<p>I also posted this on the Chicago thread but can anyone recommend a good hotel near Univ. of Chicago? We'll be traveling by mass transit and we're wary of some of the stories we've heard about the surrounding area.
Thanks!</p>
<p>They let visiting people stay at "International House" which is a dorm right on campus -- which is cheap, but boys and girls stay in separate rooms. It was a little strange for me cause I was visiting the school with my dad.
International House accepts short-term reservations when space is available. We offer single occupancy student rooms with shared bathrooms and a limited number of double rooms. Linens are provided. There is no telephone service or air conditioning in the rooms. Our front desk is staffed from 7:00am to 11:00pm daily. Check-in is not possible after hours.</p>
<p>"For reservations, call the Front Desk at (773) 753-2270, or email <a href="mailto:I-house-housing@listhost.uchicago.edu">I-house-housing@listhost.uchicago.edu</a>. A MasterCard or Visa number with an expiration date is required to make a reservation"</p>
<p>Here's the link:
<a href="http://ihouse.uchicago.edu/residency/residency_short.html%5B/url%5D">http://ihouse.uchicago.edu/residency/residency_short.html</a></p>
<p>The International House is a great option and if you know anyone on faculty or someone on another university faculty who might have exchange visiting rights you could find out about, The Quandrangle Club. It is the faculty club and has guest rooms. (We had our wedding reception there and were able to rent rooms for the bridal party guests..) I no longer have contact but UC central exchange could probably help you out. There are also some adjacent hotels in the Hyde Park neighborhood not far from campus and near to the Museum of Science and Industry. (googling the museum might give you some links.) Hyde Park has some rough edges if you range way off campus or loiter at night, but the reputation is worse than the reality and you just need to use smarts about when and where you wander.</p>
<p>A "good" hotel? You could stay in downtown Chicago at the Hyatt or the Fairmount and walk to the Metra train that goes to Hyde Park. You won't be staying on campus but near nice restaurants,etc. Likewise, the rooms are nicer (but much more expensive) than the International House. Just a thought.</p>
<p>Try Wooded Isles in Hyde Park.</p>
<p>Avoid the Raddison in Hyde Park.</p>
<p>Outside Hyde Park, the nearest decent accomodations are downtown. Midway Airport area has the standard mid market chains, but transit would be by bus, and it is a rather slow ride, even on the 55 express (which isn't - it just stops every third stop or so, not every one.)</p>
<p>From downtown, you can take a bus, there are several, or the METRA train. If you stayed near Grant Park, you could pick up an express bus nearby.</p>
<p>I have heard many people talk about having a hard time finding hotel accommodations in the city (downtown, Loop, Michigan Mile) this year. Chicago has always been a big convention town, so occupancy in hotels is often high. It wouldn't surprise me if relocated/rescheduled New Orleans conference business isn't also hiking things. All this to say, don't dawdle.</p>
<p>If you fly into Midway, take a cab to your hotel destination in Hyde Park (only eight to 10 miles away). If you fly into O'Hare you can take one of the private company buses that drop-offs travelers to downtown (i.e. Loop/near North Side) hotels or take the El/subway (cheaper and safe) to downtown. However, I would not recommend the El/subway/bus combination to Hyde Park because it is quite inconvenient with a transfer to a bus from the train, etc. </p>
<p>The University neighborhood of Hyde Park which is north and east of the U. of C. campus is a very diverse area with a number of restaurants and is quite safe overall. Hundreds of University employees (including faculty), their families, workers who commute to downtown Chicago daily, and others call Hyde Park their permanent home.</p>
<p>The problem is that there aren't many places to stay in Hyde Park. International House would certainly be the most convenient. </p>
<p>I think NewMassDad meant to warn against the Ramada (4900 South Lake Shore Drive), not the Radisson, in the above post. See reviews on tripadvisor.com</p>
<p>Look at the transportation options from downtown on
<a href="http://chicagolife.uchicago.edu/city/chi_downtown.shtml%5B/url%5D">http://chicagolife.uchicago.edu/city/chi_downtown.shtml</a>
One good mid-priced hotel just a couple of blocks from the Metra train is the Silversmith, a Crowne Plaza/IC group hotel.</p>
<p>We just returned from Chicago and highly recommend the Club Quarters (there are two, we stayed at the one on Wacker off Michigan) which we reserved using the University of Chicago's account and was a fantastic value. I found this through the visitor information page on their website. Even though my daughter crossed the school off her list, my traveling companion and I had a wonderful time. We took the #6 bus back and forth to the 57th or 59th street stops with no problem. Hyde Park is a pretty benign neighborhood, at least during the day, with some lovely residential streets and great bookstores.</p>