Best Budget Hotels in North Side
Eight hotels on this list keep North Side's budget tier honest, none of them pretending to be more than a straightforward room near O'Hare or a suburban office park. Motel 6 Elk Grove Village leads the group at an 8.8 rating, unusually high for a budget property, with free Wi-Fi and parking bundled into simply furnished rooms. Extended Stay America properties in Itasca and Woodfield Mall push the budget tier toward longer stays, offering a kitchen at a rate still well under the corridor's mid-range hotels. None of these come with a pool, a bar or a business center; what they offer instead is a clean room, a free parking spot, and a rate that does not punish a short O'Hare layover.
North Side's budget tier splits into two clear groups: Motel 6 properties built for a short, no-frills stop, and Extended Stay America suites built for a longer visit where a kitchen matters more than a low nightly rate alone. Both groups cluster around the same towns as the pricier hotels, Elk Grove Village, Arlington Heights, Itasca and Schaumburg, since budget travelers still need the same O'Hare access and office-park proximity as everyone else on this corridor. The honest trade-off across this entire list: expect a functional room, not an experience, which is exactly the right expectation for a corridor built around transit and work rather than leisure.
Where to stay
A Clean Room, Nothing Extra
Budget here means a simple room without the extras, not a compromise on cleanliness or basic amenities. Every property on this list still includes free Wi-Fi and free parking, the two amenities that matter most for a short stay. Motel 6 Arlington Heights and Motel 6 Glenview both sit within walking distance of a landmark or a meal option, useful when a budget stay also means skipping a rental car for every errand. Extended Stay America's two properties trade the lowest possible rate for a kitchen, a fair swap for anyone staying more than two or three nights where cooking saves real money.
Motel 6 Elk Grove Village, IL rates an unusually strong 8.8 for a budget property, offering simply furnished rooms, some with whirlpool tubs, alongside free Wi-Fi and parking. Six taxi-minutes from Busse Woods and a four-minute walk to Habibi In Mediterranean Grill give a budget guest a genuine dining option without needing a car for every meal. Twenty-two taxi-minutes from O'Hare keeps it within reasonable reach of the airport, making it one of the stronger budget picks on this entire corridor for a traveler prioritizing rating over amenities, and the whirlpool tub in select rooms is a real bonus rarely found at this price point on this list.
Trading a Motel 6-style room for a full kitchen, Extended Stay America Suites - Chicago - Itasca offers a studio layout at a 7.6 rating, useful for anyone staying more than a night or two who wants to cook rather than eat out every meal. Free breakfast is included too, a rarer feature at this price point. Seven taxi-minutes from Busse Woods and twenty-three from O'Hare, it suits a budget traveler on a multi-night stay better than a single overnight, where the kitchen has no time to pay off and the studio layout feels cramped for just one night's use.
Motel 6 Arlington Heights, IL - Chicago North Central keeps things simple at a 7.4 rating: free Wi-Fi, free parking and pet-friendly rooms, four taxi-minutes from Busse Woods and an eight-minute walk to The Meltdown for a meal. No pool, no breakfast, no business center, just a clean budget room close enough to Arlington Heights' Metra corridor for anyone splitting a trip between a short stay here and a day into Chicago on the train instead of a rental car, which keeps the whole trip's cost down considerably compared with the pricier business hotels clustered a short drive away in Deerfield.
Motel 6 Glenview, IL - Chicago North closes this list two minutes' walk from Kohl Children's Museum, a genuine attraction most budget hotels on this corridor cannot match, at a 7.2 rating with free parking and pet-friendly rooms. The trade-off is the simplest room on this whole list, with no breakfast or pool, but the proximity to an actual family attraction makes it worth considering over a slightly higher-rated budget option that sits further from anything specific to do nearby, especially for a one-day museum trip on a tight budget.
A traveler's perspectiveFor a one-night stop before an early O'Hare flight, I would book Motel 6 Elk Grove Village, rated 8.8, an unusually strong score for a budget property, with whirlpool tubs in some rooms. Habibi In Mediterranean Grill is a four-minute walk away for dinner without a car, and O'Hare sits twenty-two minutes by taxi, which keeps a budget layover simple.
