This place competes with the InterContinental and Palmer House Hilton for the honor of Chicago's most lavish historic hotel. However, the current renovation at the Palmer House puts this one into the top seat for individuals, at least for now. This hotel is smaller, with a more attentive staff, and the overall proportions of the place have a better feel. The exceptional lake views are worth noting too. The Drake Hotel's renovation, wrought just prior to the previous inspection, still looks great.
Anchoring the north end of the Magnificent Mile, the 11-story structure, built in 1920 of Bedford limestone in Italian Renaissance style, succeeds in providing ample luxury in its public areas. Traditionally garbed doormen usher guests into an impressive lobby with a floor of gleaming Tennessee marble, a dark paneled ceiling, tapestries and flamboyant antiques. A proper English tea is served to the strains of a harpist in the fountained Palm Court, which features pewter tabletops and oak seating under a mirrored art-deco ceiling. Adjacent is a sumptuous bar serving light meals.
Next to it is one of Chicago's best seafood restaurants, the Cape Cod Room, with fresh fish flown in daily. Drake Brothers Steaks continues to sear up the finest meats and seafood for lunch and dinner in front of expansive street-view windows. Down at street level is Coq d'Or, one of the best traditional hotel nightspots in the city. Restaurants and the Gold Coast foyer feature wireless Internet hot spots that attract the laptop set.
An underground passage links the hotel to the best public beach in Chicago. A fitness room is on the premises, but many guests splurge and use a nearby health club. Wired meeting space, including a grand ballroom with Moorish columns, chandeliers and good views, hosts up to 1,000 people, and a fully-equipped business center is open during normal hours.
The high-ceilinged accommodations vary in size. The nicely maintained rooms range in size as well, but most are above average. That said, some of the closets are so small they won't even fit an average size suitcase. Here again, many units boast roomy sitting areas, while others lack space for much more than the bed. All have neutral color schemes, fine carpeting, armoires, minibars, dual-line phones with voice mail and caller ID, high-speed Internet access (for a fee) and varied bed configurations with elegant throws draped over duvets. The small, marble combination baths are packed with everything, including magnifying mirrors, electric scales and phones, a good election of toiletries and hair dryers.
Deluxe rooms facing Oak Street Beach boast the best views, but some lack the sitting areas of similarly priced deluxe rooms facing the city. In winter, when bare trees disclose more of the lake, rooms on the second floor jump into the deluxe bracket, only to drop to standard rates when the leaves return. Executive level rooms have access to the 10th floor lounge with complimentary snacks, breakfast and drinks.
Fresh fruit on arrival, chocolates at turndown and newspapers in the morning are nice touches.
In a city where modern trends are sweeping over longstanding traditions, this hotel is a handsome reminder of the past. This hotel has more history and tradition than the superior Four Seasons and the Ritz-Carlton, but it lacks their attention to detail and noticeably higher level of service. Overall, its grandeur of a time gone by makes it worth a visit, if only for afternoon tea.
