The Peninsula Chicago

The Peninsula Chicago

On North Michigan Avenue, where the Magnificent Mile's flagship stores meet the air off Lake Michigan, The Peninsula Chicago rises twenty floors above the Water Tower and the shopping strip that gives the street its name. Its 339 rooms, 257 guest rooms and 82 suites, run from a workmanlike 531 square feet to an 883 square foot suite, many facing Michigan Avenue, Water Tower Park or the skyline, and the hotel is on record for having some of the most spacious rooms in the city. A 14,000 square foot spa, an indoor pool, a spa tub, a sauna and a doctor on call handle one kind of stay, while a 4,000 square foot glass enclosed ballroom, a business center and full meeting facilities handle another, the kind built around agendas rather than afternoons. Downstairs there is a bar, a cafe, three restaurants and the Grand Terrace looking down on the avenue itself, and staff move between ten languages at the desk. The hotel also carries EarthCheck sustainability certification, a credential few luxury addresses on this stretch bother to chase. None of it comes free of terms: a 150 dollar daily deposit at check in, 50 dollars a night for an extra bed, and 350 dollars if a small pet under five kilograms comes along. This suits someone who wants the Mile at the door and a proper spa at the end of the day, not someone hoping for a quiet side street or a bill without fine print. Check out is at noon, early enough that the view from those upper floors is the last thing you give up. The Peninsula Chicago sits on North Michigan Avenue with a 14,000 square foot spa, a glass enclosed ballroom and rooms ranked among the most spacious in the city. It suits travelers who want the Mile at the door, not those after a quiet street or a simple bill.