4.4Guest scoreBudgetMotel 6 Elk Grove Village, IL
An 8.8-rated budget stay with whirlpool tubs
View hotel →Why guests love itMotel 6 Elk Grove Village scores an 8.8 from 3,750 reviews, unusually strong for a budget motel, and I would use it as a simple family base near O'Hare, twenty-two minutes away by taxi. Some rooms have whirlpool tubs, worth requesting if that matters to you. Busse Woods is six taxi-minutes away for an outdoor break with children. Wi-Fi and parking are free, and pets are accepted.
4.2Guest scoreBudgetHoliday Inn Express & Suites Chicago-Deerfield/Lincolnshire by IHG
Pool and breakfast at a lower price point
View hotel →Why guests love itAn indoor pool and a hot tub are rare at this level, and they are why I like this 2-star Holiday Inn Express between Deerfield and Lincolnshire for families. Breakfast and parking are free, and an area shuttle helps on days without a car. Par-King Skill Golf is seven taxi-minutes away for younger children, and O'Hare about nineteen. An 8.4 rating from 610 reviews supports it, and parents get a fitness center.
3.8Guest scoreBudgetExtended Stay America Suites- Chicago - Itasca
A kitchen and free breakfast for the long stay
View hotel →Why guests love itStudio suites with a full kitchen are the reason I would consider this Extended Stay America in Itasca for a family on a longer stay, since meals for children are easy to prepare. Breakfast and parking are free and pets are accepted. Busse Woods, seven taxi-minutes away, is the nearest green outing, and O'Hare is about twenty-three minutes off. A 7.6 rating from 493 reviews points to a plain, functional 2-star stay.
3.7Guest scoreBudgetBaymont by Wyndham Glenview
Free breakfast and a gym near Kohl Children's Museum
View hotel →Why guests love itKohl Children's Museum, nine taxi-minutes away, is the reason I would point families to this 2-star Baymont in Glenview. Breakfast, Wi-Fi and parking are free, which keeps a short stay simple, and there is a fitness center for parents. O'Hare is about eighteen minutes away by taxi, handy for a first or last night. A 7.4 rating from 807 reviews fits a basic budget hotel rather than a destination in itself.
3.7Guest scoreBudgetMotel 6 Arlington Heights, IL - Chicago North Central
A simple budget stop near Arlington Heights
View hotel →Why guests love itMotel 6 Arlington Heights is a budget stop, and I would treat it as a one or two night base before or after O'Hare, fourteen minutes away by taxi. Busse Woods is four taxi-minutes off, a useful place for children to run around between travel days. Wi-Fi and parking are free, pets are accepted, and the Arlington Heights Metra corridor is close by. A 7.4 rating from 946 reviews matches a simple stay.
3.6Guest scoreBudgetTO PLATFORM
Motel 6 Glenview, IL - Chicago North
Two minutes from Kohl Children's Museum
View hotel →Why guests love itKohl Children's Museum is two minutes away on foot, and that single fact is why I would mention this budget Motel 6 in Glenview to families. The rooms are simple, but parking is free, pets are accepted and a coin laundry helps on a longer trip. O'Hare is eighteen taxi-minutes away. A 7.2 rating from 1,105 reviews fits a no-frills stay planned around the museum rather than the motel itself.
3.6Guest scoreBudgetExtended Stay America Suites- Chicago - Woodfield Mall
A kitchen suite steps from Woodfield Mall
View hotel →Why guests love itWoodfield Mall is close, and Egg Harbor Cafe is four minutes away on foot, so this Extended Stay America works for a family that wants meals and errands nearby, which is how I would use it. The kitchen-equipped studios make longer stays with children easier, parking is free and pets are accepted. The Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology is the same short walk away. A 7.2 rating from 438 reviews suggests a basic 2-star stay.
Local tips
- 1Book Motel 6 Elk Grove Village for the strongest rating-to-price ratio on this entire budget list, at 8.8.
- 2Choose an Extended Stay America property if staying more than two nights and a kitchen would save meal costs.
- 3Pick Motel 6 Glenview if a nearby family attraction matters more than breakfast or a pool.
- 4Confirm pet fees separately even at pet-friendly budget properties. The room rate rarely includes them.
- 5Skip these for a business meeting that needs a proper business center. None of the eight budget hotels here include one.
- 6Use Motel 6 Arlington Heights as a base if a Metra day trip into Chicago matters more than airport proximity.