sard

I made reservations for the Homewood on Grand Ave, but upon further thinking maybe we should split up the hotel location?

We have a wedding in Maple Park on Saturday afternoon.
I always thought I would rent a car on Saturday morning then return it Saturday night.

But looking at the Hertz locations around the hotel they all close early afternoon, I would have to return it Sunday which means I have to park it at the hotel.
The hotel charges $59 a night to park.

Now I'm thinking it might be better to get a hotel Saturday night near the wedding location then drive back Sunday morning and return the car.
Especially since we'll have the kids with us.

Not sure yet, any opinions?

JBord

Are you sure they don't have an after hours drop off? I've only used Hertz a few times, but I have used the after hours drop at one of their non-airport locations (not in Chicago). You just park the car where they tell you and put the keys in a drop box. Rather than re-do all your plans, maybe just call one of those local offices and ask first?

sard

Thanks for the reply.
I spoke with the location closest to the hotel and they actually mentioned no after hours drop off which then kick started my whole thinking about what to do.

JBord

That stinks. I guess your options depend on what time you think you'll be leaving the wedding and heading downtown. If it's not too late, it's easy enough to drive the car to ORD and then take a taxi (~20 mins, $35) or the L (~45 min, $5/adult) downtown. If it's going to be a late night at the wedding, I'd probably consider a hotel near the wedding as you mentioned.

donnde

I did a quick check and saw that the Hertz location at Union Station has after hours drop off. It's a 5 to 10 minute cab ride from your hotel. On the way back into the city you could drop your wife and kids off at the hotel and then drop the car. You still have the taxi expense, but will be cheaper than $59 and you won't have to deal with the car in the morning. Taxis should be plentiful at the station.

I had a similar issue years ago where I needed a car only for the day and was stuck with parking it overnight. Fortunately the pickup was at a hotel parking lot with public access. At the end of the day I drove back to the lot, pulled a ticket and parked the car. The next morning I went back, drove the car to the rental car level and threw away to ticket. Not sure if that works for any of the Hertz city locations.

sard

Thank you for checking for me.
I think I have to just pay for the parking.

Its a night wedding so I assume we won't get back to the hotel until late at night so my wife will need help with a 3 year old and a 1 year old who were kept up past their bed times...

UKtravelbear

If you want to do a boat trip then there are others than the CAF ones - and likely cheaper - but obviously the commentary isn't as detailed but problem is if the kids don't like it you are stuck on the boat until the trip ends whereas at a museum you can actually leave!

javabytes

RE: car rental, have you looked into Zipcar (or similar, i.e. Enterprise Car Share)?

sard

I haven't looked into other companies - I have a ton of Hertz points and wanted to save a bit of money.


The Hertz in the Hyatt has after hours drop off (leave it with the valet) - but I get no receipt from them, and they are not open on Sunday.
They won't be able to process the return until Monday. (although I've never done after hours drop off - I hate not closing out the rental in person)

I'll discuss with the wife whether she thinks she can handle the two kids for about 20 minutes while I drop off the car there.

sard

Just got back from my trip, brief recap:
1. We ended up staying at the Homewood Suites on 40 E Grand. Good location, nice staff, I liked it. The staff for the food/kitchen/breakfast was very very nice and helpful - thumbs up!

2. First trip for a family event and first trip with kids.
2a. Multiple family dinners, so that cuts into the sight seeing time
2b. Totally was not prepared for traveling with kids. You don't realize how much time is spent on things while at home - for example breakfast. We spent over an hour each day at the hotel trying to get the kids to eat their breakfast. By the time breakfast was done and the kids were cleaned up - its after 10am!!
So on Friday after breakfast, we walked to Navy Pier - by the time we got there (15-20 minute walk) - both kids were asleep! So we turned around and walked back to the hotel and bought lunch. (family dinner that night)

3. Picked up the rental car on Saturday morning - the Hertz location ran out of cars so I had to wait about 20 minutes for one to show up.
Took donnde's suggestion and did a one way to Union Station that night
3a. Union Station's after hours location is very hard to find. I circled the area for over 30 minutes trying to find it, finally asked a police officer who told me where it was. The Hertz address is: 225 S Canal - but the garage is on the perpendicular block!
3b. The location/staff gets a thumbs down from me. I called Sunday morning to check on the return status (called 10 times before someone picked up the phone) was told they have a lot of cars to return so they will get to it sometime "today or tomorrow". Finally called again 5 minutes before closing and was told the same thing. Called Monday and was put on hold for 15 minutes before I hung up. Finally called customer service who told me the contract was closed out. BUT I NEVER received a receipt from them (no email receipt) - horrible customer service

4. Sunday we took the kids to the Childrens Museum at Navy Pier - they enjoyed it. Then family dinner again.

5. Monday - Millennium park, the kids enjoyed Maggie Daly park - then we went back to the hotel for their nap and then family dinner

So did not get much sight seeing done due to family meals and the kids nap schedule and their eating times.

Thank you all for the helpful suggestions

JBord

Thanks for the report back.

I remember when my nieces were small, and we had similar experiences when they'd visit. My brother and now 12-yr old daughter came last summer and we had a great time. It gets easier...

gretchendz

I remember traveling with young kids...I always felt like a bit of a drill sargent But they have great memories!

toomanybooks

Just saw this.

When the kids are a bit older, come back and hit MSI, Field, Shedd, Adler (planetarium).

We lived in Hyde Park when my son was born, to age 4. Went to MSI twice a week for years. Amazing place.

Always check to see if joining museums as members will save you money. Generally if you visit twice in a year you've saved money. But the prices and deals change. Check Groupon/Living Social/etc. for deals on membership.

Palmer House has a nice indoor pool. And can be surprisingly inexpensive, depending on the dates.

But having lived here 22+ years and often looking for accommodations for friends/family, I find that Hotwire/Priceline are almost always worth using for hotels stays in Chicago.

If you want to hit a theater/musical/philharmonic show, check hottix.org. Half-price typically.

roberto99

Ahhh, Union Station and Hertz. 2 bad apples. No Bueno.

Having a car downtown is not good.