Chicago Hotels

[slither]

I'm sure this has been brought up before, but I would like some information on places to stay near Union Station. I'm not real familiar with "The Windy City". Hopefully there are some choices within walking distance. Thanks for your help and advice.

 

[pennyk]

Here is a link to a year old thread on topic.

 

[niemi24s]

Try Trip Advisor and use it's mapping feature... https://www.tripadvisor.com/ ...to see hotel, hostel and B&B locations in relation to the train station. Clicking on a hotel icon (bed) will lead you to hundreds if not thousands of reviews, photos and amenities as well as links to their websites for a rate check. Each is rated with respect to the others in that area.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

I suggest the Drake. The bookbinder soup is amazing.

 

[Lonestar648]

The Palmer has been having some special rates recently. I always enjoy the old hotels thinking of the days when the Lobby was a social point since there were no TV's. The main Lobby is on the second level and several stories high. There are special rates at different hotels at different times, though summer is always busy. I have stayed at a couple Hamptons and Garden Inns downtown Chicago. I used Uber which is inexpensive to get to them and back to the station. Depending on the weather and distance, I might walk.

 

[CoachSlumber]

Chicago hotel rates vary so much. In the summer the most basic places can be in the mid 200s plus ridiculous tax. I've stayed at 4 stars in January for under 100. Most hotel rooms are north of the river but the Loop has increasingly more near Union. When rates are high I try the old fashioned name your own price Priceline. Often you will end up with Palmer House or Mich ave Hilton

 

[Acela150]

I have previously stayed at the Holiday Inn Mart Plaza. Which is easily accessible on the Brown Line of the El. Short cab or Uber ride from Union Station. Also get a good price there.

 

[RSG]

The HI at the Merchandise Mart can be a convenient (and relatively inexpensive---for a Loop hotel) place to stay, but only as long as there is not an event going on at the Mart. That excludes the second week in June and a couple other dates.

To the OP, if "walking distance" is your primary criteria, you might consider a hotel in the O'Hare area. There are a number of hotels within close range (truly "walking distance") of the Cumberland and Rosemont CTA Blue Line stations, which are accessible from the Clinton/Blue station 2.5 blocks from Union Station.

I would not recommend walking to any hotel around Union Station with luggage in tow, as the sidewalks and curb cuts are not always even (much less smooth) and the streets are often pedestrian heavy at many times during the day. Crossing the bridges can be challenging even fully ambulatory during times of peak traffic. This is even more of an issue if it happens to be precipitating when you are trying to get from Point A to Point B. Best to take a cab or Uber/Lyft if burdened with more than a backpack/shoulder bag.

As mentioned, hotel rates in Chicago vary widely, and as with much of the northern US, are higher in the high season of summer. Still, deals can be found, particularly on weekends and near holidays (I stayed at a O'Hare area hotel around Independence Day this year which was $84-94 for several nights that week, compared to downtown hotels which were $200 & up for the same time period).

 

[me_little_me]

There is always the Rails to Rooms site:

http://kevinkorell.com/hotels/hotels.htm