Best Hotels in
Chicago

Occupying the lower floors of Mies van der Rohe's iconic IBM Building above the Chicago River, The Langham is the finest hotel in the city by almost any measure — the Chuan Spa, Paul Kahan–informed dining, and rooms with soaring Miesian windows over the river are extraordinary. Service is consistently ranked among North America's best.

• River North
• Luxury
• Architecture

A Grand Tier property on Michigan Avenue with rooms that are the largest on the Mag Mile, a rooftop pool with Chicago skyline reflections, and the beloved The Lobby afternoon tea. The Peninsula's detail-obsession — bedside control panels, motorised privacy screens, bathtubs you can fill from the bed — sets a standard few rivals match.

• Magnificent Mile
• Luxury
• Couples

Floors 30–46 of 900 North Michigan Avenue make this the highest perched luxury hotel in the city, with views stretching to Lake Michigan's horizon on clear days. The jewel-toned rooms are among Chicago's most beautifully appointed, and Allium Restaurant serves one of the best power lunches in the Loop.

• Magnificent Mile
• Luxury
• Views

Richard Branson's take on the boutique hotel, set in a magnificent 1928 Mayan Revival skyscraper with rooms reimagined as 'Chambers' featuring a clever dressing room foyer, adjustable climate and lighting, and a fridge stocked at grocery-store prices. The Commons Club restaurant and bar is one of River North's most reliably enjoyable dining rooms.

• River North
• Boutique
• Design

Named for Gwendolyn Brooks, Illinois's first Poet Laureate, this Art Deco hotel blends Chicago literary heritage with Marriott's Luxury Collection polish. The gold-leaf lobby ceiling and rooftop bar with Mag Mile views are defining features of this mid-range luxury sweet spot.

• Magnificent Mile
• Art Deco
• Views

The London boutique chain planted its flag in Chicago's hottest food neighbourhood — the former meatpacking Fulton Market District — with a thoughtfully restored industrial building, an excellent ground-floor brasserie, and rates that undercut comparable properties by 30%. Walking distance from the city's best restaurants including Smyth, Girl & the Goat, and Au Cheval.

• Fulton Market
• Boutique
• Food

The neighbourhood's original creative-class hotel, with rooms featuring local artist commissions, a lobby designed for lingering, and a rooftop with fire pits and a view of the West Loop skyline. The ground-floor restaurant and coffee bar hum with the energy of Chicago's creative and tech communities.

• Fulton Market
• Creative
• Rooftop

Chicago's grande dame since 1920, the Drake has hosted every US president from Roosevelt to Obama and remains an irreplaceable part of the city's social fabric. The Palm Court afternoon tea, the Coq d'Or cocktail lounge, and rooms with Lake Michigan views make it a compelling historic alternative to the Mag Mile towers.

• Gold Coast
• Historic
• Luxury

A scrappy, irreverent River North boutique beloved by creative travellers for its record player–equipped rooms, a lobby with vintage arcade games, and one of the neighbourhood's best late-night bars in Happy Village. Rates are significantly below the Mag Mile competition while the location is equally convenient.

• River North
• Boutique
• Value

An honest budget option in the heart of the Loop that recently completed a thorough renovation — clean, contemporary rooms with good beds and fast Wi-Fi at rates that make the financial district location feel like a steal. The 24-hour front desk and self-check-in kiosks suit the independent traveller perfectly.

• Loop
• Budget
• Business

A stunning conversion of the 1923 London Guarantee Building at the confluence of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan, with a triple-tiered rooftop bar that claims some of the best urban views in the country. Rooms blend the building's Classical Revival exterior with a lively, colourful interior palette.

• Loop
• Rooftop
• Views