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Originally Posted by shesus
Also, if we are in town when you are in, we can get the Chicago crowd together and have a mini meet-up for dinner if you'd like.  |
And with that, a great idea was born... If I'm in town, I'll be there.
Back on topic, I think you're going to be disappointed in any hotel that's $100/night and downtown. The only ones I can think of are the Ohio House at Ohio and LaSalle (across from the Rock n Roll McDonalds!) and a "transient" hotel that I once quoted coverage for as a favor. I won't tell you the name of it because I'd consider it dangerous. The Club Quarters might be better, but the rooms aren't great. It is nicely located (in my office building, btw) and fairly cheap, but I don't know the charge.
As far as alternatives go, how are you getting here? Are you flying in to O'Hare? Midway? Driving? There aren't that many decent places between the airports and downtown, but there are a few. If you're driving, it may be best to stay on Lincoln Ave. north of Lawrence. You'd have to take the Metra downtown, but it's actually cheaper, safer, cleaner and faster than the El. Then there are bunch of places by the airport of course, so let us know which one.
As far as hints go, be ready for streets to shut down because of neighborhood festivals. Depending on when in July you're coming, you might be here for Taste of Chicago, which happen in Grant Park. Lots of food, even more people and fireworks. I'm sure that someone here can put their hands on the festival schedule once we know the dates and tell you what to avoid for traffic or where to go for fun. The water taxis will be running by then (according to the Trib this morning they start 5/14 this year), so you can take one from the train over to Michigan Avenue. The boat tours are also great (especially the ones by the Historical Society), and there are great places to eat.