Top 10: the best boutique hotels in Chicago
An insider's guide to the top boutique hotels in Chicago, including the best places to stay for rooftop bars and pools, rooms with Chicago River views, sumptuous spas and stylish interiors, in locations including downtown, Lincoln Park, the Gold Coast district, the West Loop and Wicker Park.
Hotel Lincoln is an oddball, but in all the best ways. It takes pride in its eccentric design and unusual location in the leafy Lincoln Park district of brick homes and corner bars. The relaxed, cheeky vibe lures holidaymaking couples and families. The front desk is cobbled together from reclaimed dresser drawers; some of which open and contain candy. Nearby is the lobby's 'wall of bad art', crammed with everything from drawings of sad-eyed elephants to gaudy flower paintings, most of it obtained at thrift stores. Plaid armchairs and blue-fringe couches add to the shabby-chic look.
The 247-room Thompson straddles the gap between trendy and cosy, opulent and relaxed. Its superb restaurant and location in Chicago’s historic Gold Coast district woo stylish types here for nightlife and couples in town for a child-free weekend. The vibe is all about casual luxury. In the handsome lobby, the wood-beam ceiling, hefty bookshelves and upholstered chairs and couches feel like a real living room and invite lingering. Industrial chic elements show the hotel's mod side, such as the coppery chandelier with dangling filament lights and the black iron staircase. More expensive rooms have lake views, but even the city views are sweet.
This West Loop hotel/private club brilliantly manages to never actually feel like a hotel. It’s more like you lucked into staying at your coolest friend’s city apartment, which happens to have an enormous gym with a boxing ring, heated rooftop pool, spa and cinema. Housed in a warehouse that dates back to 1907, Soho House is industrial chic at its finest. The rugged exposed bricks, pipes and distressed wood floors are softened by elegant touches like sparkling chandeliers, velvety chairs and scores of natural light, both in the comfy lobby and 40 bedrooms.
Fun and a little bit funky, this 17-floor boutique hotel celebrates art and doesn’t shy away from daring colors. Rooms feature works inspired by the Chicago World’s Fair, while floor-to-ceiling windows spotlight the living canvas of the city. The onsite bar, Sable, fills with locals nightly. Black and white marble tiles and a black marble wall make for a dramatic entrance, while lush red hues punctuate hallways, rooms and curtains throughout the property. A colourful living room area bustles during the nightly wine hour as guests gather for complimentary drinks and chat with the bubbly staff.
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Style still reigns supreme at this former hat factory, built in 1912. Playful vintage accents pop throughout the 14-floor hotel, and cosy is key here, from the lobby fireplace surrounded by wingback chairs to the dreamy window seats in the rooms. The only allusion to the millinery company is the backlit neon photos behind the front desk of women in hats. Still, there’s a funky feminine style that permeates the boutique, tangentially linking to that history. Accents like red velvet and marble in the elevators, playful pink hallways, elaborate window treatments and bold leafy textiles call to mind design highlights of the Victorian era.
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This hotel is a sophisticated ode to design and feels like the residence of a Mad Men character, with its mid-century-esque furnishings, mural-splashed walls and clean lines throughout. Room service from the on-site Primehouse draws in repeat guests. The 1920s brick exterior isn’t much to look at from the outside, but the swanky interior more than makes up for that. Natural light and warm autumnal colours fill the lobby, where guests gather in front of floor-to-ceiling windows in low-lying orange couches.
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Like a piece of Trivial Pursuit pie, the striking wedge-shaped Art Deco building peers over a famous six-corner intersection in the kinetic Wicker Park neighborhood. Skyline views rise in the distance, while the local scene's beloved music venues, restaurants and bars call for full immersion. Clever vintage touches from the original 1929 office building include the preserved first-floor office directory and etched Art Deco lifts. With frosted glass windows on room doors, the style throughout is a playful paean to the building’s history.
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Bohemian, quirky, retro, indie-cool — the Acme is all of them, and then some. From the abstract mural of a woman splashed across the lobby's brick wall, to the buzzing neon signs, graffiti-painted stairwells and rock-blasting lift with walls made of classic album covers (The Clash; AC/DC), the hotel's personality is wildly original. The Acme has all the accoutrements for the modern urban hipster, with even Apple watches and Google Glass to loan, plus a hot tub and craft cocktails. The hotel is in the trendy River North neighbourhood amid wine bars, gastropubs and fancy boutiques.
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The firm of famed Chicago architect Daniel Burnham designed this 1897 building, which originally housed jewellers and silver craftsmen. The hotel's style plays off this theme: the pearly registration desk looks like a jewellery box; pendant chandeliers sparkle with beveled crystal. Pops of amethyst, ruby and other jewel tones accent the onyx and silver lobby colors. Art Deco-style velvet chairs and couches add a touch of vintage glamour. The downtown location puts you in prime position for sightseeing.
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This grand 1894 building used to house a life insurance company, and décor retains a classic, button-down vibe. Gleaming gray marble dominates the interior: it forms the twin staircases that sweep to the entrance, and the walls and coffered ceiling in the public areas. It also gives the hotel its name. But there are playful touches too, such as vintage elevators with green neon This Car Up signs over the doors. In bedrooms, textured gray walls and the brown-panel headboard over the bed are set off with powder blue drapes and carpet swirls. Cool freebies include bicycles to borrow and staff-led group runs.
