Girls' Weekend in Chicago: Hampton Suites Suggestions

[wadesgirl]

My sister is planning a girls weekend in Chicago after the new year and we are trying to find a hotel that is reasonably priced, not too expensive to park, possibly a suite since we will have 4 adults and 1 teenager. The best one I could find was Hampton Suites (The Hampton Inn & Suites Chicago Downtown - Chicago Illinois Hotel). Have any of you stayed here with conference? Any other suggestions?

When looking at Travelocity alot of hotels have some kind of "extra person fee" which ranged from $20-60 per person over 2 people!! This was one of the hotels that didn't have that charge. Parking is $38 for 24 hours, free continental breakfast, mini "kitchen" in the suite and free wi-fi.

 

[janezapchef]

We went to Chicago on vacation this summer. We stayed at the Best Western River North, and I HIGHLY recommend it! BEST WESTERN PLUS River North Hotel - Downtown Chicago Hotel I will probably stay there any time I go back to Chicago, unless it's for conference! It's a little off the Magnificent Mile, but it's relatively close to everything. What it isn't close to is an easy bus ride. The concierge, Wallace, is EXTREMELY helpful as well. He has his own blog on the website and is a bit of a local celebrity, apparently.

It is incredibly reasonable, and they have great specials, including tickets to different things if you are looking for that. Parking is free, at least for one car. I'm not sure on the extra person fee, but I'd imagine it isn't too bad. We didn't stay in a suite, but we were in a king plus or something like that. It was a king with a pull-out sofa. The sofa was really only big enough for 1 person though. There is another double room that I think would probably be better for a bigger group. I think they have suites too.

We looked around A LOT before settling here and were so impressed! It is a hotel that cares about its guests more than anything. You can get free breakfast by liking them on facebook. Ask about it when you book. It is not a super fancy hotel, but it is clean, friendly and convenient. It's directly across the street from the Rock and Roll McDonald's and Rainforest Cafe. I am not joking when I tell you I probably will never stay anywhere else outside of conference travel to Chicago!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Have you thought about taking Amtrak to Chicago? I hate paying to store my car when I can't use it, anyway, so I always take the train. Union Station is a short cab ride to any of the hotels you're talking about, and even if a cab ride from Union Station is 15 bucks, that's still cheap compared to car storage...er...parking.If you're planning on going to the Adler Planitarium, Field Museum or Museum of Science and Industry, then you're going to want your car. (There are parking lots.) If you're going to be doing things around the Loop, a car is useless.

 

[janezapchef]

Adler Planetarium, Shedd Aquarium and Field Museum are not bad on the bus. That's how we got there with 2 kids with no problem. Museum of Science & Industry is a hike though. You'll want a car for that one for sure! We hit that one on our way out of town, but I'm not sure which direction you'll be going or how you are travelling.

 

[wadesgirl]

Have you thought about taking Amtrak to Chicago? I hate paying to store my car when I can't use it, anyway, so I always take the train. Union Station is a short cab ride to any of the hotels you're talking about, and even if a cab ride from Union Station is 15 bucks, that's still cheap compared to car storage...er...parking.

If you're planning on going to the Adler Planitarium, Field Museum or Museum of Science and Industry, then you're going to want your car. (There are parking lots.) If you're going to be doing things around the Loop, a car is useless.

Hadn't thought about that. We looked at mega bus but I was too expensive for 5 people when we can just drive.

 

[esavvymom]

If not Amtrak, even if you drove to a Metra station stop, parked your car and rode the train in to one of the stations from there. The fare to downtown is usually not more than $6-8 if you caught it from the farthest points. We often take it from the next to last stop on the NW line and pay about $6 per adult all the way. Takes about an hour and a half. Just dont forget which area you parked your car.

I dont know about hotels though. For conference, my family has stayed at the Embassy suites which was one block over from the conference hotel Sheraton. I dont remember cost or any extra persn fees. We had 2 adults and 2 kids.

 

[BethCooks4U]

I did the math (and we didn't have 5 people) and found it was about the same or a little less to just drive and park at the hotel by the time you add the train cost (or even bus) and then the cab to the hotel and hassle of lugging your bags and often parking in the lot at the train station. And who knows how safe that lot is -especially if there isn't a parking fee.We stayed at the Embassy Suites last summer. It's near the Sheraton which was a conference hotel. Very walkable to Navy Pier, Mag Mile, etc. There were cabs and buses easily accessible but we walked everywhere, even walked to the aquarium and took a water taxi back and then the last day we drove to the Museum of Science & Industry after we checked out of the hotel (so no having to lug bags around or go back to pick them up) - got to enjoy that whole last day vs having to just travel.

 

[nikked]

Our group always stayed at the embassy mentioned twice above. Love their breakfast buffee and "happy hour" with free drinks and appetizers. A great place to stay!

 

[wadesgirl]

I did look in the Amtrak and it would be more expensive than the Mega Bus and a further out of our way to catch the train - although that would have been fun!