The Peninsula Chicago

The Peninsula Chicago's architecture is inspired by the Peninsula group's flagship property in Hong Kong. Both hotels share the layout of arm-like wings projecting from the central section like a throne. The Chicago hotel's podium and high rise are derived from the flagship's original building and 30-story tower expansion, respectively. The Chicago hotel's Michigan Avenue side has a topside curtain wall and corduroy concrete patterns beneath the windows, similar to its Hong Kong forebearer's historical facade. The Chicago hotel also has a two-story sky lobby, and the Superior Street entrance is flanked by Chinese marble lions, and most of its interior decor is similar to the Hong Kong hotel.[5]

Designed by Elkus/Manfredi Architects of Boston and constructed by the Thomas J. Klutznick Co. of Chicago, the complex is a mixed-use project consisting of Phase 1, a 235,000-sf retail block that opened in 1997, and Phase 2, the 390,000-sf 339-room hotel that was completed in 2001. The high rise portion is set back from Michigan Avenue to reinforce the three-to four-story street-level scale, which allows the midday sun to filter into Water Tower Park.[6]

Due to the hotel's proximity to Oak Street and the Magnificent Mile (Michigan Avenue), the building is within walking distance to Chanel, Armani, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton.[7] As with most hotels in the area, the bottom floors are occupied by retailers, in this case Tiffany & Co., Ralph Lauren and Banana Republic.[8] The hotel is also very close to several tourist attractions such as the Chicago Water Tower, the John Hancock Center and American Girl Store. The hotel is about 30–60 minutes from the two main Chicago airports depending on traffic. The closest 'L' station to the hotel is the Chicago station on the Red Line which is a 5-minute walk away.

The hotel offers limousine service to and from O'Hare International Airport and Chicago Midway International Airport. For business events and meetings the hotel has over 9,500 sq ft (880 m²) available which includes boardrooms and a business centre. For rooms, there are a total of 339 guestrooms and suites available.[9] The hotel has three restaurants: Shanghai Terrace, Pierrot Gourmet, The Lobby and Z Bar serving Cantonese/Shanghainese,[10] European,[11] American cuisine small plates ,[12] and Global cuisine shared plates[13] respectively. There are private dining rooms in Shanghai Terrace and Z Bar that are used for business meetings and special events.[14][15]

The hotel's bar is named simply The Bar. The Fitness Centre at the Chicago Peninsula takes up the top two floors. The top two floors of the hotel are different from the rest of the hotel because the pool room has floor to ceiling windows to optimize the view of Lake Michigan from the 25 m (82 ft) pool. The Fitness Centre also contains a spa which was awarded the Best Urban Spa Hotel by Spa Finder in 2007 and 2008.[16]

• The Peninsula New York
• The Peninsula Bangkok
• The Peninsula Manila
• The Peninsula Hong Kong

The Peninsula official website