<p>toowonderful, great question. You can HOPE to do walk-ins, but you can never “plan to do” walk-ins, b/c you are NEVER assured of getting a walk-in slot. If the school is of interest to your child, you should get an official audition slot…don’t rely on a walk-in b/c it may never happen. When my D was at NYC Unifieds 2 years ago, she decided to do a walk-in at a school. We were put on a list, and waited…and waited…and waited…after 3.5 hours, we finally left to go see Drood b/c we really got the feeling she would never be seen. </p>
<p>We were so looking forward to doing 2015 Unifieds - but all of our audition invites have ended up being on campus (looking forward to visiting the campuses too!). So with a heavy hand, I cancelled our reservation in Chicago for the Palmer House - in case any one is looking to book! Good luck to everyone! </p>
<p>I am looking for a 2 bath! It that yours? :)</p>
<p>I’m letting go of an Executive level room later today. No need for Chicago unifieds after all. 
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<p>I’m willing to pay a stipend for a place to change clothes at the Palmer House! lol
We’re staying down the road about 6 blocks. Didn’t seem far at all till we realized it was February in Chicago! ughh</p>
<p>@pghmusician – did you try the Hampton Inn? There is one about a block away and it is cheaper than the Palmer House.</p>
<p>Just did thanks! And the Silversmith hotel also. </p>
<p>Just booked airfare & hotel for Chicago Unifieds. Staying about 1 1/5 miles away so I could get the best value out of our points. I hope the cab fare doesn’t offset the savings!</p>
<p>@addicted2MT, it won’t!!</p>
<p>We stayed off site for a variety of reasons last year. It was “walking distance”, but weather was DARN cold- so we took a cab to sites (1/2 of D’s auditions were not at Palmer house) and found chicago cabs very reasonable</p>
<p>The food is better (and less chain-y) outside the loop, as well. Are you staying in River North? That’s an easy walk if it’s not too cold. </p>
<p>We’ve got reservations at the Congress plaza 4 or 5 blocks south of Palmer. Seems fine unless there’s 2-feet of snow lol. We’ve got appointments at CCPA which is right next door. I’m more concerned about all the in between times at the Palmer. 1-hr break here, 2-hours there. Not worth it to go back down the street, but what do you do if you stay? I imagine the public bathrooms get ridiculously crowded with kids changing outfits back and forth all day. And I get to play agent/pack-mule every day… they better have free coffee just to keep the parents sane. </p>
<p>It is really not that far from Congress Plaza to Palmer House. I would say 10-15 minute walk. Palmer House has quite a nice lobby, BTW, though I’ve never been there during Unifieds and it might be nuts. We joined the Art Institute when my S started at Roosevelt ($120 a year). In addition to the museum and a nice cafeteria, it has a really excellent member lounge downstairs with free coffee and WIFI. Chicago Cultural Center is worth checking out, too, if you’ve got an hour to kill, free exhibits and sometimes concerts and the most amazing Tiffany ceiling. </p>
<p>The lobby areas are full, but not uncomfortably so. The halls have chairs lined up outside the audition rooms for waiting as well. .There are actually several floors of conference rooms with auditions taking place - and so there are many public bathroom choices - and “mini” lobby areas throughout. There is no free coffee, unfortunately - and a Starbucks with a morning line that stretches from here to forever. (Starbucks is on the lowest level - actually UNDER the main lobby) There is a restaurant which is pricey in the main lobby of the hotel - and there are a couple of less expensive restaurants within easy walking distance.</p>
<p>We stayed about 10 min north- on the river. D had 3 auditions at the Palmer (on 3 diff days) and 3 at other venues (NYU, Boston and Syracuse were not at Palmer) so we chose a “middle location”. Since we never had more the one audition at the Palmer, there was no benefit to being able to go upstairs and change/take a break. It was also nice to be able to get away from the crowd. Plus, we were right at the base of the “magnificent mile” on Michigan ace, a great place to spend time once auditions were done. One of the days D had Boston in the morning (at another hotel up north) and Minn in the afternoon at the Palmer- and we spent the time in between at the art institute- it was both restful and creatively inspirational!</p>
FYI…just got back from a trip to Chicago to see Newsies - it is VERY cold there, and WINDY! Make sure to bring coats, hats, scarves and gloves if you plan on walking anywhere (I’m assuming it’s not going to get much warmer within the next month!)
Cold? But I was gonna bring my plaid golf knickers and get a round or two in . (I did hear it was a bit too windy for my kilt. ) On to the Important Stuff! Whose buying the first round of drinks in Chicago? Diva? Addicted??
Don’t let “Addicted” buy the drinks! LOL :))
I’ll be there to drink! Maybe I can afford a round, although with what all of this is costing, maybe we’ll go Dutch! Also, I seem to recall talk about doughnuts – stress eating may be more up my alley!
Are you kidding? Addicted sounds like the BEST person to buy drinks. We got a diva, an Ass totheMT, addicted AND an Evil Queen! This sounds better than Cheers! Where’s Norm?? (Donuts and alcohol? Hmmm… Why not! I’ll try anything)