Travel

Hotel Accommodations in South Bend And Transportation From Chicago

The Holiday Inn City Center is located at 213 W. Washington St., just across the street from the GTF office building (1/2 block off Main St.). The phone number is 574-232-3941. You should be able to get a room during the week, but when the University of Notre Dame has a home football game, it is impossible to find a room on Friday and Saturday nights anywhere in South Bend or the surrounding towns. The Holiday Inn should give you a rate of $69.95 if you tell them you are a student of the GTF at the time of registration. Amenities include irons and ironing boards, hair dryers, coffee makers, data ports in all rooms, complimentary shuttle service to and from South Bend Regional Airport, heated indoor swimming pool, in house restaurants, exercise facility. Upon registration, ask about joining the Priority Club (free) which allows for free parking.

The Jameson Inn would require a taxi ride since it is about three miles from downtown; however, the city buses do service that area, and it would be a straight trip down 31, which turns into Main St., which intersects with W. Washington. The buses run every hour. The phone number there is 574-277-3211, and they give our students a rate of $58.00 when you mention that you are with the Graduate Theological Foundation at the time of reservation. Amenities include Deluxe Breakfast Express, heated indoor swimming pool, fitness center, in-room refrigerator/microwave, coffee maker, data ports in all rooms. The Inn is about a 15 minute ride from the airport, about 10 minutes to our suite of offices, and 5 minutes to the University of Notre Dame. A shuttle service to and from the airport must be arranged when you make your reservation.

The Marriott Hotel is about 2 1/2 blocks from the GTF, but they do not offer our students a special rate. They do have a shuttle bus service to and from the South Bend airport. Amenities include restaurant in house, coffee maker, fitness center, swimming pool, hair dryer. The ·phone number is 574-234-2000.

Other Hotels - There are numerous other small hotels in South Bend which you would be able to find online.

Bus Service From Chicago - There is a bus line called Coach USA (formerly known as United Limo) which runs between O'Hare and Midway Airports and South Bend/Mishawaka. The phone numbers are 800-833-5555 and 574-254-5000. You would follow the signs at O'Hare (of a red bus and also red arrows on the floor) to the Shuttle Bus Center where you can buy a ticket (or you can also buy a ticket on the bus). It takes about 3 1/2 hours from O'Hare to the South Bend Regional Airport. You can get off at the South Bend Regional Airport and take the shuttle bus service or a taxi to the hotel.

Driving Directions From O’Hare Airport in Chicago

When you leave O'Hare, you would take 294 South and follow the directions for "Indiana" or "Indiana Toll Road." Once you are on the Indiana Toll Road, you will travel for about an hour until you reach the South Bend - Notre Dame exit (#77). After you exit, turn right at the stop light. This is 31 which becomes Main St. You will stay on this street (about 3 miles) and go past St. Mary’s College (on your right), the WNDU television station (on your left), Holy Cross College (on your right), the Notre Dame sign (on your left on the corner of 31 and Angela St. - St. Joseph High School on your right). Continue straight through intersection, down a hill, under the train tracks, over a bridge, past a hospital (on your right), and the street curves to the right and immediately back to the left. You will cross over La Salle St., Colfax, and the next street is Washington. Turn right on Washington, and the Holiday Inn is on your right, and the tall Tower Building (where we are located) is on your left. The parking lot for the Holiday Inn (if you are staying there) is behind it and costs $4 a day. There is a parking garage immediately across the street from the parking lot (between Washington and Colfax) which is $5 a day or two-hour free parking. There is an open parking lot on the corner of Lafayette and Colfax which is $1.75 a day.

You could also leave O'Hare and take 190 East (or South??) to the Dan Ryan Parkway which would take you through Chicago rather than around it. Depending on the time of day and the traffic, that might be a faster route. If you go 294, there will be at least four toll booths where you pitch in $.80 each time, so have change available unless you wish to go through the manual lanes.

Total driving time (depending on weather and traffic) should be around three hours. It can be driven in 2 ½ hours when conditions are excellent, but you should plan for at least three hours.