60610 Travel Guide

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Hold the Phone: The Public Chicago Will Be Offering Rooms for Just a $1

Where: 1301 N. State Pkwy [map], Chicago, IL, United States, 60610
January 10, 2012 at 8:45 AM | by | Comments (0)

We never once thought the rooms at the hot new award-winning Public Hotel in Chicago were too pricey (we stayed there on opening night for $135 and have recently seen specials for $100 a night) but it looks like hotelier Ian Schrager is staying true to his promise to make Public available to the public--because he's just announced the hotel's first ever ONE DOLLAR SALE.

For a 90-day period starting on a secret date, Public will offer three special guest rooms per night, each with a rate of just $1. Not $10, not $5, ONE DOLLAR.

Once the sale goes live, prospective guests have 48 hours to book a room for $1 within the 90-day booking period (meaning you can book your stay either 10 days or 90 days in advance.)

It is first come, first served so there is no time to think it over, text with your boyfriend, DM your roommate or ask your friends on Facebook if you think you should book it. You just book it. Right there, right away. And then you can use the savings to have a seriously gluttonous meal down at The Pump Room.

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Make Sure You're On the Inside for Tomorrow's Sale at James Hotels

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 55 East Ontario [map], Chicago, IL, United States, 60610
January 4, 2012 at 10:27 AM | by | Comments (0)

We sung Chicago's praises last week when we named it Best Hotel Scene of 2011, and with good reason! The city's in the midst of a renaissance, and there are so many hotels to visit there now it makes your head spin. But here's one to keep in mind if you're visiting over the next few weeks: James Chicago is offering majorly discounted rooms, available during an exclusive Insider Sale that launches tomorrow.

The booking window lasts from tomorrow to January 15, and is valid for any reservations through March 31. How do $139/night guest rooms sound? As luck would have it, James New York is also getting a piece of the mid-winter action, with discounted Queens starting at $259, and Corner Kings starting at $339.

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Two Drinks to Please Cocktail Snobs at the Public Chicago

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 1301 North State Parkway [map], Chicago, IL, United States, 60610
December 8, 2011 at 3:35 PM | by | Comments (0)

Maybe it's the turn to cold weather or maybe it's just the pressure of the upcoming holiday season, but we've been bellying up to more hotel bars than normal lately, and consequently becoming far snobbier about the cocktails we're ordering. What to do after you're already over the usuals? Well, ask the bartender what's good, of course.

This last weekend, pre-Pump Room dinner with friends at the Public Chicago, we did just that and the bartender immediately recommended the "Pump and Circumstance," which had until recently also been their most popular drink, before the basic Cosmopolitan regained the top spot. The Pump and Circumstance, he clarified, is concocted with gin, lemon, egg and a special syrup they make in-house, using lavender and Earl Grey tea. Done and done.

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A Classic Tree for Public Chicago's First Christmas

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 1301 North State Parkway [map], Chicago, IL, United States, 60610
December 7, 2011 at 5:01 PM | by | Comments (0)

The Public Chicago may still be quite the newbie on the hotel scene in Chicago, but it's already got the Gold Coast glamor down pat, as evidenced by the classic, non-fussy look of their very first lobby Christmas tree.

It's a simple affair to compliment the low-key lobby, and it's surprisingly placed a bit off to the side. Why? Because even the tree knows that the real highlight of the lobby—during cold Chicago winters—will be the Library Bar's fireplace and the way it beckons guests up into cozier surrounds.

Having experienced the Public and its Pump Room when it was still the old Ambassador East, we can say that the Public at least carries on the building's tradition of being the place in the neighborhood for a bit of white-gloved hot toddy service, though these days those white gloves have morphed to little black dresses.

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What Does It Take To Be An Artist-in-Residence At the James Chicago?

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 55 East Ontario [map], Chicago, IL, United States, 60610
December 5, 2011 at 9:00 AM | by | Comments (0)

A little over a year ago, we brought your attention to the James Chicago's "Room 28" art exhibit featuring a mismatched stack of old suitcases.

