My DS and his GF are planning a weekend trip to Chicago from 7/3 - 7/5.
They plan on spending most of their time downtown…
Sat: Field Museum, Millennium Park, deep dish pizza
Sun: Riverwalk, Navy Pier, Mag Mile, Hard Rock Cafe
Mon: WNDR Museum and Lincoln Park Zoo
I’m help them look for a hotel. It seems like any place near downtown will come out to over $500 for the two nights by the time you add tax, fees, parking…
Can anyone recommend a place or area to stay that would be more affordable and an easy, short drive to downtown?
Also, just tossing this out there…does anyone have a recommendation for some yummy Chicago deep dish pizza near Millennium Park?
Looks like Congress Plaza ($130/night) could work, or Millenium Knickerbocker, Palmer House, or the Drake (all around $150/night, so all in less than $400). I wouldn’t count hotel parking because they will have similar parking charges whether they are staying downtown, or driving downtown.
Another option could be to stay in Evanston, and take the ‘L’ train downtown every day…any hotel recs in Evanston @momofboiler1?
IMO—skip the deep dish (they won’t want to eat for a long time!) and get thin crust at Pat’s on Lincoln Ave (in Lincoln Park neighborhood, north of downtown…area full of young professionals) Pats Pizzeria
There is a Hyatt and a Graduate Hotel in Evanston that are nice options but neither have free parking. We also have two Hilton properties but one is temporarily closed. Honestly the hotel prices are probably going to be the same here and I’d recommend staying in the city so more is walkable.
Priceline. In the past I have always used Priceline for hotels in Chicago. As long as it’s a higher star hotel in the area I want to stay in, I’m not picky.
Groupon also has deals all the time for Chicago. They name the hotel so there is no surprise
I just remembered that my kids rented a dorm room from Columbia College for Lollapalooza one year. Loyola also had short term dorm rentals near Water Tower Place. Here’s where they stayed:
The Freehand in Downtown has reasonably private rooms, it also has Quad dorms style rooms which are very nice, clean and comfortable. Your S & GF might also try the HI J. Ira & Nikki Harris International Hostel. Private & dorm style rooms. Venturing a little further away, Giordano’s at Hyde Park has great Pizza.
@deb922 Thank you for the suggestion of priceline! I had totally forgotten hotwire and priceline were a thing…
They were able to book the Fairmont Chicago - Millenium Park on Hotwire, with a promo code for $306.36 for the two nights! What a deal!
They will have a $40 urban fee, on top of that at the hotel, but it is still such a great location and price.
Also, thank you to those who gave the great pizza recommendations! They will be in walking distance of Lou Malnati’s, Giordono’s, and Gino’s East.
Also they could use a parking app to find cheaper parking. We used Spothero for a Chicago hotel once; it actually was the same hotel overflow lot but we got a cheaper daily rate through SpotHero.
So the pizza recs are good but go to Gino’s… It’s great. It’s more of the original deep dish. Pequids is actually the formula of the original that closed on Howard Street and Pat’s is great. I will add Art of Pizza but all too far from your location and just not worth the time loss. Lou Malanti is fine pizza but Gino’s is what deep dish is all about. Not saying I know any better since I live in the city… But… . Spot hero or Parkwhizz will work ParkWhiz: Find and Book Parking Anywhere
Hope they have a fun time. It’s a great walkable city.
Happy to hear it! We are Chicago suburban locals but just stayed at the Fairmont for a wedding. Great location. Tell them to check out the small park at Lakeshore East just east of the hotel. It’s a lovely little park with beautiful flowers and fountains. Literally a 4 min walk from them. The park is down below the steeet. You take an elevator or stairs down. It’s a gem and a don’t miss! There’s a grocery (Marianos) right there above the park where they could get yummy inexpensive prepared food for a lunch if they want. And don’t skip the Deep Dish as someone suggested . That’s silly. You go to Chicago you get deep dish. Gino is my favorite but all are good ( I grew up walking distance from the original Malnatis and love that too. ) Also, try Wildbury for all day breakfast/brunch . Across from Millennium Park. Usually an hour wait but you can go and put your name on the list and then visit the park. They text you when it’s about your turn and you can even follow your movement on the list on your phone. It’s just the yummiest breakfasts food ever and I don’t usually even like that food!
yes to the SpotHero app. We use it every time we drive into the city. But maybe they don’t need a car? From that itinerary, their car is just going to sit in the lot. Maybe they are driving to Chicago and not flying?
They can walk to almost all of those spots and take a very short uber or taxi ride (or the bus!) to others.
Hope they have fun! And @Mwfan1921 - no deep dish? You rebel.
. Spot hero or Parkwhizz will work