Chicago is a fantastic city to enjoy at any time of the year. But, a January visit necessarily means turning to indoor pleasures. They might call it the Windy City for its blustery politicians, but that doesn’t mean those icy winds off Lake Michigan can’t freeze you in your tracks. Luckily, there are plenty of tempting diversions to keep you off the streets. A full calendar of theater and performing arts, great shopping, outstanding restaurants and world-class museums – it’s all here. Plus, one of my favorite pastimes – checking out hotel bars. On that front, Chicago is definitely no second city. During a recent long weekend, my best friend from law school (who’s a local) and I decided to explore three of city’s hippest and most stylish hotel bars in three days.
Base camp for the weekend – and the home of our first bar – was the Park Hyatt Chicago. Beautifully situated on Michigan Avenue right in the heart of the Magnificent Mile, the Park Hyatt offers understated luxury with a muted, Zen quality. Our super plush room had front row views of the famous Water Tower and Lake Michigan beyond. NoMI is its chill, elegant lounge. Located on the seventh floor of the hotel, it’s a great place to while away a cold, blustery afternoon with good conversation and strong, handcrafted cocktails made by friendly yet polite mixologists. There’s also a full menu to help soak up the booze, including Korean short ribs and lobster rolls.
For a completely different vibe, our second stop was a nightcap in the Mad Men-invoking, hipster hangout that is the Langham Chicago‘s second-story lounge. This luxury chain, which got its start in London, has repurposed a 1970s skyscraper right on the Chicago River into a sleek modern space. That night, we rested on buttery, cognac-colored leather couches next to huge windows overlooking the river. Nearby was a group of well-dressed local ladies perched on Jetsons-like, white leather sofas who – thanks to the acoustics – we could tell were doing an excellent job of appearing to be interested in some blathering, self-appointed Fintech guru. My drink choice was a powerful Manhattan made with locally made, 90 proof Few Spirits Bourbon. This is a distillery with a sense of irony and history; its extremely potent series of gin, vodka and whiskey is produced just over the line in Evanston, Illinois, which was the home of the temperance movement in the early 20th Century (and remains the home of Northwestern University).
Shopping in Chicago is hard work; it’s not easy matching glowers with the ladies of Neiman-Marcus. So, in need of a pit stop, we headed to our third hotel bar of the weekend. Just a short elevator ride up from Nordstrom delivers you to the cool style of The Gwen, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Chicago. Its fifth-floor lobby is well curated with great art and updated yet faithful reproductions of mid-century modern furniture. The lounge is just off the main lobby and has an outdoor terrace for those non-January visits. Our bartender was funny and engaging. He convinced us that we had to try their version of Wisconsin cheese curds, which are basically breaded and deep-fried chunks of cheddar cheese. Ours were served with garlic honey mustard and mine was washed down with a very dry Hendricks Gin martini.
Each of our hotel bar stops delivered on another big three – a friendly Midwestern welcome, comfortable seating and good service. As our weekend drew to a close and we headed home to reality, I had three more reasons to love the city of big shoulders.
