Whether it's your first Bonnaroo or you’re a music festival veteran, we welcome you to Inforoo.
Here you'll find info about artists, rumors, camping tips, and the infamous Roo Clues. Have a look around then create an account and join in the fun. See you at Bonnaroo!!
Post by Chris Major on Apr 29, 2011 0:18:37 GMT -5
Haha definitely cant put anyone up but I'm down to meet up with whoever. And keep looking in regards to hotels. I mean most people that come to the city do stay downtown but I'm sure there are hotels other places. And yeah basically half the city goes to Lolla it seems like plus with everyone flying in the hotels are pricey and booked up far in advance. I wouldnt wait any longer than this weekend to book a room since the line-up just got released and everyone is making their plans same as you are right now.
Still not sure what I'm gonna do about this.. I'd like to stay in the city. It looks like all the hotels near grant park are about $200 a night... pretty steep.. Is there a middle ground? I'm hoping I can find other places that are downtown, maybe a little further from the park, but with cheaper rates. I have some research ahead of me this weekend
Chris is right, you do not want to stay outside the city during Lolla. Especially if you plan on hitting up any aftershows.
This place is right down the street from me and is a 5 minute walk to the blue line train, which is then only about 15 minutes into the loop. All in all, I'd say it takes me about 40-45 minutes from my apartment to the main gate. It appears the rooms range from $129-$209 and they have availability that weekend. I'd book as soon as you can.
This hotel is right by the brown line train which also goes directly into the loop. It will take longer though as this is a little further north.
Your best bet imo is the Wicker Park Inn. An added bonus is that the Congress Theatre is right up the street and they usually have aftershows. The other main venues (metro, lincoln hall, schubas) are only a 15-20 min cab ride.
Post by Laggy.RETURNS on Apr 29, 2011 20:38:48 GMT -5
Just booked my flight... About every airline I looked up was $400 roundtrip Then I found spirit airlines... $200 roundtrip. I don't know how the fares are for the rest of the country, but I encourage anyone looking to check out spirit
quack paying that much for a room, priceline downtown chicago for $70 a night and i bet you get something
Is priceline down or is it an issue with my ISP/Computer? I haven't been able to get on the site since I started trying last Wed
UNRELATED PRICELINE RANT
I booked a room for Secret Stages in Alabama through Priceline, and the hotel I found was supposedly 0.57mi away from all the participating venues. I found it through a "near location" organized search. It was the only hotel I could find within walking distance that was in my price range, but it was still about $15-20 more per night than I would have preferred. I figured it was would be worth it to stay in walking distance, though.
After I book the room, I do Google Maps directions and realize the hotel's address is showing a much different location than Priceline's map. Turns out this place is deep in the 'burbs. That wouldn't be such an issue except this place is literally double the cost of a lot of the other hotel rooms I had looked at outside of downtown, and the only reason I was willing to pay that much was because I thought it was walking distance.
So I confirmed that the hotel was in the 'burbs, then I checked Priceline again to make sure I wasn't stupid/crazy and just misunderstood the map. Nope, I was right - it's displayed wrong. I called Priceline thinking I would be able to change the reservation pretty easily, but they told me that there were no changes or cancellations allowed on that room. I explained that I only booked that room based on false information on their website, but they said there was nothing they could do. I talked to a manager and all that - they kept telling me that nobody I could talk to would have the authority to change my reservation or give me a refund.
This pissed me off enough that I called the actual hotel and talked to the GM, who was very cool and understanding. I was able to get a refund by giving her name and number to the Priceline customer support people, who said they would "evaluate my claim." Luckily, they refunded the money. Still, I shouldn't need to jump through hoops and get the help of the hotel GM just to change a reservation made based on false information provided by Priceline.
tl;dr: Don't ever make a reservation with Priceline. Use it as a search tool, then book directly with the airline/hotel. When you book with Priceline, you bring in a middleman that causes extra problems if you need to change something.
Post by slightlyaltered on Apr 30, 2011 15:08:52 GMT -5
I' m highly considering trying to make this happen for myself. I have to go to Chicago a few times this summer anyways to get myself ready for school/living there in september. I have a friend that lives 15min. outside the city and has already offered me a place to stay for that weekend.
..It ends so early though! I'll still be wanting to party once the shows are over. What kinds of things will be going on afterwards?
I' m highly considering trying to make this happen for myself. I have to go to Chicago a few times this summer anyways to get myself ready for school/living there in september. I have a friend that lives 15min. outside the city and has already offered me a place to stay for that weekend.
..It ends so early though! I'll still be wanting to party once the shows are over. What kinds of things will be going on afterwards?
There are after-shows/late nights at venues around the city and parties EVERYWHERE all weekend. Where are you going to school?
I couldn't possibly imagine a better introduction to living in Chicago than Lollapalooza. Thats perfection.
priceline works on my computer. and if you do downtown chicago you will be DOWNTOWN chicago. ive never had a problem.
i always put in $70 a night downtown chicago and get they hyatt mccormick. but i also never go during lolla so im not sure where you would get. the trains are all around and cabs are decent price.
maybe i will just go over to all those real nice boats sneak aboard one of them and make it my home for the weekend! always seeing Ferraris in the summer parked in those lots
I' m highly considering trying to make this happen for myself. I have to go to Chicago a few times this summer anyways to get myself ready for school/living there in september. I have a friend that lives 15min. outside the city and has already offered me a place to stay for that weekend.
