yorkieuk

Hi!

Flying into O'Hare in June and before go to my fiances house in West.IL were thinking about spending a night in Chicago so we can have some alone time before we are bombarded by his family

Fiancé has said he will also take me out on a date and I can choose the restaurant

I've been to Chicago quite a few times before but have normally stayed with friends or at hotels around O'Hare. This time would like to stay downtown and within walking distance of stuff (have already been to all major tourist attractions so wouldn't want to visit that stuff but maybe within walking distance of the lake would be nice). Would like to spend under $200 but nice and romantic as possible!

Also when have eaten there before have mostly visited all the tourist places so this time want to avoid mediocre and overpriced food. Somewhere with good food and a nice atmosphere and a meal for 2 (inc wine) for below $100 would be nice

So do any Chicagoans/visitors of the city have any recommendations? Have been looking at trip adviser but there top rated hotels all seem to be within the $350 range

Any advice would be great!

Sophie

Don't know if it makes any difference but we will be there on a monday night (was hoping to pick up a swanky hotel for a low price )

Englishmum

OK...I have tried this and this really, really works. (However if there is a major event/conference on for the date you want to stay then it might not work...prices rise and fall due to demand)

You probably recall William Shatner in the Priceline ads where you "can name your own price"?. Well...I've successfully got amazing deals after checking a website first called:

http://www.biddingfortravel.com

(there is a similar one called http://www.betterbidding.com but I haven't used that).

You look up the city where you want to stay....and people post up the deals they've recently received. For example, my friend recently needed to stay overnight in an airport hotel near LAX. I was with her and we looked up the biddingfortravel site. Based on what we saw, she put in a bid for a 4* (actually possibly 5*) airport hotel, for $68.

She got the Hilton LAX. We went straight to the Hilton website and the minimum price for the same night was $119. She said it was a lovely room too.

The only problem is that you don't know exactly which hotel you will stay in until your bid is accepted, but sometimes there is only one or two 5* or 4* hotels in the vicinity of where you are bidding for so you can narrow down the likelihood of which hotel you are bidding for. If you are happy to stay in say, a 2* or 3* hotel you can put in a really low bid.

I've got places like the Hyatts, Marriotts and Doubletree Suites much, much cheaper than booking directly with the hotel or on Expedia/Travelocity etc or even the full Priceline price, by bidding through Priceline's 'Name Your Own Price' and by checking the bidding guide websites first.

These are the latest ones (at the time of writing) for Chicago hotels if you bid via Priceline or Hotwire:

http://biddingfortravel.yuku.com/for...s-Chicago.html

Another way to try for a great rate is by going to the US site of

http://www.lastminute.com

(I remember reading a travel article in a magazine (Conde Nast Travel/Travel + Leisure?) about the Monaco Hotel which got rave reviews..the reviews are good on LastMinute, so this might be up your street!)

Hope this helps! Have a wonderful time!

Kaffy Mintcake

I agree 100% with Englishmum's recommendation. Use Priceline and try for a good deal. One trick that works, if your first bid for a 4 star isn't accepted and you want to try again, expand your search but be sure to include an area that DOES NOT have a 4 star option. Priceline will let you bid again, and you will effectively only be bidding for a hotel in the area you want because a 4 star bid can only get you a hotel of that class or better, never worse.

I've stayed in 4 star hotels in many cities for $55-$80 or so that way.

Just do your reading before you try to bid (see the sites Englishmum posted) so you understand how it works before you start.

Ash UK/US

If you want to see what you are buying use Hotel.com they are really good for pictures reviews etc... don't buy from them, they are not always the cheapest great to use for reference though.

Jan Alaska

Depends on the type of restaraunt youre looking for, we went to Ed Debevics because we'd heard it was good. Turns out its a retro 50s look-a-like diner type place where the staff insult you, sing to you and generally have fun with you ... it was a giggle.

have fun !

Hiro11

...no offense intended, but words cannot express my hatred of Ed Debevics. It's up there with The Cheesecake Factory and The Rainforest Cafe as the six, seventh and eighth circle of restaurant hell.

There's tons of great restaurants in Chicago for $100. I'd check out:

North Pond Cafe:
http://www.northpondrestaurant.com/t....cfm?menuid=10
Very romantic spot in the middle of a park. Great food, excellent wine list. May be slightly over your budget when all is said and done.

