Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza Wins Renovation of the Year
The Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza helped shed the shabby image typically associated with the budget hotel chain by winning Renovation-of-the-Year, an industry-wide award given by the InterContinental Hotel Group, for its makeover of the lobbies, restaurants and guest rooms.
Adjacent to the Merchandise Mart and perched on top of the Chicago Apparel Center, the 521-room hotel got J/Brice Design International to give it a facelift. Major changes are visible in the lobby, where designers chose more moveable ottomans and similar backless seating over sofas so that guests could shift things around and their own congregating areas. The design company also put the focus on the view—the hotel looks out over the Chicago River and the city skyline—rather than on installation artwork.
The $20 million redesign also got the green hotel an LEED Gold Certification (Existing Buildings, Operations & Maintenance), making it the first hotel in Chicago and the largest hotel in the world to get the distinction. To get the certification, the Holiday Inn made eco-friendly changes such as installing solar film on many of its windows to reduce solar heat gain and reduce air-conditioning load on the building.
If you want to check out whether the hotel deserves the props, rooms start at $155. It's steep for a Holiday Inn, but those renovations weren't cheap.
[Photo: Holiday Inn]
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