Where to stay in Chicago?
November 17, 2015 8:06 PM Subscribe
I'm looking for two hotels in Chicago, one convenient to Lincoln Park/Lakeview and the other one convenient to Wicker Park, for a weeklong stay for 3 people. A consideration is that we will have a car that we will be using frequently.
I'm actually a former Chicagoan myself so am familiar with the city, but not with the hotel scene since I always had friends/family stay with me when they visited. Ironically, I now find myself in the position of helping my sister move to Chicago at the end of 2015 and need to figure out where my dad and I will stay while we help her move. She'll end up in an apartment in either the Lakeview/Lincoln Park or Wicker Park, but it's TBD at the moment so I'm looking for two different hotels to cover both bases, with the following requirements:
1. Location: Obviously, hotels in Lincoln Park/Lakeview and Wicker Park themselves would be best. But unless things have changed a lot, I've always been under the impression that the hotel scene in these residential neighborhoods was a bit thin; so I was thinking a LP/Lakeview-convenient hotel would probably be in River North/downtown off the Red/Blue lines, and a Wicker Park-convenient hotel would be in the Loop off the Blue Line.
Basically, I want to be a single train ride away from where this apartment will be, with no train transfers (Red<>Brown<>Purple is OK.)
2. We will have a car and need somewhere where we'll be able to take the car in and out. (And before you tell me not to rent a car, I would be the first one to discourage someone from renting a car in Chicago -- but we're renting one since the whole purpose of this trip is doing Ikea/Costco/grocery store runs, transporting furniture, etc.) I expect that we'll have to pay for parking, but want a place where we can take the car in and out without paying anew every time -- a daily parking fee, for example, would be ideal.
3. However, I would also prefer a hotel no more than 10 minutes' walk from the train if at all possible. There are 3 of us, so we might split up and run errands (and I might try to see a friend or two), so proximity to the L is still important.
Amenities aside from WiFi are not important -- don't care about a pool/gym, etc. Let's say budget max $250/night -- if that's wildly unrealistic, let me know. And cheaper is better, obviously.
(And yes, I am familiar with and also plan to use AirBNB, but given that the apartment's exact location is still TBD I'd rather identify backup hotel options first.)
So, Chicagoans (my erstwhile neighbors!) what hotels would you recommend? It's mostly the parking that's tripping me up in doing this search since I never had a car in Chicago, so any pointers toward that end would be especially appreciated.
I'm actually a former Chicagoan myself so am familiar with the city, but not with the hotel scene since I always had friends/family stay with me when they visited. Ironically, I now find myself in the position of helping my sister move to Chicago at the end of 2015 and need to figure out where my dad and I will stay while we help her move. She'll end up in an apartment in either the Lakeview/Lincoln Park or Wicker Park, but it's TBD at the moment so I'm looking for two different hotels to cover both bases, with the following requirements:
1. Location: Obviously, hotels in Lincoln Park/Lakeview and Wicker Park themselves would be best. But unless things have changed a lot, I've always been under the impression that the hotel scene in these residential neighborhoods was a bit thin; so I was thinking a LP/Lakeview-convenient hotel would probably be in River North/downtown off the Red/Blue lines, and a Wicker Park-convenient hotel would be in the Loop off the Blue Line.
Basically, I want to be a single train ride away from where this apartment will be, with no train transfers (Red<>Brown<>Purple is OK.)
2. We will have a car and need somewhere where we'll be able to take the car in and out. (And before you tell me not to rent a car, I would be the first one to discourage someone from renting a car in Chicago -- but we're renting one since the whole purpose of this trip is doing Ikea/Costco/grocery store runs, transporting furniture, etc.) I expect that we'll have to pay for parking, but want a place where we can take the car in and out without paying anew every time -- a daily parking fee, for example, would be ideal.
3. However, I would also prefer a hotel no more than 10 minutes' walk from the train if at all possible. There are 3 of us, so we might split up and run errands (and I might try to see a friend or two), so proximity to the L is still important.
Amenities aside from WiFi are not important -- don't care about a pool/gym, etc. Let's say budget max $250/night -- if that's wildly unrealistic, let me know. And cheaper is better, obviously.
(And yes, I am familiar with and also plan to use AirBNB, but given that the apartment's exact location is still TBD I'd rather identify backup hotel options first.)
So, Chicagoans (my erstwhile neighbors!) what hotels would you recommend? It's mostly the parking that's tripping me up in doing this search since I never had a car in Chicago, so any pointers toward that end would be especially appreciated.
This is kind of a weird suggestion, but take a peek at Longman & Eagle's rooms. They are pretty inexpensive, parking wouldn't be hard, and you would be right by the Logan blue line stop. It would probably be somewhat noisy at night - earplugs?
posted by Mid at 7:49 AM on November 18, 2015
posted by Mid at 7:49 AM on November 18, 2015
For Lincoln Park/Lakeview, you definitely want the Days Inn at Broadway/Clark/Diversey. Last I checked rooms were $200 or less and there is a parking garage.
posted by anotheraccount at 3:44 PM on November 18, 2015
posted by anotheraccount at 3:44 PM on November 18, 2015
I have heard good things about Hotel Lincoln, if you would prefer the south end of Lincoln Park. Looks like rooms are less than $200, and you're close to the Sedgwick brown and Clark/Broadway/Inner Drive bus routes to get up and down.
You can also street park in the park on Stockton and on Lincoln without a neighborhood permit, so that is one way to handle the car.
posted by daniel striped tiger at 3:48 PM on November 18, 2015
You can also street park in the park on Stockton and on Lincoln without a neighborhood permit, so that is one way to handle the car.
posted by daniel striped tiger at 3:48 PM on November 18, 2015
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posted by beaning at 8:45 PM on November 17, 2015 [1 favorite]