Must-see hotels in Illinois

  • Wheelhouse Hotel

    Chicago

    A 2018 newbie, the Wheelhouse features 21 rooms in a restored greystone building not far from Wrigley Field. The smallish rooms have an earthy, urban loft…

  • Sophy Hyde Park

    Chicago

    Hyde Park got its first boutique hotel in 2018, and it's a design winner. The 98 rooms have an artsy-hip look that feels truly fresh. Each is a good size,…

  • Fieldhouse Jones

    Chicago

    This hip hotel occupies a vintage, redbrick dairy warehouse. It's great value for the Gold Coast, drawing a wide range of travelers – global backpackers,…

  • Majestic Hotel

    Chicago

    Nestled into a row of residential housing, the Majestic is walking distance to Wrigley Field and Boystown and mere steps from the lakefront. From the…

  • Acme Hotel

    Chicago

    Urban bohemians love the Acme for its indie-cool style at (usually) affordable rates. The 130 rooms mix industrial fixtures with retro lamps, mid-century…

  • Publishing House Bed & Breakfast

    Chicago

    The building was indeed a publishing house more than a century ago, and it’s now transformed so it looks like the stylish home of your coolest city friend…

  • Ace Hotel

    Chicago

    Chicago’s branch of the super-hip Ace chain rises up across the street from Google’s shiny office. Hints of Frank Lloyd Wright, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe…

  • Found Hotel Chicago

    Chicago

    Breezy Found Hotel joins the elevated hostel/casual-hotel brigade. The 60 rooms come in several configurations, including four-bed dorms with sturdy (and…

  • Waldorf Astoria Chicago

    Chicago

    The Waldorf routinely tops the list for Chicago’s best uber-luxury hotel. It models itself on 1920s Parisian glamour and, we have to admit, it delivers it…

  • Jail Hill Inn

    Illinois

    Convicts and town drunks were locked away here until 1977, but this former jail has been lavishly converted into one of the country's best B&Bs and now…

  • Viceroy Chicago

    Chicago

    The Gold Coast's newest luxury hotel, the Viceroy has 198 rooms and suites with art deco–inspired design elements with warm woods, gold accents and luxe…

  • Hampton Inn Chicago Downtown/N Loop

    Chicago

    This unique property with a central location makes you feel like a road-tripper of yore. Set in the 1928 art deco Chicago Motor Club Building, the lobby…

  • Virgin Hotel

    Chicago

    Billionaire Richard Branson transformed the 27-story, art deco Dearborn Bank Building into the first outpost of his cheeky new hotel chain. The airy,…

  • Hotel Julian

    Chicago

    Twelve stories in a 1912 office building now comprise one of the Loop's newest mod-luxe hotels. Large rooms are elegantly decorated with a slightly…

  • Longman & Eagle

    Chicago

    Check in at the tavern downstairs and then head to your wood-floored, vintage-stylish accommodations on the floor above. The six rooms aren't particularly…

  • Inn at 835

    Illinois

    This historic arts-and-crafts-style luxury apartment building from 1908 offers 11 rooms of the four-poster bed, claw-foot bathtub variety (along with two…

  • Hotel Zachary

    Chicago

    Gleaming Hotel Zachary – named after Zachary Taylor Davis, the architect of Wrigley Field – opened in 2018 right across the street from the celebrated…

  • Urban Holiday Lofts

    Wicker Park, Bucktown & Ukrainian Village

    An international crowd fills the gender-segregated dorms (with four to eight beds) and private rooms of these converted loft condos; some rooms have…

  • Holiday Jones

    Wicker Park, Bucktown & Ukrainian Village

    Holiday Jones has an irreverent personality, with old steamer trunks turned stereo speakers comprising the front desk and cartoony posters lining the…

  • Hotel Lincoln

    Chicago

    The boutique Lincoln is all about kitschy fun, as the lobby's 'wall of bad art' and front desk patched together from flea-market dresser drawers attest…

