Top 10: the best hotels in Downtown Chicago
An insider's guide into the best hotels in Downtown Chicago and The Loop, including the best places to stay for rooftop bars, sophisticated interiors, quirky design, excellent restaurants and impressive views over the city, Chicago River and Lake Michigan.
LondonHouse Chicago
Chicago, Illinois, United States
9Telegraph expert rating
Whether inside or out, it’s all about the visuals here: the skyscraper hotel’s remarkable architecture (a 1920s Beaux Arts building and new neighbouring glass tower), the splashy light-filled lobby overlooking the Chicago River, and the show-stopping views from the 22nd-floor rooftop. The design in the rooms is modern but with playful touches from the Twenties, like shimmery fabrics, funky light fixtures and marble-topped furnishings. It’s all about the rooftop (LH on 22), which gives Instagram-worthy views of the Chicago River, Lake Michigan and the city’s iconic skyline. Here, and in the 21st floor restaurant (LH on 21), the menu includes creative craft cocktails. Read expert review From £89per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
Chicago Athletic Association Hotel
Chicago, Illinois, United States
9Telegraph expert rating
Hotels don't get more central than this one: in the heart of downtown, on bustling Michigan Avenue, and across the street from Millennium Park. The Chicago Athletic Association Hotel is all dark wood, leather and retro-clubby public areas where whiskey glasses clink. The 1890s Venetian Gothic building was a ritzy men's club for more than a century, and the public spaces retain a masculine look with ornate carved woodwork, stained-glass windows and immense stone fireplaces that wouldn't look out of place at Harvard or Hogwarts. Buzzy rooftop spot Cindy's serves lamb burgers, buttermilk-fried pheasant and other modern American fare, as well as posh cocktails. Read expert review From £121per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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The Langham Chicago
Chicago, Illinois, United States
8Telegraph expert rating
A sumptuous offering from the Hong Kong chain that pitches a top-end hotel in a former Seventies office tower designed by renowned architect Mies Van Der Rohe, in central Chicago. Beds are so comfortable and the views of Marina City – a concrete corn cob of a building opposite the hotel by Bertrand Goldberg, a student and disciple of Mies – are so great. No balconies, but floor-to-ceiling windows beg you to look at the very cityscape of central Chicago as a kind of moving work of art. The main restaurant Travelle scores the highest marks for its Mediterranean cuisine cooked by Tim Graham, who previously studied biochemistry at university and earned a Michelin star at nearby restaurant Tru. Read expert review From £248per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Hotel Palomar Chicago
Chicago, Illinois, United States
9Telegraph expert rating
Fun and a little bit funky, this 17-floor boutique hotel celebrates art and doesn’t shy away from daring colors. 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. As a Kimpton property, Hotel Palomar goes above and beyond in offerings – first and foremost with its heated indoor pool, window-lined fitness centre and sun deck, all on the 17th floor. Read expert review From £87per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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JW Marriott Chicago
Chicago, Illinois, United States
9Telegraph expert rating
This palatial early 20th-century bank, complete with Corinthian columns, winding staircases, an over-the-top ballroom and endless marble, is an opulent nod to history. Designed by legendary Chicago architect Daniel Burnham in the early 1900s, this former temple to banking is as elegant as it ever was. Elaborate chandeliers illuminate the grand lobby, which is filled with dozens of living-room style couches and chairs, stunning marble columns and deep red accents. Facilities are top notch, and include an enormous spa with 14 treatment rooms, a spa dining menu and an unexpected Chicago find: a hammam complete with a fireplace. Read expert review From £138per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Virgin Hotel Chicago
Chicago, Illinois, United States
9Telegraph expert rating
The world’s first Virgin hotel: Art Deco grandeur in Chicago, with wonderfully comfy beds, a great bar (prosecco on tap!) and free cocktails during the nightly happy hour. The design is quirky and fun throughout: picture the best bits of a Virgin Clubhouse blended with a hip, breezy boutique hotel. The second floor ‘Commons Club’ is a wonderful space with lots of little nooks and crannies: part lobby, part bar, part restaurant, part library, part workspace. As its name suggests, it exudes the vibe of a private members' club, without the expensive exclusivity. The open-style kitchen nails the gamut between tasty bar snacks (try the lobster flatbreads) and larger plates (the bone marrow mac n cheese is the stand out star). Read expert review From £97per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
Hard Rock Hotel Chicago
Chicago, Illinois, United States
9Telegraph expert rating
The rebellious attitude starts with the building design. The 40-story green and gold-leaf-topped skyscraper resembles a towering champagne bottle – which was completed in 1929 during Prohibition. Talk about committing to a theme. The first thing you see in the lobby are two Fender guitars you can play. The front desk is a den upholstered in faux snake skin, designed to look like a recording booth, and sound wave images line the carpet. Standard rooms are quite large, and each is adorned with rock star photos and quotes. The chipper staff are willing to go out of their way and even oblige in an impromptu memorabilia tour of the hotel’s rock star relics. Read expert review From £99per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Thompson Chicago
Chicago, Illinois, United States
9Telegraph expert rating
The 247-room Thompson straddles the gap between trendy and cosy, opulent and relaxed. The superb onsite restaurant and location in Chicago’s historic Gold Coast district woo stylish types in town for nightlife, entrepreneurs in town for business and couples in town for a kid-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. In the rooms, the floor-to-ceiling windows grab your attention first. More expensive rooms have lake views, but even the city views are sweet. The Thompson's bar and restaurant – both under the guidance of chef Paul Kahan, a James Beard award winner – are destinations in their own right. Read expert review From £146per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
The Peninsula Chicago
Chicago, Illinois, United States
10Telegraph expert rating
The Peninsula is one of Chicago's most upmarket hotels, the choice for Hollywood stars and other VIPs. There's a bit of Far East flair, such as stone Chinese lions guarding the Peninsula's entrance, but Art Deco style dominates the public spaces. Gold sconces glitter over buffed marble floors. Plush oval-back chairs rest under breezy palms. Paintings hang in heavy gilt frames. The Peninsula's 339 rooms are vast, with interiors of creamy white leather and ebony wood. Pierrot Gourmet is a rustic, farmhouse-style bistro serving quiche, French-inspired flatbreads and truffle burgers; open morning through evening. The fitness centre and indoor lap pool sprawl on the hotel's 19th and 20th floors, with truly jaw-dropping skyline views through floor-to-ceiling windows. Read expert review From £260per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Conrad Chicago
Chicago, Illinois, United States
9Telegraph expert rating
On a stony, tree-lined street just off Michigan Avenue, Conrad Chicago is as stately as they come. Renowned French firm Pierre-Yves Rochon devised an elegant and sophisticated space, with mid-century-inspired furnishings, bold patterns and art throughout, including a stunning sculpture that features 1,300 leaves made of fine bone China suspended from the lobby ceiling. The 287 rooms (including 24 suites) are quite large, with warm earth tones and more of that mid-century modern style. If you like bourbon and good food, there’s no need to leave the hotel for drinks and dinner. Bapiste & Bottle, located on the 20th floor, is bursting with bourbon-fueled energy. Read expert review From £181per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