This month, the hotel made five artists compete for the chance to have their work permanently displayed somewhere inside the building—and then filmed a mini reality show to document the whole process! The end results: a mummified shrub, an abstract map of Chicago's grid system, and a Rio de Janeiro-inspired painting. To find out which one actually made the cut, see below!

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Inside The (New!) Pump Room at Public Chicago

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 1301 N State Pkwy [map], Chicago, IL, United States, 60610
September 16, 2011 at 4:30 PM | by | Comments (0)

Like with any good meal, we saved the best for last. And we're talking about the revamped legendary Pump Room restaurant from Jean-Georges Vongerichten inside Ian Schrager's new hotel, Public Chicago.

Ok, now that we've got that loaded introduction (Pump Room! Vongerichten! Schrager!) out of the way, onto the good stuff. Oh but first, to be fair, while JGV designed the menu concept, the chef hard at work in the restaurant is chef Bradford Phillips, an Indiana native whose resume includes NoMI at The Park Hyatt Chicago. Now, onto the food!

So we actually took a seat in the hotel's Library Bar on the other side of the lobby hoping to sip a drink and eat some food away from the Pump Room scene. (It was opening night so there was lots of backslapping going on and PYTs clogging up the bar.) But a hostess told us that while they would usually serve food in the bar area, that was not happening tonight. There were, however, some cancellations for dinner and she could seat us in the Pump Room instead.

Eeeee, we hesitated because we were dining by our lonesome. But faced with the possibility of not having tasted the Pump Room before checking out, we said, F it and followed the hostess to a table along the windows and overlooking the hubub in the middle of the restaurant.

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Inside The Public Chicago Hotel

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 1301 North State Pkwy [map], Chicago, IL, United States, 60610
September 13, 2011 at 11:44 AM | by | Comments (6)

Yesterday on our latest hotel-hopping adventure, we landed at Chicago O'Hare Airport and caught a taxi cab into the city. When the cabbie asked us where we were headed, we decided to use the hotel's former name instead, "We're going to the Ambassador East Hotel in the Gold Coast, although it's going to be called something different now."

The cabbie nodded his head up and down in recognition at Ambassador East but once we got on our way, he asked, "What do you mean it's going to be called something new now?"

So we explained that the entire hotel had been renovated and was now going by a new name--Public Chicago. Our cabbie's reaction: "What? They couldn't come up with a fanicer name? That sounds like the poor house!" That had us chuckling in the backseat but we weren't laughing when we pulled up to the hotel.

The twinkling lights over the hotel's front entrance and the good-looking bellmen waiting in front had us gasping, "Gramercy Park!" Yes, just five years ago a taxi cab was dropping us off in front of another similar scene directed by the same man, master hotelier Ian Schrager.

But where Gramercy Park was cold and gothic inside, Public Chicago is warm and laid-back without sacrificing any of its high style and at the same time, achieving the perfect balance between affordability and luxury. In short, we like Public. A LOT.

For photos and video of Public Chicago, keep reading!

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Less Than a Week to Go Before Public Hotels Goes Public

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 1301 N State Pkwy [map], Chicago, IL, United States, 60610
September 8, 2011 at 4:45 PM | by | Comments (0)

We can't believe it's almost here! Ian Schrager's newest hotel concept, Public Hotels, will be opening its first hotel in Chicago on Monday, September 12.

Ok so technically the hotel is "in previews" starting on Monday with a grand opening party happening a month later on October 11. But this isn't our first time at a hotel opening rodeo. "In previews" means that the new rooms are ready for guests and hotel geeks like ourselves to try them out. (The rest of the place might still be in the works though.)

If you're interested in staying here the first night previews begin, rooms are currently going for $285 for a standard king which is up about $70 from the other week. Guess we're not the only ones eager to take a peek at what Schrager's cooked up next. Hopefully, he's not letting the kerfuffle in Waikiki distract him.

