Check out some of the city’s newest hotels, from Wrigleyville to the South Side
If it were always summer in Chicago, the population would be an order of magnitude larger than it is. Summer is the city’s seasonal sweet spot, when Chicago looks — and feels — its best. See for yourself with a stay at one of several new hotels that have popped up in recent months. You can find some real bargains around Fourth of July, when summer rates tend to be at their lowest. It’s a different story in early August, when Lollapalooza is in town.
The Hoxton
Kick back with a cocktail and ceviche and soak up the sun at this hip hotel’s rooftop pool — a first for the London-based brand that burst onto the scene in April with this Midwest outpost.
The 12-story structure is a new build, but its industrial facade was designed to blend in with the warehouses that once dominated this longtime meatpacking district. This part of the West Loop is where you’ll
find some of the city’s hottest restaurants. The Hoxton has thrown gas on that fire with three new drinking and dining venues, all from the James Beard Award-winning Boka Restaurant Group.
The 182 guest rooms start at roughly $200 a night in the summer. Use the code “DIVEIN” when booking online to shave 20 percent off the price, subject to availability. Rooms come in three sizes: Snug (the smallest), Cosy (that’s how the Brits spell it) and Roomy. At an average of 300 square feet, even the Roomy isn’t overly roomy. But this isn’t the kind of place you go to stay holed away in your hotel room. Hang out in the inviting public areas or get out and explore, maybe on one of the complimentary bikes. Sightseeing tips from locals — 182 of them — can be found in each room.
St. Jane
In a city world renowned for its architecture, one of the most striking skyscrapers is this 1929 Art Deco darling. It’s also a convenient base to explore other blue-chip buildings, given its proximity to the new Chicago Architecture Center headquarters and the dock for the organization’s popular river cruises.
This 37-story landmark capped with 24-karat gold leaf had until recently been home to a Hard Rock Hotel. A revamp transformed it into its latest iteration, a hotel named for a rock star in her own right: Nobel Peace Prize-winning social activist Jane Addams.
A little less than 10 percent of the guest rooms are in what’s called The Tower at St. Jane, a premium perch on the building’s uppermost floors. Tower rooms, typically priced about $100 more than the rest of the inventory, start around $305 in the summer.
Play a game of pool on the clubby, ground-level room that separates the lobby from the restaurant Free Rein, which is fronted by an airy, light-filled cafe with giant windows — great for people-watching on Michigan Avenue.
The South Side got a major hotel upgrade last fall with the debut of this 98-room boutique property that offers a “48 Hours in Hyde Park” package designed to get people out and about in this rapidly transforming neighborhood.