..It ends so early though! I'll still be wanting to party once the shows are over. What kinds of things will be going on afterwards?
There are after-shows/late nights at venues around the city and parties EVERYWHERE all weekend. Where are you going to school?
I couldn't possibly imagine a better introduction to living in Chicago than Lollapalooza. Thats perfection.
Sounds like my kind of time ;D Are the after parties hard to get to or do they cost a lot of $$$$? Also I'll be going to DePaul. Soo excited and pumped to finally be living somewhere with such an awesome music scene.
Sounds like my kind of time ;D Are the after parties hard to get to or do they cost a lot of $$$$? Also I'll be going to DePaul. Soo excited and pumped to finally be living somewhere with such an awesome music scene.
For most after shows you can expect to pay about what you would normally pay to see the given band. One cool thing is that a lot of times bands are playing smaller venues than they usually would...last year Black Keys played at Metro (capacity 1100) for instance. Of course that also means shows sell out pretty quick. If you are serious about going you will probably want to keep an eye on when the after shows are going on sale and buy tix immediately. Another thing...most venues are a pretty good distance from the park and train stations are sure to be packed when the fest gets out each night. Arriving at venues in time for the openers will usually be difficult unless you choose to skip the headliner at Lolla (not a bad idea considering this year's crop of crappy headliners.) Just something to think about. I've sort of given up on Lolla after shows...I just don't feel like battling the crowds, trains, etc. at the end of a thirteen hour day in the heat...I'd rather just go home and go swimming. I've started going to a show on Thursday night instead. The Metro usually has a pretty good show the night before the fest....last year they had New Pornos and the year before Decemberists.
Post by slightlyaltered on May 1, 2011 19:27:41 GMT -5
^^This was very helpful, thank you. Do I need to worry about this selling out soon..? I'm probably going to wait to purchase the tickets for a little while.
The festival itself? I wouldn't worry too much. It will probably sell out or come close eventually but I doubt it will be anytime soon. I know last year the box office was open during the festival...can't remember if that was just one day tickets or if they were still selling three days. They expanded the number of people they let in last year so you are probably pretty safe for the moment. The more prominent after shows will probably sell out fairly quickly...like within a couple hours tops. But there will be fair warning on the Lolla site of on sale dates, etc. once they are announced.
After looking at the lineup again it seems like there are a lot of good bands I'd love to see, but they are mostly smaller acts I could see for like 10-15 dollars, and the entire bottom half of the lineup is pretty weak altogether IMO. However, I would still like to go if I'm able to afford it and get off work. My question is what's the deal with parking? Do you have to pay to park your car for the weekend? If I went I would just try to sleep in my car every night (there's no way I could afford a hotel in Chicago for 3 nights).
After looking at the lineup again it seems like there are a lot of good bands I'd love to see, but they are mostly smaller acts I could see for like 10-15 dollars, and the entire bottom half of the lineup is pretty weak altogether IMO. However, I would still like to go if I'm able to afford it and get off work. My question is what's the deal with parking? Do you have to pay to park your car for the weekend? If I went I would just try to sleep in my car every night (there's no way I could afford a hotel in Chicago for 3 nights).
Agreed on the lineup. Wouldn't really interest me if I had to travel but since it is my hometown festival I'll be there anyway.
There are parking garages under the park. They are somewhere between 20 and 30 dollars a day. I'm sure you COULD sleep in your car though it probably is technically not allowed.
Post by noeysasquatch on May 5, 2011 22:34:48 GMT -5
i may go simply because the bloody beetroots will be playing. i think the rest of the lineup is pretty solid as well. i got some decisions to make here
Post by sendmetoalbion on May 11, 2011 16:18:23 GMT -5
I'm not into the headliners at all (Muse were a favorite, but the last two albums have turned me off, and they don't play the old stuff live), but the bottom half of the line-up is enough for me to buy a ticket. I used to live in Chicago, and it's just a short drive, so worth it in my eyes. Very excited for Arctic Monkeys and The Vaccines in addition to the Bonnaroo repeats.
Post by Longtime and Frequent Poster on May 12, 2011 0:14:24 GMT -5
I really hope the schedule is announced the Tuesday of the week of Bonnaroo again like last year. That way I'd know when bands like Beirut/Explosions/Sleigh Bells/others playing both are playing Lolla so I know who to see at Roo in case of conflicts.
So... This may have already been discussed on this thread, but unfortunately I don't have much time to read thru all 6 pages.
But, I am thinking of hitting up Lolla this year, but have never been. I just checked out hotel prices online and the cheapest I've seen is $233 per night. Anyone have any tips on how to do Lollapalooza cheaply?
Also, anyone have any advice or things I should know about attending Lolla as a first timer?
I actually like to camp, so Roo is perfect for me. I just want to check out Lolla at least once and I'm pretty stoked about this year's line up.
i've never done lolla either. the thought of august in chicago with that many people doesn't usually appeal to me. but this year...i'm in 
