Four Seasons Chicago

We recommend Four Seasons Chicago to business travellers seeking impeccable service and a compensatory view after meetings, as well as couples on a luxury city break who favour comfort over originality. Families find their place thanks to spacious rooms and the pool, yet the atmosphere remains resolutely adult and hushed. It is an address for those seeking the reliability of an international brand rather than a hotel with local character.

Four Seasons occupies floors 30 to 46 of a 66-storey glass and steel tower completed in 1989, postmodern architecture by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. The common areas on the 7th floor play on cream marble, walnut panelling, contemporary blown-glass chandeliers. Rooms measure 45 to 280 m² depending on category, standard ceiling height (2.70 m), non-opening panoramic windows. The interior was refreshed in 2016, classic Four Seasons style without marked local signature.

Adorn Kitchen & Bar occupies the ground floor, contemporary American cuisine by chef Jason Cheek, Midwest produce, extensive Californian wine list. Breakfast is taken in the same room or in-room, a correct continental buffet without particular sparkle. Café Laurel on the 7th floor offers light lunches and afternoon tea facing the glazed bays, hushed lounge atmosphere. Room service operates 24/7, abbreviated menu after midnight.

Four Seasons stands on East Delaware Place, two blocks east of Michigan Avenue and the Magnificent Mile. Oak Street Beach five minutes on foot, Navy Pier fifteen minutes by taxi, Loop and Millennium Park ten minutes by car. Chicago metro station (red line) 800 metres away, O'Hare airport 40 minutes depending on traffic. The Gold Coast neighbourhood remains chic and residential, art galleries and designer boutiques on Oak Street, starred restaurants within ten blocks.