Chicago Travel Forum

After looking at shutttle prices, we are thinking of the train to save money. I know each train has a seperate area for luggage, but once we get off, are there any stairs involved to walk to our hotel? I have injuries and a heel spur, not sure how far the walk would be to 40 Grand Avenue East (Homewood Suites) once we get off the train. Would lugging a large suitcase each (with wheels) be a problem?

TIA!!

If you go MapPoint.com and enter your destination (40 Grand Avenue East, Chicago, IL), the resulting map will show that this address is just over a block from the "Grand Avenue" Red Line Station. If you then go to
www.transitchicago.com/maps/maps/200804D.html
you'll see that you can make a direct transfer from the Blue Line (incoming from O'Hare) to the Red Line at the Jackson Station.
Jackson is listed as wheelchair accessible, Grant is not. I'll thus presume the latter will require the use of stairs, or escalators at best. That may or may not be a problem. If you think you can't handle a walk between the two subway lines, an exit from a non-accessible station, and then a two-block walk to the hotel; you can always take a taxi between Grand Station or the Clark Station on the Blue Line to your hotel. Do be generous with your tip; the cab driver won't make a lot of money on such a short trip, and is doing you a BIG favor.

Thanks for the detailed info and reply. We tip generously in general!

I stick with my original reply--take a taxi from O'Hare. The luggage space on the trains isn't very big and not enclosed. If you travel at a busy time the luggage would be something of a problem, and if it's big or there are several pieces walking through the passage between the Blue and Red line would be difficult and the trip to the street at Grand (there is an escalator) would be worse. If you decide to take the train, a compromise would be to get off the Blue line at Chicago and take a taxi to the hotel.

You can actually do both. A cab direct from the airport will of course be the fastest and most expensive way to get directly to your hotel. Taking the train and walking will be the cheapest and slowest method. Taking the train and short cab ride will be somewhere in between. For comparison, in my experience a cab ride into the loop from O'hare is roughly $20 while the train is $2 (you can also buy weekend or 7 day passes, which will come in handy if you plan to use the trains during your stay). Good Luck!