Chicago Chop House:
http://www.chicagochophouse.com/hasflash.htm
The real deal in Chicago steak houses. I'd put this place up against any steak house in the country. Again, probably a little over your budget, but very worth it.

Sushi Samba:
http://www.sushisamba.com/index.cfm/id/10/id2/28.html
A somewhat raucous place with tasty Brazilian sushi (WTF?) and great drinks.

Marigold:
http://www.marigoldrestaurant.com/
Excellent somewhat high-end Indian place.

The Publican:
http://thepublicanrestaurant.com/
I ate here a few weeks ago. Excellent upscale Belgian bistro/brewpub with really good food.

Blackbird:
http://www.blackbirdrestaurant.com/
Very chic, somewhat crowded bistro with excellent food and wine.

...etc.

For hotels, I'd stay at the Swissotel. It's a good deal (for what you get) and has excellent service

newcomer

Try the Signature Room in the Hancock for a truly memorable meal and view, but it may come to a little more than $100, or at the very least visit the Signature Lounge for a drink.

Bill_S

+1 for Sushi Samba. The combination seems unlikely but the food is great. Bistro 110 wouldn't be a bad choice either.

Haven't been to North Pond yet but it's on the short list for my next visit.

Hiro11

Good view, but the food is pretty terrible. If you want a great place with a great view, try Everest:
http://www.everestrestaurant.com/
It's one of the best restaurants in the city and has great views. It's hardly cheap, though.

MrEmjoy

The Gage: 24 S Michigan Ave Chicago, IL 60603 - (312) 372-4243

Great food, great location, great. The fish and chips are 'fancy' as they come in little news paper 'thingies' but they are the best I've had so far in the USA, in fact everything I've ordered at The Gage has been amazing.

www.thegagechicago.com

Quartinos: 626 N State St Chicago, IL 60610 - (312) 698-5000

Quartinos is an italian "small plate" restaurant I guess you could call it tapas if it was spanish but small plate is what they call it. Also, "the wine is cheaper than the water" The pizza is traditional Italian and not the Chicago staple that is deep dish. I've had many of the small plates there and all are good, my favorite would have to be the Roasted Tuscan Sausage

www.quartinochicago.com

Another suggestion would be the Signature room at the John Hancock building it's on the 95th floor and the food is good but overpriced I'm told.

But the drinks are worth the price for the view. It's one place to go to anyway even if you dont got to the signature room and just go to the viewing floor, I think it's better than the view from the sears tower.

www.signatureroom.com


AND the ultimate in chicago eateries has to be Lou Malnatis, the best pizza in the world, honest, dont go to Ginos

There is a downtown location for Lou Malnatis now so you dont have to travel out to the suburbs where most of the locations are. Traditional deep dish chicago style pizza, nothing like it. They do a great vegetarian one but the pepperoni and sausage is the best for me

www.loumalnatis.com

They also deliver pizza to anywhere in the USA

pejpm1

If you want somewhere romanitc, Geja's Cafe is very very good. It's a fondu place and its really cool.

yorkieuk

Thanks all,

Being checking out the bidding site, looks amazing!

Also been looking at all the restaurant sites and needless to say I am really hungry now!

Think we will definitely go have a cocktail at the Signature room before going to one of the restaurant recommendations

Another quick question, I have 7 of my closest friends coming over in July for my wedding, they all fly into Chicago on July 4th and have already booked accommodation somewhere downtown for 4 days.

Has anyone experienced July 4th In Chicago and has got any idea of good things to do. One of my friends said she had found open bar cruises on lake Michigan with one specifically aimed at younger people.

We are all in our 20's so like to have a good time but are not the kind of people who like 18-30's holidays with people having sex/throwing up everywhere.

Do Americans do bars/clubs like the UK?
And does anyone know of any place a group of females in their 20's could go to have a good time?

Sophie

wtkp0u

Taste Of Chicago will be on up to 4th July weekend -
http://www.explorechicago.org/city/e...hicago_-0.html

Englishmum

Check out the Time Out magazine website for Chicago:

http://chicago.timeout.com/

(Might be best to buy a copy of the mag when you get there as it will have more info than the website).

Let us all know if you do end up bidding for an hotel...and how you get on! (Best not to do it too far ahead though if you want the best price).

another bloody yank

*Raises hand*

Yes, I do.






Thank you God, a little late, but I'll take it.