Summer stays in Chicago
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.
Sophy
The South Side got a major hotel upgrade last fall with the debut of this 98room boutique property that offers a “48 Hours in Hyde Park” package designed to get people out and about in this rapidly transforming neighborhood.
Both inside and out, the Sophy’s look is a nod to the area’s rich history and reputation as a hotbed for artists and intellectuals, many with ties to nearby University of Chicago. Themes of music, literature and science are woven throughout the lobby, bar and the cozy Mesler Kitchen, serving chicken and waffles, shrimp and grits and a very Chicago-named 5th ward burger.
Guest rooms are meant to feel like mini apartments, outfitted with doorbells, light dimmers and windows that can be cracked open to let in fresh air.
Starting at $354 a night for a minimum two-night stay, the “48 Hours in Hyde Park” package is long on perks, such as a $25 credit at Mesler, nearby museum tickets and a welcome basket stocked with goodies like Kilwins chocolate and Jolly Pumpkin beer.
The Wheelhouse
For baseball fans, this intimate hotel that opened last summer is a winner. The 21-room, four-story renovated greystone sits just a block south of Wrigley Field, and it’s loaded with references to America’s favorite pastime. A vintage green scoreboard serves as the focal point of the lobby, where hundreds of Louisville Slugger bats dangle from the ceiling and packages of Cracker Jack are for sale.
The basement cocktail lounge, Tinker to Evers, is a shoutout to one of the most famous double-play combinations in the history of the sport. The lounge is operated by the same folks behind the hotel’s restaurant, specializing in Detroit-style, square-cut pizza.
Although all of The Wheelhouse’s guest rooms have an earthy, urban loft feel, no two rooms look exactly alike. Color schemes differ — peach, yellow, orange and blue — and so do configurations. The Queen’s Terrace is a good bet for families; like the name implies, it comes with a queen bed and terrace as well as two bunks. Other rooms are bigger, with a king bed and sofa lounge. The Bullpen Terrace, ideal for groups of friends, can sleep up to four in two sets of bunk beds and has its own outdoor space.
While baseball dictates the decor, it also wields influence on the price of the rooms: Rates shoot up when the Cubs play at home.
Hotel Essex
Midcentury modern furniture, geometric designs and a 1961 steel-andglass skeleton give a retro vibe to this newly renovated property overlooking Grant Park, the namesake of the French-inspired bistro on the ground floor.
Originally built as the Essex Inn, the 14-story hotel was basically ripped down to the studs to make way for a contemporary, sleek space with high-tech touches throughout its 274 guest rooms. What hasn’t changed from the old
Essex Inn days are the floor-to-ceiling windows, which, if you’re in one of the higher-up, east-facing rooms, look onto expansive vistas of the lake.
The hotel’s SX Sky Bar is a sexy lounge tricked out with colorful velvet booths, whimsical decor and huge, retractable windows that peer down on South Michigan Avenue.
The Essex makes it easy to access the city’s museum campus and the new Hamilton exhibit at Northerly Island, a 20-or-sominute walk away. The Shedd Aquarium package includes a discounted room rate, two tickets to the Shedd and late check out at noon. A recent online search turned up package prices just shy of $200 for much of July.