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Schrager + Living Social + Pump Room: A Flurry of Public Activity

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 1301 N State Pkwy [map], Chicago, IL, United States, 60610
August 12, 2011 at 1:47 PM | by | Comments (0)

The other day we noted that rooms at the soon-to-open Public Chicago had gone up just slightly to $215 a night but now there's a way to get a room for less--on LivingSocial.com.

The daily deal site has rooms at the hotel for $170 a night with a free upgrade to a superior king room. The catch is those rooms are good for stays in January-March, high winter in Chi-town. But you can pay just $25 extra and get a standard king from more bearable months of September to December. Or you could really splurge with $325 a night for a Loft King (again, available September to December.)

More perks include a custom designed Le Cabo candle, continental breakfast for two in the on-site restaurant Public Express, a welcome amenity of fresh fruit and bottled water and late check-out at 3pm.

The site is also offering tickets to the hotel's grand opening party on October 11--two for $900 or four for $2,500 and that includes a stay in a suite, breakfast for two in the Pump Room, champagne and truffles and a 5pm late checkout. (Ok, that last perk is awesome.)

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Room Rates at Public Chicago are Going Up (But Not Too Up)

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 1301 North State Parkway [map], Chicago, IL, United States, 60610
August 5, 2011 at 2:23 PM | by | Comments (0)

Looking to stay at Ian Schrager's newest boutique hotel incarnation? Better book fast. Last we checked we found room rates for the upcoming Public Chicago of $135 a night for a teeny 225-sq.ft. queen bed room. But now, standard king rooms are now going for $215 a night. (These have a little more leg room at 275-sq.ft.)

For the hotel's first weekend open, the standard king rooms bump up to $245 a night. And no standard queens seem to be available for the rest of the week.

Of course, $215 and even $245 a night is still totally doable and reasonable. Even the hotel's biggest room, the deluxe one bedroom suite, is just $545 a night on opening weekend. Remember when Ian's other hotel started at $575 a night?

So, we'll be seeing you all in Chicago on September 12th then, correct?

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And The Name of the Pump Room at Public Chicago Will Be...

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 1301 N State Pkwy [map], Chicago, IL, United States, 60610
June 23, 2011 at 9:27 AM | by | Comments (0)

Ian Schrager asked the public what to name the restaurant at The Public Chicago and the public has spoken. The old Ambassador East's Pump Room restaurant will now be known as...The Pump Room!

Woot! Our vote really did matter!

Ian said:

“It was a landslide,” Schrager says — 85 percent of the nearly 20,000 votes in favor of “Pump Room.”

See more from Ian in a video below.

The restaurant's menu will be overseen by chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. Although, the chef who will be in the kitchen day after day is Chicago chef Bradford Phillips, an Indiana native whose resume includes NoMI at The Park Hyatt Chicago and most recently, LM Restaurant, a French bistro in Lincoln Square.

Both the hotel and the restaurant will open on September 12.

What do you think--love it or hate it? Sound off in comments below.

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Ian Schrager is Letting The Public Decide the Name for The Pump Room

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 1301 N State Pkwy [map], Chicago, IL, United States, 60610
June 8, 2011 at 12:27 PM | by | Comment (1)

Ian Schrager is certainly doing the hotel thang differently with his new brand of hotels, Public Hotels. Aside from being affordable yet service-oriented, Public, as its name suggests is gonna be all about inclusion. No too cool for school male models acting indignant when you ask them to retrieve your bags!

And in the first step of going "public", Schrager is asking the the public to vote on whether or not the famed Pump Room should keep the name or use the new moniker, Gold Coast Kitchen.

Voters can call 888-682-PUMP to vote for the name “Pump Room” or 888-943-GOLD to vote for the name “Gold Coast Kitchen.” You can also text "Pump" or "Gold" to 24474.

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