Chicago Chicago Travel Guide: Best Hotels, Restaurants & Experiences

Celebrities and dignitaries favor this Magnificent Mile landmark for its bedside control panels managing lighting, temperature, and drapes, and two floors devoted entirely to wellness: half-Olympic pool, Asian-inspired spa treatments, jacuzzi, steam rooms. Families appreciate the Peninsula Kids programme offering pillow tents, game consoles, cookie decorating, and spa manicures. Shanghai Terrace serves Chinese cuisine on a terrace overlooking downtown, while a private ice-skating rink beneath sparkling pines offers rare winter charm.

Inspired by Coco Chanel's aesthetic, this Art Deco landmark features a museum-like marble lobby and cobblestone motor courtyard that recall Parisian grandeur. Each floor holds just ten spacious rooms outfitted with European Vi-Spring beds, fireplaces, and terraces. The lavish spa showcases Greek columns and a pink mosaic lap pool, while Brass Tack brasserie, Peacock Lounge, and Bernard's craft cocktail bar provide sophisticated dining and drinking options throughout the property.

A 1920s Cedar Hotel façade, meticulously reassembled brick by brick, anchors this undulating glass tower on the Gold Coast. Inside, a 30-foot teal wall bears Proust inscriptions, setting the tone for interiors layered in gold and mid-century furnishings. Chef Lee Wolen helms Somerset, delivering his signature chicken, while Devereaux's rooftop bar pours Salty Dog cocktails alongside an alfresco pool with sweeping city and lake views.

This downtown skyscraper pairs five-star service with a relaxed sophistication, anchored by an acclaimed steakhouse and a fire-lit rooftop bar that ranks among the city's finest. An impressive collection of American pop art—including works by legendary figures—lines the interiors, while suite and residence configurations cater to families with thoughtful touches like in-room candy cart visits and dedicated children's menus across dining and spa venues.

Red brick and reclaimed wood anchor this Third Ward boutique property in Milwaukee's gallery-filled industrial quarter. King Spa rooms reward with oversized soaking tubs, while Frette linens and Atelier Bloem amenities maintain the refined details throughout. Tre Rivali draws locals to its wood-fired Mediterranean-American kitchen, and the Outsider rooftop—enclosed by glass walls with fire pits blazing—keeps the drinks flowing even through Wisconsin winters.

Curtis Duffy, who earned three Michelin stars at Grace, now commands Ever's dramatic dining room in Fulton Market, where Venetian plaster and starry lighting frame a contemporary tasting menu that favors precision over spectacle. Hokkaido scallops, Ora King salmon with fennel, and refrigerated English pea puree with black garlic demonstrate rigorous technique and seasonal restraint. The adjoining cocktail bar and spirit-free beverage program extend the two-Michelin-starred experience beyond the table.

Accessed via a converted freight elevator in a former warehouse, this two-Michelin-starred establishment showcases Chef Noah Sandoval's mastery of French-Japanese fusion through a tasting menu that favors precision over excess. The capellini with black truffle exemplifies this restraint, while the bar prelude features Dungeness crab tartlets and Hokkaido uni. Foie gras parfait with pickled strawberries bridges the opening reception and the main dining room's polished service.

Chef Bradyn Kawcak runs an open kitchen in Lincoln Square, crafting a farm-driven tasting menu that marries Filipino technique with global influences. Pupusas with blue corn and cochinita pibil sit alongside carrot-miso dumplings wrapped in rutabaga, while house-made buckwheat noodles are tossed in layered umami sauces. The one-starred Michelin approach is quietly ambitious, turning refined comfort into a studied procession of texture and depth.

Chef Norman Fenton's one-Michelin-starred counter celebrates Mexican cuisine through bold, inventive technique—huitlacoche ravioli topped with fried corn silk, queso truffle quesadilla, lamb tartare tostada styled after al pastor. The tasting menu opens with salsa verde jelly and tortilla crumble, a playful nod to chips and salsa. Counter seats offer front-row views of the small brigade, who work with precision and engage diners throughout the energetic, ingredient-driven service.

Anna and David Posey, alumni of Alinea and Blackbird, have earned a Michelin star for their Danish-inflected seasonal cooking in West Loop's most inviting courtyard. The menu—offered as tasting or à la carte—delivers inventive precision: lamb tartare on rye, duck liver tart with salted tamp, yeasted chickpea pancakes with smoked trout. The sunflower seed parfait with sour honey and licorice closes meals with understated brilliance.

Passage through a traditional moon gate signals entry to this Langham outpost of a seven-spa international collection rooted in traditional Chinese medicine. Hot herbal tea accompanies a wellness questionnaire that guides personalized treatment selection—cupping, acupuncture, gua sha alongside Western facials and body therapies using Kerstin Florian products. The signature Chuan Bathing Ritual leads guests through a sequence of wet rooms, all rendered in dark wood, stone and minimalist Asian design.

Perched on the 20th floor, this 15,000-square-foot sanctuary draws on Asian wellness traditions across eight intimate treatment rooms where low lighting and earth-toned interiors foster deep relaxation. Beyond the therapies—spanning time-tested to contemporary techniques—guests access an indoor pool, dedicated yoga studio, and a hushed relaxation lounge concealed behind a grand oak door, its plush loungers designed for unhurried transitions between services.

Occupying 23,000 square feet on the 14th floor, this Italian marble-clad sanctuary capitalizes on its elevation with floor-to-ceiling windows framing Michigan Avenue and the Chicago River from treatment rooms, fitness areas, and the 75-foot indoor pool. The exceptional couples suite pairs infinity soaking tubs beside a mosaic-tiled wall with heated side-by-side massage tables, while locker rooms feature a nine-head deluge shower equipped with chromotherapy and customizable water pressure.

Greek revival architecture frames this hotel spa, where mosaic-tiled lap pools and white stone changing rooms establish a Mediterranean tone. The signature Waldorf Cleanse devotes two hours to hammam-inspired bodywork: a triple-grain scrub of coffee, olive stone and lemon, followed by rhassoul clay application and synchronized massage across scalp, face and body. Additional treatments span Swedish techniques and enzyme facials within walnut-paneled therapy suites.