Where Can You Park For a Penny a Day In Chicago?

Answer: The Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers between March 29th and April 7th.  The deal is to celebrate the hotel's 15th birthday.  That's a savings of $39 a day, by the way.

I have complicated feelings about this hotel.  First of all, it's got a great location and great views from many of the rooms.  And I've scored some great deals there, especially in January, when the entire world isn't necessarily beating a path to Chicago to experience the city's winter weather.

But this is also the hotel that once sold my confirmed-and-paid-for-because-I-was-arriving-early-in-the-morning room when I didn't show up 'til 5 a.m. 

Several years ago, I had a luncheon speech to deliver at the hotel to a convention of owners of bed and breakfasts from around the country.  I had to take a red-eye flight  from Los Angeles to make the date, and I knew I'd want a few hours sleep after landing at O'Hare very, very early in the morning.  So I bought a room for that night before my speech and reserved it with the notation I might not be in until dawn.  Even called from Los Angeles before takeoff to make sure my room was there and that the front desk knew I wouldn't be landing 'til early morning.

When I showed up at the desk after 5 a.m., I found the hotel had sold my room to someone else.  Now there's nice work if you can get it: Sell a hotel room twice in the same night.  To management's credit, staff moved a cot into a ballroom that wasn't being used and set up an alarm clock on the floor next to me.  Now, sleeping in a cavernous ballroom is a bit weird, but I was so tired, I didn't care. 

Bit I digress: The point of this posting is that parking overnight at a big-city hotel can be very expensive.  If the upcoming dates coincide with a planned visit to Chicago, well, if you're driving a car, keep that $38.99 in your pocket by choosing the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers.  As I learned, they can always find a room for you there.

Oh, and there's more: According to the "special deals" part of the hotel's website, there are a limited number of rooms on offer for $129 the first week of April.  Most excellent.