per person.)
A few blocks north of the Days Inn, and maybe a tad pricier, is the Best Western Hawthorne Terrace. (Price range for Sept.-Oct. seems to be just under or over $200. It's very nice - I had guests stay here, as well.
There are no other options unless you stay downtown or in the burbs. Both these hotels are just north of downtown.

[mama in the forest]

Aww mamas, thanks!!!

Darn though, the Days Inn has no available rooms but first thing tomorrow morning I'm going to try the Best Western. I so wish I had posted here before now!!!

Thank you...it's so helpful to know where to try!

[chandasz]

Make sure to call the days inn- don't rely on the website.... there are other independently owned hotels in the city too. You'd have to do some research though.

Closest suburb to downtown is Oak Park... there are a few hotels there and it is along 2 el lines... blue and green.

You only have to pay for kids 12 and up on the el, btw.... or maybe it's 8 and up

[acp]

I was also going to suggest the Day's inn or best western. I live in this neighborhood and it's great for kids and super easy to get downtown from here. If you stay at the Best Western, easiest (and very quick) way to get downtown is the express lakefront bus at Belmont (145 or 146 bus) - picks up at Belmont, just a short walk from the hotel, and goes straight down to N Michigan Ave. Also very easy to walk or bus to Nature Museum, zoo, park from this neighborhood.

If you want to keep trying on downtown hotels, I have a friend who swears by priceline for getting great deals, and says you can always specify the neighborhood you want. I haven't done it so am not sure what to tell you to try differently, but I'm sure priceline deals with convenient, non-airport hotels downtown. She gets particularly good deals when she waits until the week before her trip to book, but I can understand now wanting to call it that close. However, perhaps you can book at, say, the best western here in lakeview, and then a few days before try priceline to see if you can get a good downtown option. I'm sure if you give 48 hours notice to the hotel you're already booked at, they won't charge you.