Hotel advice?

by kanderber on Feb 27, 2007 8:02 PM CST Comment 20 comments

I'm going to be traveling to Chicago in April for a couple Cubs games (against the Cardinals). I'm looking for advice on hotels. The most important things to me are 1) that they're cheap (but not poor quality) and 2) within walking distance of a train stop. I'm looking to spend around 100 bucks per night maximum.

Any suggestions?

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Here.

The Hawthorne Terrace is not only relatively inexpensive, but it is four blocks' walk from Wrigley Field.

It might be a little over $100 a night. If you want less than $100, you're either going to be in a not-so-nice Motel 6 type of place, or way out in the burbs.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Feb 27, 2007 8:09 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

its not

bad staying in a burb. i do it everytime i go see a game. only takes about 15 min to get there...not bad. we usually stay in schaumburg at the drury. free drinks!!

by tbizzle83 on Feb 28, 2007 10:32 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Cass Hotel

around $100/night in downtown chicago near the red line to Wrigley.

by cashcowsquirtingsourmilk on Feb 27, 2007 8:36 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Unfortunately...

... the Cass is closed.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Feb 27, 2007 8:38 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

wow, too bad I guess.

by cashcowsquirtingsourmilk on Feb 27, 2007 8:44 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

or if you're more adventurous...

http://www.arlingtonhouse.com/private.html

right off clark street a couple miles south of wrigley. since you're going in april it wouldn't be too bad. I wouldn't stay there in the heat of summer after the bad experience I had there once. the desk service is SLOW, so best get a private room and be prepared to wait for check-in/out.

by cashcowsquirtingsourmilk on Feb 27, 2007 8:43 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

however..

I believe you cannot be an Illinois resident to stay there. I witnessed a pretty ugly scene once. Somebody made reservations, began checking in, they said "nope" so he was cancelled- at about 1:00 am. the place was booked solid. I wonder what happened to that guy. it said nothing about that on the website.

by cashcowsquirtingsourmilk on Feb 27, 2007 8:55 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Website says

you can't live within 50 miles of the hostel. So I would guess Rock Island residents would be fine but Libertyville would be a problem.

by Josh77 on Feb 27, 2007 10:55 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

weird

last year the guy working there said no if you had an Illinois address. the staff were nice, but slow & incompetent when I was there. understandable in a way considering how big it is & what a dump it really is, or was at least ("what a dump") It's only good if you wanna save money. there's no air conditioning, the bathrooms and showers are disgusting, and if you don't want your shit stolen, you best get a private room to be safe. but then it's pretty much like any hostel. i think the worst thing is no lockers in the dorms. you have to wait for the staff to unlock a closet by the main desk, where they shove your bags with everyone else's. they could easily be stolen. again, private rooms are the way to go. it's a great location. right off clark and a few blocks from halsted and the red line. of course the summer months would be worse so any other time would be better. April should be OK. I was there in early may once and it was fine.

by cashcowsquirtingsourmilk on Feb 27, 2007 11:13 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Days Inn on Diversey

It would be walking distance to Wrigley, or if you're lazy you can hop on a bus down Clark. This Days Inn is at the intersection of Broadway and Clark...

by bleedhawkeyegold on Feb 28, 2007 6:18 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

I've stayed here several times...

fairly nice hotel, but will be much, much more than $100.

Right across the street is the Inn at Lincoln Park, which is much cheaper, but more of a dump too.

by cubbie08 on Feb 28, 2007 8:06 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

suggestions

I appreciate the suggestions so far. The Days Inn as well as the Hawthorne are currently sold out for the nights I'm looking at (4/20 and 4/21).

Regarding the Arlington House, what do you mean by if I'm feeling adventurous? Is it in a bad part of town? I'm going with my girlfriend, so safety is a concern as well.

Thanks guys!

by kanderber on Feb 28, 2007 6:59 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Here's another idea.

The Inn at Lincoln Park is about 1/2 block from the Days Inn noted above, and I know some people who have stayed there at reasonable rates.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Feb 28, 2007 8:05 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

It is reasonable...

but, like the saying goes: You get what you pay for.

Location is good for the price, though.

by cubbie08 on Feb 28, 2007 8:07 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I recommend the Hawthorne

My brother and I stayed there for a few days back in 2004. Like Al said, it's easy walking distance to the park. There is good food close.
The rooms are very nice. It was very enjoyable. Especially since the Cubs won all 3 games we saw!
Someday, I hope to go again!

by Butchoh31 on Feb 28, 2007 7:11 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

If I stay out at the airport...

Is there an easy mass transit way to get from a hotel near O'Hare to Wrigley? If I remember right, Addison is on the Red Line...but I don't know much more about the El than that.

Thanks in advance.

by Ghost of Fred Merkle on Feb 28, 2007 8:49 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

There are two Addison stations...

... the Wrigley one is on the Red Line, as you stated, there's also one on the Blue Line, that runs from O'Hare.

Best way is to take the Blue Line from O'Hare (or River Road, or another near-O'Hare stop) to Addison, then get off and take the Addison bus east to Wrigley Field.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Feb 28, 2007 8:53 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Well...

I don't know if this only applies to people that live around here, but I heard a couple weeks ago on ESPN 1000 that you could get $100/night for the Hilton on Michigan, I think.

That was a long time ago(last month), and it depends on availability of course, but you could always call and say you heard the offer on ESPN 1000. You have to mention the station and ask for their offer. I don't remember the number, and I tried to find it online but it's nowhere on the radio site. Maybe someone else heard this?

"I don't talk. I just let what I do talk for myself." -Johan Santana

by sparkles721 on Feb 28, 2007 9:07 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

You could also try

Searching on Hotwire or priceline for hotels in the North Michigan area. All of them are accessible to the Red line and a 20-30 minute ride from the park (without a transfer). Because there are so many hotels there, you can often find a pretty good deal, and the quality will be quite a bit better than a Days Inn or the equivalent.

It also depends on what is going on at the convention center that weekend. If one of the big shows is in town, you'll have trouble finding anything (even in the burbs) below about $150.

Good luck!

MURTON!!! - just trying to help his karma so we keep him.

by 26.2cubfan on Feb 28, 2007 10:43 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Hotwire

is always our choice. Wait until aobut a week out. You can get a top downtown hotel for under $100. If that scares you book a room you can cancel then do hotwire. Anything 2 1/2 stars and up is a great hotel on Hotwire. you can usually get the Hilton Inn Towers or similar for about $89. One year we even got the full breakfast buffet for free!

I'm a bleedcubbiebluer!

by mrcubsfan on Feb 28, 2007 11:04 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs