next »

[libsys]

I will be attending the EDUCAUSE Midwest Conference in Chicago next March.  The conference will be held at the "InterContinental Chicago" 505 N. Michigan Avenue.  Chicago is a 6 hour drive or a 1 hour flight from where I live.  I would rather drive and stay at a (cheaper) hotel/motel somewhere out of the city limits (southeast) with easy access to the train.  Any suggestions?   

[hegemony]

If you are driving, why do you need access to the train?  Do you mean the El or a commuter train?  Or an Amtrak train? 

If you mean that you plan to stay on the edge of town and commute in by train, don't bother.  The extra hassle factor is so not worth it.  Just stay at the conference hotel.  But perhaps I haven't understood your situation.  Are you familiar with Chicago?

[barred_owl]

Hegemony asks good questions. 

However, if cost is the deciding factor and you are looking for something on the southeast rim of the city that has commuter train access, you might want to look for something in the Chicago Heights area.  I can't vouch for the safety, cleanliness, or comfort of hotels in that area, but I do know that there is a train that goes from Chicago Heights to downtown Chicago.  (I stayed with a friend who lived in the Steger/Danville area on the occasion of having to get to downtown--he drove me to the commuter train station in Chicago Heights.  My recollection is a bit fuzzy, but it seemed like the train trip was about 30 minutes, max.)

[libsys]

If you are driving, why do you need access to the train?  Do you mean the El or a commuter train?  Or an Amtrak train? 

Thanks - yes I meant commuter train.  I tried Amtrak once - never again...... (I had forgotten about that option).  I prefer driving due to the "freedom" of being able to come/go as needed rather that depending on a plane schedule (plus the cost - since I will probably be paying for this conference out of pocket).

[hegemony]

The southeast rim of Chicago is the dangerous, run-down, dirty, creepy part.  You don't want to stay there.  If you want to stay somewhere out of downtown, you should probably go for the near north.  If you want to come in from the suburbs, the western suburbs would be the suburbs to come in from.  But you won't save all that much, it will probably cost you to park anyway, and the extra hassle factor is considerable.  You'll be standing out in the biting wind waiting for your transportation, it will take a while to get you to the conference, and then you'll have to walk from the train or bus to the conference.  And in the evening, when you've been talking to a group of people in your subject and they say, "Hey, come along to dinner, we're just going over to the so-and-so restaurant," you'll have to think: after everyone else is done, you've still got your cold commute back to your out-of-the-way hotel room.

If the conference hotel is much pricier than others nearby (even with the conference discount), stay at another downtown hotel a few blocks away.  There are a ton in that area, at various prices. 

[hegemony]

I should add that you also don't want to stay in Chicago Heights, probably at all, but at the very least without a very precise knowledge of the place where you'll be making reservations.  You could easily end up at a hotel where rooms rent by the hour.

[msparticularity]

My best advice: make a reservation somewhere that will take cancellations up until the last minute (perhaps the conference hotel?) and then once you are within a day or so, use Priceline to book a room in the Mag Mile/River North area. I have stayed there often for $50-100 a night--seriously. Just do a minimum star level of three, and indicate the geographic area you want to be in. Unless this is an uber-large conference that has saturated the lodging in the area, and/or there are several others occurring near the same time, Chicago in March is not a major destination. And if you are staying quite close, taking a cab back to your hotel after evening events and/or dinner is a reasonably priced option.

[river_rat]

Check out the Renaissance Chicago O'Hare Suites -- a bit far from downtown, but convenient to the Blue Line, and not too pricey. I've stayed here for downtown conferences before.

[lightningstrike]

I suggest biting the bullet and staying in the conference hotel.  Conferences are about networking in addition to catching up on the newest developments in a research area.  Much of the most effective networking occurs in informal situations (often impromptu) at the conference hotel.  In addition, telling other conference attendees that you are staying at El Motel Barato  can be somewhat embarrassing. 

But if you insist....

Since you are driving, just drive into downtown and park in the many neighborhoods that surround downtown Chicago.  I suggest the Cabrini-Green neighborhood.  It's sketchy, but not unsafe.  It used to be a dangerous 'hood, but it is changing.  A lot of people are still afraid to park there, but it's not a big deal, anymore.  I've done it myself when I still lived in the Midwest and drove to Chicago for many things (other than conferences).  I always enjoyed the brisk walk.

Stay at the Motel 6 in Hammond or one of the other motel establishments on the IL/IN border.  Or just go west on the Eisenhower Expressway until it turns into 88.  The farther West you go, the cheaper it gets.  For either commute, start REALLY early (no later than 6 AM).  You should get there by 7:30 AM.  Early?  Yes.  But wait 'til 6:30 or 7:00 to start and you will get there by 9:30 or 10:00. 

To reiterate my first paragraph, it's not worth it to be cheap.  Just stay in the conference hotel. 

Yes, I have done the cheapskate trip several times over the course of almost a decade, but it has been a while.  So do as I say, not as I did.  And learn from my mistakes.

[tee_bee]

One more vote for the conference hotel or nearby. Assume parking is $30 a day at the hotel. Assume you'd spend $10 a day (a bit high, but still) on MARTA or CTA fares. Factor in the value of your time. I think staying downtown might be competitive.

I'd search on Hotels.com. I've had wonderful results from them for hotels all around the world (Stockholm, Schiphol Airport, Washington DC, etc.) and have nailed down some good deals at hotels near to conferences.

Final note: sometimes you want to change clothes, or spill something on your tie, or need a short nap, etc. It's so much nicer to be in the conference hotel, even if it costs more.

[new_bus_prof]

There are plenty of hotels to choose from on the Magnificent Mile of Chicago. Try hotels.com or expedia.com and choose a 3-star/4-star hotel on the Mile. There are several that will book for $90 a night -- single or double occupancy. Parking at the hotels on MM run about $25 each time you park.

The commuter train takes 45 minutes to an hour to get to the MM from the outskirts during commuter hours. And the local taxi companies have a good time charging $$ to non-locals.