Recommended Places to Stay

[YMM (Ship 12 Div 98)]

Please include hotel name, phone number, price, and features about hotel.

[tiffytbe]

My friend just stayed at the Residence Inn Waukegan for last Friday's PIR through the weekend and loved it. I am also going to be staying there in November for my son's PIR. I was told if you call and ask, they have a PIR discounted rate. I happen to work in the hotel industry so I am getting in on an industry discount.

[pbarb62]

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Waukegan and it was great.  Close to stores/restaurants, under 10 min drive to the base, free shuttle to PIR, breakfast included.  Clean....would recommend.  If your sailor likes steak, would highly recommend Steve's steakhouse in Gurnee.....fantastic!! (10 minute drive from the hotel).

[Washingtonmom]

I am staying at navy lodge what do you recommend to do on their liberty? where to eat or what to do to get most out of visit?

[charlottesmomShip14Div019]

Anybody have a review on Quality Inn, Waukegan?  Hubby just booked it because it has a shuttle to PIR and he will not be renting a car, using mass transit.  Thank you

[NausetMom]

Highly recommend the Holiday Inn express inn. 611 Lakehurst Rd., Waukegan, IL  [phone]. The check in was fast, the rooms were ready, the staff helpful  and the rooms were very clean.  It was very close to Sarge Meet and Greet about 2 mins.     It took about 8-10 mins to the base depending on traffic lights.  Close to shopping and restaurants, some you could walk to.  Ask for the PIR rate.  

My sailor liked it because it was a little away from the base, but close enough that we were not in the car long.

[boocoo]

We kept hearing such terrible awful things about the Ramada in Waukegan, but here we are now (10/11/2013 PIR) and it is fabulous!! Sooooo glad we didn't change our reservations. We have a very nice king/suite, very comfortable bed, nice living room with couch, chairs, TV, desk, fridge, micro, etc... The hotel has recently been remodeled and is very nice. Navy PIR rate for this fabulous King Suite was $89 a night!! Fantastic deal. Has a great indoor heated pool and Jacuzzi. Awesome continental breakfast and they start it at 5:30 a.m. on Fridays so the Navy families can eat and get to their shuttles/cars, etc.. on time. Customer service was very good. We would definitely stay here again and highly recommend it to anyone coming for PIR that needs a nice place to stay and a nice suite to hang out in with their families and new Sailor!!!!

[islandmomma]

I just got back from our sons PIR (10/11/13) and we stayed at the Hilton Garden in Lake Forest.  They gave us a PIR rate of $88, you have to call to get that rate.  It was clean and well maintained with a pool and hot tub.  There is a paid for breakfast buffet but they gave us free vouchers for the whole family in honor of our son.  The staff was great, they quickly handled any request and printed us directions to a local resturant.I would recommend this hotel.

[RAINE13]

Good evening, I was looking at the hotel on  base at great lakes, have anyone stayed there before, I would like to know how the stay there was, it is about $20.00 cheaper then navy lodge, I really dont need anything fancy,but i would still like to hear past experiences, and would people who aren't in the navy,or a spouse to someone in the navy able to stay?

[lemonelephant]

It's the Gateway Inn & Suites. There is info in Saving Money PIR Weekend.

[roguevalgal]

I'm thinking of making reservations at the Courtyard Marriott in Waukegan-Gurnee for our son's PIR 7FEB14.  Has anyone stayed there recently?  Comments? 

I also see a lot of positive comments for the Holiday Inn Express.   Marriott doesn't offer a free breakfast or shuttle (said we could either use the MWR shuttle (?) or Sarge's).  They do offer breakfast and dinner though - at our cost.   It's also supposed to be very close to Sarge's for the Thursday reception for Family/Friends. 

[PoodleLady]

Navy Lodge - Highly recommend!  

Just returned home from attending PIR on 1/17/2014.  We stayed at the Navy Lodge for $66.00 per night.  The room had 2 queen beds, small fridge, microwave and 4 cup coffee pot.  Bathroom included a small hairdryer.  Room was very clean, beds were comfortable, pillows were awesome.  The Lodge was well cared for and did not look old, worn or run down!

They provided a free Continental Breakfast complete with boiled eggs, bagels, toast, hot oatmeal, fresh fruit and a make your own waffle area. Of course there was fresh coffee and juice.  It started around 5:30 AM which is good because you'll want to leave by 6:15 AM for PIR! (Really!)

The front desk ladies were extremely nice and helpful. They gave us directions and great tips for getting to PIR.  The Lodge does not have a pool, gym or any other amenities of that type . . .but we were not looking for any of this and there would have been no time to use it anyway!  There was a snack vending room which we did take advantage of. . .you new sailor was excited to eat some junk food and have a soda with real sugar!  They also give you a card to shop at the NEX Mini-mart gas station which is just down the street.

The best part about the Navy Lodge is that you are just a mile or so from the base.  If you stay here, I recommend renting a car . . .for us that turned out to be cheaper then using Sarge's Shuttle service. There is nothing within walking distance around the Lodge so you will need a taxi or shuttle if you want to go anywhere.  We flew into Midway and the drive was an easy one to the Lodge using the GPS on our phone.  My husband also studied a map of the area before we left to have a sense of where we would be driving - so do your homework before you leave!  If you rent a car, pay the fee for the toll road transponder . . .it is worth it!  We also had them fill the gas tank up as their gas prices were cheaper than what was on the street and we didn't have to worry about returning the car with a full tank.  We only used a little over half a tank in a mid-size car and we drove around a lot over the 2 1/2 days we were there.  

Reserve early as they did fill up the week before our PIR!  You can always cancel if something happens that you don't attend or you decide to stay somewhere else.  They don't charge your card until you arrive.  When I called, I notice my credit card had expired so they put a "courtesy hold" on by room until 6:00 PM the day we were to arrive.  I did call back later with the new credit card info as I didn't want to take a chance of not having a room once I found out they were full.

If you are leaving for PIR soon . . . have a wonderful time!  We did!

[lemonelephant]

The road crews are great about getting the roads clear. Slow down if conditions warrant it and you will be fine.