Choice of location - which hotel???
 

Have options on Sheraton 4 points - the chicago hilton and towers and the palmer house hilton - which would you choose on facilities/location - price difference is negligible - Thanks Gwen

The Hilton & Towers is a bit south for most folks. Palmer house is ok location but is hit/miss with rooms and also the people that stay there (they either love it or hate it). 4 pts will have the most standard rooms.

Do you have status with any of these chains and what are you in Chicago to do?

which hotel
 

I have gold status with starwood - looking to do the touristy stuff Thanks Gwen

Which touristy stuff?

Hilton and Towers is closer to more museums. It's maybe more "businesslike" and uniform. If you rent (or have seen) the Harrison Ford movie "The Fugitive"
then you will be familiar with some of the Hilton and Towers, where the final scenes take place.

Palmer House is closer to shopping/theaters/business district; it's more old-fashioned (fancy high-ceilinged lobby, etc.).

But they are only a few blocks apart; it really doesn't matter much.

My parents always stay at the Palmer House, for what it's worth.

I'd definetely opt for the Palmer House if you're going to be a tourist. You're only at the hotel to sleep anyway, right?

Palmer House is on state street, all the big shopping is there, "L" is within 1 blocks walk of the Palmer House as is the subway. If you want to goto museums, you can hop on the #146 bus I think it is right there (www.transitchicago.com for CTA maps) which goes to every museum but Science & Industry (awesome day trip btw), which the #10 takes you to right on state street. You can also take the red line subway on state street south to Roosevelt and walk east about 10 minutes onto the main museum campus.

Sweet Willie hit it right with the description above. IMHO- I think the Palmer House has a better location for "Touristy" stuff. Palmer House has an old school feel to it. But I have never had a bad experience there.

My favorite area to stay is in River North. Hilton Garden Inn, Courtyard By Marriott, the Amalfi, and my personal fave- Lowes House of Blues Hotel.

Willie is pretty much spot on. One of my friends stayed this week at the new 4Pts...it's probably in as much, if not more, of a "touristy area" (depending on what you're looking for) than the Palmer House. Ontario St, one block off Michigan Ave. The 4Pts also has the new 4Pts bed (comparable to the Sweet Sleeper, I was told). I've never been a fan of the Palmer House once you get past the elevators as the times I've stayed there I always ended up with a tiny room.

If there's only two of you, I'd vote: none. The Palmer House will give you a tiny room if you are without status. The Hilton is a bit far south. The 4 Points is in a good location, but something about it from the outside gives me the creeps.

I'd book a refundable rate at the Four Points, but then I'd go to betterbidding.com and research Priceline rates for 4* properties the "North Michigan Avenue" zone. Unless there's a convention in town, $65-$95/night will likely get you the Sheraton or the Hyatt Regency, both two blocks east of Michigan Avenue on opposite sides of the river.

Great advice! If you are not looking for points with your status or you don't have status - go priceline. We have had great rooms at really low prices. Although I'm sure some here will disagree.

FYI- With the Palmer house we are gold and still got just an OK room. It's not a bad place. Just OK.

With Starwood Gold - why not look into the W properties? I prefer the north side of the river, as well - while I haven't stayed at the Four Points on Rush Street, I like its location much more than the other two properties mentioned by the OP.

location
 

siunds good to me - will try priceline - had a couple of goes - but didnt know where to pitch it - so will put one on hold (refundable) and try my hand at the bidding sites - might aswell have fune aswell as try and snag a bargain!! Thanks everyone Gwen

Before you bid you may want to try what ElmhurstNick suggested- go over to www.betterbidding.com and www.biddingfortravel.com (no flaming me please) and lurk around for bidding strategies for Chicago. Both those boards have really good information. Just don't try to post on bidding for travel, the owner/moderator is nasty and surly. (That's another thread.) :D


Also as announced in another thread their is a special at the Hilton Garden Inn in the River North Area HGI Magnificent Mile/Chicago downtown $89 travelzoo special

Hyatt Regency is a good bet ^

Some friends were in town last night, they got a room with a king bed overlooking the lake at the hilton and towers for about $139 including tax. They first looked on expedia, it wanted an extra $25 for the second person (total $164), then I had them check the hilton site and they got the lower rate. They told me this morning that the desk clerk said normally a lake view is $25 extra, but he gave it to them for free.

They loved the place, did the whole Art Institute through John Hancock Michigan Ave. tourist thing.