St. Patrick's Day Hotel?
 

I realize that I have taken this planning obsession of mine to a whole new level. Here we are almost a full year away, and I'm already planning for St. Patrick's Day 2009.

I'm looking for a recommendation on which hotel to stay at for next years St. Patrick's Day celebration. We would love to be within walking distance of the parade and most of the festivities. My group has been to Chicago in the past, but never to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

I have points with SPG, Hilton and Hyatt.

Thanks in advance.

Assuming the parade route is the same as this year, the Hilton Chicago, Palmer House Hilton, Hyatt Regency and Sheraton Chicago are all close to the parade route, but the Hilton Chicago is the closest, a couple of blocks from Balbo and Columbus, the starting point. The Hyatt is a couple of blocks from the end of the route and the Sheraton is just across the river from the Hyatt. The Palmer House is inland a couple of blocks on State Street and Monroe.

http://www.chicagostpatsparade.com/parade.html

Thanks for your reply. Of the hotles that you listed, do you have a recommendation? We are looking for something nice, but for those that don't have points, price may be an issue.

Thanks Again!

All the hotels I mentioned are "nice" and comparable to each other. They are all large convention hotels. I'd stay at the one with the best deal. They're not the Ritz or Four Seasons, but the next level down, I'd say.

All of those hotels appear on Hotwire a lot. You might think they would not be available on such a busy day, but I've had relatives get Hotwire rooms during times when Chicago is jammed.

Hotwire rooms for March 2009 are already available for some hotels. Presumably there will be a lot more later. Make a cancellable reservation somewhere for backup and start watching.

You'll have to research at biddingfortravel.com and betterbidding.com to figure out which hotel is which.

In addition to being the closest to the parade, Chicago Hilton is the hotspot for St. Patricks day, most likely due to it's proximity to the parade route. Kitty O'Shea's is a rather cool Irish pub in the lobby (for a hotel, anyway)

If you can't use points, then consider the Blackstone as well (Renaissance / Marriott).

It just re-opened after extensive renovations, and it's right across the street from the Hilton.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...ght=blackstone

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...ght=blackstone

Not bad to be planning early. A couple of co-workers were visiting our offices this year on 3/17 and hotel rooms were exhorbitant. They ended up having to slum it and pay nearly $200 for the Congress Plaza, as everything acceptable ro better downtown was either over $350 or just flat sold out.

Thank you all for your great input!