RAILforum: More Chicago questions

This is topic More Chicago questions in forum Amtrak at RAILforum.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
http://www.railforum.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi/topic/11/1271.html

Posted by EmpireBuilder (Member # 2036) on :

Well my upcoming trip to Chicago is now less than 10 days away, and I'm nervous and excited with this being my first Amtrak trip. Anyways, I've had a bit of a minor emergency come up. Myself and a friend of mine will be making this trip, where we will be meeting up with a friend of my friend. I hope you can follow that so far.

Well anyways the person we were supposed to be staying with won't be back in Chicago until Friday, the 18th, but we will be getting in that Thursday already. So as a result we will need a place to stay Thursday night? Does anyone have any suggestions as to a good place to stay that is within a short cab ride? That brings up another question. I have heard that one must be at least 21 to book a hotel room in Chicago (whereas most places it is 18). While I am 21 my friend is only 20 so I'm afraid that might cause some problems. Does anyone know more about this or where I could find this information out? Since the friend we are staying with will be in the Wheaton/Glen Ellyn area we might just decide to stay in that area as well. Does anyone know if there is a phone to use at the metra stations in that area so we could call a cab if we did end up staying out there?

Thanks,
EnpireBuilder

Posted by Gilbert B Norman (Member # 1541) on :

I recognize that the pay phone is most definitely an "endangered species" mowadays, but rest assured there is one or twp at both the Glen Ellyn and Wheaton stations.

Posted by trainman1 (Member # 1392) on :

At some of the larger outlying Metra stations (and both Wheaton and Glen Ellyn probably qualify), there will often be cabs waiting to meet trains arriving from Chicago, especially in the evening hours...so you might not have to use a pay phone anyway.

That said, I don't know anything about hotels/motels out in the western suburbs, so I can't give you any advice. There's another thread on this board called "Where is the best place to stay in Chicago?" in which a couple of inexpensive hotels near Union Station are mentioned. I've never heard that you have to be 21 to get a hotel room in Chicago, but even if that's true, I don't think you'd have any problems. Obviously, people over 21 often share hotel rooms with people under 21 in Chicago all the time...of course, in most cases, it's parents and their kids, but I don't see why a hotel would turn down a 21-year-old with credit card (or even cash) in hand.

Posted by EmpireBuilder (Member # 2036) on :

Thanks for your answer trainman1. Well since my post we've already booked a room in Lombard since my last post, so that part of my problem is solved. I also did my research, I guess you could say, to find the numbers of taxi companies in the area of the station.

I guess at this point the only thing I'm left wondering is this: What are the baggage/luggage restrictions for Metra trains? Would it be against the rules of metra or difficult to take a suitcase and one other bag on to the train? If anyone can help let me know.

Thanks again to those who have responded.