Best Hotel Opening of 2011: Public Chicago

December 29, 2011 at 9:33 AM | by HotelChatter | Comments (0)

It's what you've been waiting all year for--The 2011 HotelChatter Awards! We'll be bringing you the best and worst of the year all day today and part of tomorrow. Agree or disagree with our picks? Air your thoughts in comments below.

Going by our 2011 Master List of Hotel Openings, there were quite a few hotels that we were excited to see open but the one that lived up to our (admittedly low) expectations and more was Ian Schrager's newest hotel brand, The Public Chicago.

We weren't quite sure what to expect when we arrived on opening day to check-in but every nook and cranny in the hotel surprised us from the simple yet stylish rooms and public spaces to the complimentary bikes and the newfangled room service option, Public Express. And we can't forget about the delicious but quite affordable Pump Room restaurant.

Other things we liked include the free WiFi, the location in the city's Gold Coast neighborhood amongst some fabulous houses and the affordable room rate. We paid a special introductory rate of $135 on opening day but we've seen rates recently for just around $200.

Public is not perfect-- we didn't love those low-lying beds, the tiny bathrooms and the skimpy toiletry offerings but overall, Public's very public debut was a rather rousing success. We just don't know how we can wait for Public New York, scheduled to open in 2013. Maybe Ian will surprise us in 2012?

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