1st time to Chicago, flexible dates...help with hotels, etc.

My husband and I are planning a trip to Chicago. We were thinking of coming in June or August but are flexible. Preferably, we would like to do maybe a Thursday-Sunday but let me know if that%26#39;s not a good idea. We have no idea what to do, where to stay, and where to eat. ALL help is greatly appreciated. Of course, the first item would be finding a hotel in our price range. We would prefer to stay $100 or less since we don%26#39;t have tons of money for this trip. Then any suggestions on activities on food and activities are appreciated too.

Thank you.

Jennifer

1st time to Chicago, flexible dates...help with hotels, etc.

www.explorechicago.org and the Visiting Chicago section on this web site are good places to do some research on your own.

Please read through the Chicago Hotels section of this web site for hotel reviews. $100 or less per night might be kind of tricky. You might want to consider Priceline or Hotwire. Also check for deals at - http://hotels.travelzoo.com/chicago-hotels/

Chicago is a convention city. Hotel rates run all over the place. Convention calendar - www.choosechicago.com/events

Dining reviews and searches at www.chicagoreader.com

Please cruise thorough previous posts on this forum. Others have posted similar questions.

1st time to Chicago, flexible dates...help with hotels, etc.

Thanks for your reply Dave. I only got to look on the website about 30 minutes last night but I hoped that you would answer. There is so much information it%26#39;s a little overwhelming. I didn%26#39;t know if there were better times to travel since we are flexible with our dates. Is there a certain area of town we should stay? I%26#39;ve read on this website about Magnificent Mile and another part of town. We will probably do the typical tourist things...Navy Pier, The Sears Tower, Wrigley Field, Chicago Pizza, and any other good things people recommend. We%26#39;re 38 and 39 and married 15 years. We love to go out to eat at good, casual restaurants. We enjoy seeing new things together so we%26#39;re really excited about this trip.

Any others with advice is always appreciated.

Jennifer

I%26#39;d keep a close eye on the TravelZoon link, and I would also strongly consider Hotwire.

Play around with dates on Hotwire and see what you come up with. As an example, I plugged in the dates of June 18-21 and found a 4* in the Loop area for $93. This is a match for the Palmer House Hilton.

Use www.betterbidding.com as a resource to figure out which hotels are which before you make a purchase on Hotwire. That way you can bid with confidence. And don%26#39;t hesitate to ask this board about everything before making your purchase!

Good luck!

River North and Magnificent Mile (Mag Mile) areas are best. The Loop area tend to get a little quiet in the evening, except for theater, as it%26#39;s mostly office buildings.

You can also watch www.travel-ticker.com They have some better deals right now than travelzoo.

I echo the Travel Ticker idea, especially since you can get the Conrad Hotel in Chicago in June and August for only $125 a night!

The Conrad is my favorite hotel stay ever! It might be a little above your price range, but well worth it in my opinion. Check out the TripAdvisor reviews and pictures!