Long Distance Travel Plans - Planes, Trains, Autos, Hotels -

Court and Joe's Wedding! - 7/14/01 | home

Long Distance Travel Plans - Planes, Trains, Autos, Hotels -

New Updates Below in Red

As Courtney and I are well aware, many of our family and friends will be traveling to Kenilworth, Illinois to be a part of our celebration. It means a great deal to Courtney and I to have all of you with us and we understand how much planning is involved in making the trip. You'll find a number of important tidbits of information below that hopefully can simplify your travel plans. Either flying and renting a car or flying and using public transportation (e.g. taxi's, the "EL", shuttle bus, etc.) appears to be your best bet. If you spend a little bit of time comparing costs through the Internet and some of the specific wedding discounts below, I think you will save some money on your traveling without sacrificing your plans.

FLYING - If you are flying, it is more convenient to fly into O'Hare International Airport. Kenilworth is about 17 miles East North East (ENE) of O'Hare. Midway Airport is a second, smaller airport but it is South of the city of Chicago so you never know what you will run into traffic-wise on your way North to Kenilworth. Since the dawn of the Internet, I have religiously used Travelocity.com (sorry Travel Agents) for all of my travel arrangements. It is an easy to use, travel web site where you can compare prices and book flights, rental cars, etc. from the comforts of your computer. If you are into that sort of convenience, check it out while you comparison shop.

Some of the airlines have wedding travel discounts. For example you'll save 5% off any published fare on any American Airlines or American Eagle flight when you mention our "STARfile reservation #" which is 5971UB. The kicker with this plan is you need to call to make reservations versus using the Internet - The number is 1-800-433-7300.

- US Air also has a travel discount plan. If 10 or more people choose to fly on US Air to Chicago between the dates July 9th and July 19th, 2001 (which makes sense for the July 14th wedding) you may use our "Gold File # 42641845." Again you need to call to make reservations versus using the Internet and the number is (877) 874-7687. The discount is 7% off published fares.

CAR RENTALS - Again, Travelocity.com is a great resource to compare different car rental companies for your driving needs while in Chicago.

There are also special car rental rates for those who will be traveling for our wedding. For example, if you mention code AWD#D003737 with Avis you can benefit from rates ranging from $32-$52 per day, or discounts off promotional rates, whichever is best. Their number is 1-800-331-1212.

THE TRAIN - If you are considering traveling by train...it isn't worth it. The time and financial costs make it more inconvenient for you. For example, Amtrak's fares from Washington, DC to Chicago, IL are over $200 round-trip, not to mention it is takes 19 hours one way!

DRIVING DISTANCES

Cleveland, OH	358.6 mi	Pittsburgh, PA	475.5 mi
Buffalo, NY	557.1 mi	Hartford, CT	894.0 mi
New York, NY	805.4 mi	Washington, DC	719.3 mi
Boston, MA	1001.0 mi	Atlanta, GA	721.9 mi
Burlington, VT	951.1 mi	Tampa, FL	1192.1 mi

THE HOTEL - We have booked a block of hotel rooms - (7/12-7/14) nights at the North Shore Doubletree Hotel (click on the name of the hotel or it's picture to go to their web site) in Skokie, IL. It is very conveniently located to the Church (3.8 mi.), the Reception (3.7 mi.), O'Hare Airport (14.2 mi.) and many other places of interest. To make reservations, you may call the hotel reservations office directly at (847) 679-7000 between 8.30AM and 5.00PM CST, Monday through Friday. Currently, 11 rooms are booked for Thursday, and 24 booked for Friday and 26 for Saturday. Be sure to mention you are with the Vastola-Mueller Wedding Group. The single rate and double rate is $110/night and the rooms are blocked for us until June 14th, 2001 so please don't delay! Suites are also available and they are $285/night.

The hotel has such amenities as an indoor/outdoor pool, fitness center, three restaurants - Windows, the Daily Grill and Sasha's Cafe - and is part of the HHonors Frequent Guest Program (points & miles). It is in walking distance of the Old Orchard Shopping Center, a seven screen movie theater, the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, and many restaurants. Be sure to go to the "Make it a Vacation! - Other Things to do in Chicago" page for more details.

The hotel offers an O'Hare Airport shuttle. The charge for one-way is $14 and round-trip is $20. You may call the hotel's transportation department at (800) 879 - 4458. They request that you make reservations 24 hours in advance of flight arrival / departure. If being picked up at O'Hare, the shuttle comes to the shuttle/bus center Door 3.

"American Taxi" offers a flat fare from O'Hare and Midway Airports (their website says the cost from O'Hare was $22.00 plus $1/passenger; Midway was $42.00 plus $1/passenger). You can contact them when you arrive at baggage claim at (847) 673-1000.