<p>Hi! I've been lurking on this site for quite a few months and now I'm posting for the first time. I didn't know exactly where to post this so I'm sorry if it should have been in a different thread! </p>
<p>My D will be a senior this fall so we are in the throws of getting ready for a whirlwind year full of auditions! So we plan on going to Chicago for Unifieds and plan on staying at the Palmer House. Does anyone know if they offer discounted rates/group rates to people coming to Unifieds??</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>Group rates are often not offered until much later, and you will find that your cheapest rates are right now through the hotel’s online reservation system.Lowest will be the nonrefundable rates, which we did, and then, as it was part of a longer audition trip, bought general trip insurance through insuremytrip.com I had to add an extra night later, and even using the Unifieds group rates, it was significantly higher. I would highly recommend, as do many others on CC, getting a room on the executive floors/tower, as they provide free breakfast, snacks and drinks throughout the day, and amazing appetizers at 5:00 PM that can easily serve as a full dinner. This will save you having to leave the hotel to go out into freezing, freezing weather and fight for your place in line in the nearest restaurants and coffee shops. Prices in the hotel restaurant are high, but there is a great cafe just outside a main door on the corner that is wonderful if you can hit it in off periods. You will love being able to easily go back to your room in between auditions and for things you’ve forgotten!</p>
<p>We made our reservations early (late February a year in advance!) at the Palmer and, Christie2 is right, the group rate wasn’t available at that time. However, our Advanced Purchase rate wasn’t less expensive than the group rate (maybe we were too early?!). I’m not sure how you can get them to let you know when a group rate is available . . . I suggest calling frequently to see . . . I suppose it could be open now. </p>
<p>I just checked on The Palmer’s website, and they do have rooms available on the Executive Floor with two double beds and king beds February 3rd-6th.</p>
<p>Funny story . . . we ended up having our reservation CANCELLED by a freaky situation having nothing to do with us . . . for a while we had no room (and none available on ANY floor!) and after a lot of panic at our house, we were given a lovely suite for the group rate . . . we got really lucky in many ways. </p>
<p>Also . . . here are the Unified dates from doctorjohn’s post two years ago:</p>
<p>2013
NYC: February 2 and 3
Chicago: February 4, 5 and 6
Las Vegas: February 7
Los Angeles: February 9 and 10</p>
<p>Thank you Christie2 and kksmom5! Great info to help us decide where to stay. This site is so helpful—I love it!!!</p>
<p>So excited…just booked a room for my D and I at the Palmer House on the Executive floor (we took your advice, Christie2!!) for the Chicago Unifieds! Looks like a beautiful hotel…we’ve never been to Chicago so this will be fun! We live on the west coast so the next step is booking the plane tickets…</p>
<p>Make sure you plan some time to go the the Art Institute just 2 blocks from the Palmer House. It’s amazing! George Seurat’s famous painting that “Sunday in the Park with George” is based on is there and it will put you in awe! Go up the John Hancock Tower which is better positioned for views and cheaper than the Sears Tower.</p>
<p>Oh, and fly into Midway. It’s closer to the Palmer House, and I’ve been told it has heated runways, which may very well come in handy! Good idea to give yourself an extra day from the west coast and we learned, take the earliest plane possible to avoid delays!</p>
<p>Concerning the Palmer House. I had booked back in the fall using a government rate (hubby is retired military). I was looking again and noticed that the AARP rate is even better. Yes I am an older parent. My point is make sure you look at all rates because when I called to check the group rate it was almost $100 more than the AARP rate.</p>
<p>^^^Good advice, definitely keep looking for better rates at Palmer House! We booked a room in October 2010 for Unifieds in February 2011 at the group rate (it was fully refundable). I kept checking all the travel sites and in January 2011, one of them (Expedia, Hotwire, etc., can’t remember which) was offering rooms on the Executive Floor for less than the group rate I was charged for a room on a regular floor. Although the travel site rate was non-refundable, by that date I was pretty certain we were going to Unifieds, so it wasn’t a deterrent. I cancelled my earlier reservation and took the room on the Executive Floor. Very glad we did!</p>
<p>^^Agree. Check out hotels.com for rates and deals. </p>
<p>Like MTguyMom, the year I took my son, we got a room on the Executive Floor for less than the Unifieds rate - it included 2 beds, 2 large closets, a sitting area and 2 bathrooms. Executive Floor rooms include lounge access where you can get breakfast (light fare), snacks and beverages including bottled water.</p>
<p>The next year, when I took my daughter, I booked a room thru hotels.com on a regular floor. This room also had 2 beds & 2 bathrooms, and a small sitting area, but it also included breakfast for 2 at the restaurant on the first floor (usually $22 each). Even with breakfast, it was less than the Unified rate. We had a friend of my daughter share the room for two of our 3 nights, so we all ate breakfast on Monday and Tuesday with the vouchers. Each morning, the girls went to their first audition and then we met up for breakfast/brunch - there was a huge selection of healthy food on the line but you could also place special orders. We ate breakfast/brunch late morning, had snacks around remaining auditions and went out for dinner (ie Chicago pizza - worth the windy, snowy walk :))</p>
<p>Can anyone recommend some good or favorite eateries/restaurants near the Palmer? Also is there a nearby drug store?</p>
<p>Thanks for asking that AdaQuince. Also just wondering if there is time to take in an evening performance at one of the theatres or are the kids too wiped out. I thought that might be a good distraction</p>
<p>I like The Russian Tea Time on Adams St (Russian food), Miller’s Pub (a classic) on Wabash, and Heaven on Seven also on Wabash (Cajun food - on the 7th floor). There is a Corner Bakery right next door to the Palmer House for a quick bite.</p>
<p>Walgreens in on State St.</p>
<p>When D did unifieds a couple years ago, we went to Second City one night. You can get there on the El, or by cab.</p>
<p>Hi AdaQuince - Chicago is one of the best restaurant cities in the country, but, alas, not great pickings near the Palmer House. On Michigan between Monroe and Madison you can find The Gage, an upscale pub. Chicago has great Italian food. There are one or two of the Rosebud Italian restaurants within an easy walk of the Palmer House. A few blocks south on Michigan if you want a diner is the Artist’s Cafe. Two more blocks south is the fantastic Mercat A La Planxa, a tapas restaurant. All in the area are either dives or on the pricey side… It is mostly a business district, so caters to quick lunchtime bites or take-a-client-out expensive. For lunch, the Macy’s on State St (formerly Marshall Fields, an iconic Chicago department store) has an excellent food court on (I think) the 7th floor as well as the Walnut Room restaurant. Closest good restaurant district a short cab ride away is the River North neighborhood, if you want more choices.
With regard to drug stores, there’s also one on the Monroe corner Wabash.
If you do have energy for theatre, there’s a discount ticket place (Hot Tix) on Randolph between Wabash and Michigan.</p>
<p>we ate next door at the dive bar…</p>
<p>They ended up giving me a cheaper rate when I asked on check in then the rate I booked the room at a year earlier…</p>
<p>Good luck all, glad I’m done!</p>