<p>I live about a half-hour by train to U of C, so I can help you out. The trip planner is a bit hard to use if you don't know how the system works already. </p>
<p>If your hotel is on the orange line then you are good to go. If you just take the orange to Roosevelt, then you can switch to the green or red lines there and take it south to Garfield, the stop closest to U of C.</p>
<p>If you take the Red Line, you must get on the Red Line transfer from Garfield to the campus (stops every 10 minutes, just ask the driver if you are unsure), or else you risk walking through a bad neighborhood (more of a problem at night really). </p>
<p>If you don't want to take the subway, taxi fare from either your hotel or downtown shouldn't be terrible, and from downtown you can take a bus or the Metra to Hyde Park. If you go on a weekend just buy a weekend pass at the vending machine and you have unlimited rides for Sat. and Sun.</p>