Looking for inexpensive hotel rates for wedding guests in Chicago

chibride71

Hello ladies,

I'm looking for an inexpensive (but not tacky), hotel for out-of-town guests this summer. Any suggestions on places to call for a good discount on room blocks?  The wedding will be in Hyde Park, and the reception in Lincoln Park, so downtown would be preferable. 

Thank you!

January Bride

What price range are you thinking of when you refer to inexpensive?

Also, do you mind sharing your wedding date?  I am asking because my wedding is Lollapalooza weekend and therefore we approached our hotel search very differently than we would have if we were getting married during an off-season weekend or during a weekend when there were no big events in town.

chibride71

Ironically, my wedding is Lollapollooza weekend, too. And I was hoping for $150-$200 range. What was your strategy?

January Bride

Funny coincidence!  

Okay, hopefully you have more luck than we did.  First, I would get on this ASAP because hotels sell out ridiculously fast for Lolla weekend. 

We currently have blocks at the W Lakeshore and the Westin River North.  Our blocks were $239 and $289.  High, but I guess not terrible for the summer at nice hotels. 

We tried to get a block at cheaper hotels as well (in the ranges you mentioned), but we were shocked that when we called these hotels (I think we tried every reasonable hotel downtown), they either told us no way for the block, or they were charging HIGHER rates than these nicer hotels.

My theory is that the cheaper hotels assume that people will call the cheaper hotels for Lolla, find out that they're really expensive, and then not even bother calling the nicer hotels because they just assume that it will cost more. 

Therefore, we are just telling guests to call around if they are interested in staying at one of the cheaper hotels in the area.  It sucks and is super inconvenient for them, but we were not able to get blocks that were less than that in the area.  They can still possibly get individual rooms for reasonable prices, but the cheaper hotels weren't willing to give out cheap blocks.

Let me know if you have more luck than we did - maybe we can share tips!  Good luck!

ncwenze

 I agree with pp, get on this immediately.  Last year I needed to find a hotel during Lolla and we had to go to four different hotels before we found one with a vacancy, and we only needed 1 room

MobKaz

For my sons wedding last July, he got really good rates at 2 hotels in the south loop.

His rates at The Dana Hotel on N. State were $169 for a king and $189 for a double.  At The James Hotel on Ontario, rates were $199 for a single/double, and $299 for an apartment/loft suite.  We had some families/friends coming in from out of state that we knew would be willing to split costs with a larger space, so that is why we booked some rooms at the James.  

suzie211

Try the Marriott on Michigan or the Rennaisance.  I'm using the Marriott for my block Labor Day weekend and was able to get a block of 20 for well under $200.  Not sure what the rates will be for Lolla weekend.

The reservations group can also search all of the Marriott properties downtown and save you from having to call each hotel individually.

kbih27

In Response to Re: Looking for inexpensive hotel rates for wedding guests in Chicago:
We are using the Day's Inn in Lincoln Park of Chicago.  They allowed us to reserve a block of 25 rooms, and have been nice to work with.  Give them a call, and see if they are available?!