  • HI-Chicago

    Chicago

    Chicago's most stalwart hostel is immaculate, conveniently placed in the Loop, and offers bonuses such as a staffed information desk, free volunteer-led…

  • Freehand Chicago

    Chicago

    At this super-hip hostel-hotel hybrid, travelers split evenly between the four-person, bunk-bed dorms and private rooms. All feature warm woods, bright…

  • Staypineapple Chicago

    Chicago

    Housed in the landmark 1890s Reliance Building, a prototype for the modern skyscraper, this hotel's slick, historic design woos architecture buffs. Deco…

  • Drake Hotel

    Chicago

    Queen Elizabeth, Princess Di, the Reagans, the Bushes, the Clintons, the late, great Aretha Franklin… Who hasn’t stayed at the Drake since its 1920…

  • Moxy Chicago Downtown

    Chicago

    When a hotel's front desk doubles as a bar, you know you're in for a good time. So it goes at Moxy, where the lobby is a communal area with a 24-hour taco…

  • Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel

    Chicago

    Radisson Blu's sleek rooms occupy floors one to 18 of the rippling, 82-story Aqua Tower, designed by local starchitect Jeanne Gang. Standard rooms are…

  • Guesthouse Hotel

    Chicago

    The Guesthouse is comprised of 25 elegant, condo-style suites, each with a full kitchen, washer-dryer and private balcony with BBQ grill. Choose from…

  • Hotel Palomar

    Chicago

    This is another excellent property in the Kimpton chain, joining the Monaco and Allegro in the Loop. Note of distinction: the 17-story, 261-room Palomar…

  • Silversmith

    Chicago

    Designed by renowned architect Daniel Burnham's firm as a place for jewelers and silversmiths to ply their trade, this 1897 building's gem-inspired theme…

  • Hotel Monaco

    Chicago

    The Monaco's rooms are large, with bold-red window curtains, geometric carpeting and curlicued dark-wood headboards; window nooks let you sit and watch…

  • Langham Hotel

    Chicago

    Early starchitect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe originally designed the 52-story, black-box building. His grandson remade the lower floors into the Langham in…

  • Buckingham Athletic Club Hotel

    Chicago

    On the 40th floor of the Chicago Stock Exchange building, this 21-room hotel isn't easy to find. The benefit if you do? It's quiet (on weekends and…

  • Sofitel Chicago Magnificent Mile

    Chicago

    The outside of the Sofitel looks like some state-of-the-art computing device, with a triangular glass tower leaning gracefully out into space. Inside,…

  • Blackstone Hotel

    Chicago

    This 1910 beaux-arts landmark is known as the ‘hotel of presidents’ (a dozen have slumbered here). The 23-story beauty now caters to an upmarket business…

  • Peninsula Chicago

    Chicago

    The Peninsula is among Chicago's top addresses. Rich white-leather and ebony-wood furnishings dominate the large rooms. Marble bathrooms feature a soaking…

  • Wicker Park Inn

    Wicker Park, Bucktown & Ukrainian Village

    This classic brick row house is steps away from great restaurants and nightlife. The sunny rooms aren’t huge, but all have hardwood floors, small desk…

  • Ivy Hotel

    Chicago

    The 63-room Ivy parcels out its chambers so that there are just five per floor, making it feel exceptionally intimate. The sleek and chic rooms are…

  • Soho House Chicago

    Chicago

    Chicago's outpost of the members-only club for creative types opens its hotel to the masses. There are only 40 rooms in the century-old, former factory in…

  • Palmer House Hilton

    Chicago

    Palmer House has been around since 1875 and the lobby still has an awe-inspiring opulence – Tiffany chandeliers, marble pillars, ceiling frescoes – that…

  • InterContinental Chicago

    Chicago

    The InterContinental is split in two. The Executive Tower's 315 rooms are its historic core. The spacious chambers are bright and clean lined, done up in…

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