Originally Posted by
tev9999
I'm tryinig to organize a road trip to Chicago for the Lions/Bears game November 13th. I've got enough points for a free room at all of the following:
Holiday Inn West Harrison ($129)
Crowne Plaza Metro (West Madison) ($155)
Holiday Inn Mart Plaza (River) ($205)
All are at the 25K point level. We might end up needing two rooms - the prices above are what I can get today for that Saturday night, and I don't have enough points for two.
As we are the bar hopping type, cheap/dive bar areas are preferred, preferably with easy walking access from the hotel. I love a good brewpub too. Would also like to leave the car at the hotel (all seem to be $36 to park) and walk or take the L to the game and back. The room will just be to crash for the night - don't really care about amenities or overall quality as long as it meets basic HI standards.
Any suggestions on which one would be the best fit?
I also considered staying farther out (MDW or ORD area), but that seems like a much bigger hassle to save a few bucks.
This requires finding tickets to the game too (sold out), so if you have any good sources (besides stubhub and NFL exchange) let me know.
I'm not familiar with the W. Harrison area. Both the Mart (River North) and W. Madison (West Loop) locations sort of fit your requirements. At least one brewpub that I can think of near each (Haymarket in the West Loop and Rock Bottom--a chain--in River North). Neither area is known for its cheap/dive bars, but they exist in both neighborhoods. (Check out Holiday at Randolph & Halsted in the West Loop or The Boss at 420 N Clark St in River North.) Both neighborhoods probably have more upscale bars with River North having more bars in general/a lot of destination bars.
(Just a note: This is my 2 cents having worked in both neighborhoods for years. That said, these days I don't get to either neighborhood more than 5 or 6 times a year, so I'm not as intimately familiar with either as I used to be.)