Conrad Chicago Opens Its Doors

Conrad Chicago welcomes guests November 14 to the 20-story luxury hotel located steps from Magnificent Mile. The redesign of former Draft FCB corporate office building into a smart, luxury hotel represents the dynamic vision of hotelier Laurence Geller, international design firm Pierre-Yves Rochon and hospitality design firm Puccini Group.

The property features 287 guest rooms, including 24 suites with two expansive hospitality suites. The hotel’s atmosphere exudes a modern and purposeful aesthetic, 10,000 sf of conference and event facilities equipped with state-of-the-art technology, and three unique restaurants conceptualized by world-renowned chef Richard Sandoval: Baptiste & Bottle, Noyane and Il Tavolino.

Laurence Geller tapped talented designer Pierre-Yves Rochon for the hotel project to repurpose the existing space to provide maximum comfort and functionality for guests, resulting in sophisticated areas that seamlessly blend elements of local culture with contemporary design.

Upon entrance, guests are greeted by Inoca, a sculpture by British studio Haberdashery, that references leaves caught in a Lake Michigan breeze, offering a gentle reference to the “Windy City.” The sculpture can first be viewed upon entrance into the hotel’s grand atrium space before it ascends to the hotel sky lobby on the 20th floor. Displaying 1,300 fine bone China leaves, the form appears to be floating in front of the two-story, floor-to-ceiling windows with the Chicago Skyline as a backdrop.

The central spiral staircase, a dramatic focal point of the hotel, opens to the double height atrium lounge and leads guests directly to a series of graceful prefunction and event spaces. The hotel’s 10 multifunctional meeting rooms, designed specifically for high-end meetings and intimate social events, boast breathtaking 360-degree views, illuminating natural light and state-of-the-art technology. In partnership with Social Tables, Conrad Chicago will be delivering custom 3-D imaging of the meeting spaces for guests to view before booking the space.

The clean, purposeful design of the hotel’s public spaces continues in each of the 287 guest rooms and suites. Each room blends rich leather wall accents and regal tones of red and gold with bold, black granite entryways, and spacious bathrooms. Sharp lines and contemporary furniture in each room guide the eye directly to the floor to ceiling windows, revealing a spectacular city backdrop. Minimalistic bathrooms with freestanding marble tubs also feature views of the skyline and are decorated with gold fixtures and modern artwork. The residential style accommodations and intuitive guest room layout, including personal refrigerators and 96-inch oversized beds, immediately exude the feeling of home for those visiting Chicago.

From keyless guest room entry and smart lighting, to 65-inch flat-screen TVs, every room and suite is designed to make guests’ stays memorable, easy and personal. Along those lines, Conrad Chicago is offering texting services to increase the speed of communication between guests and hotel staff, as well as the Conrad Concierge App, an integrated app allowing access to all of the luxury services available at the hotel. The hotel will showcase a private Fisker luxury house car offering complimentary drop-off service within a two-mile radius.

The Puccini Group, a restaurant group known for its innovation, helped bring each of the three restaurant concepts envisioned by Chef Sandoval to life: On the ground floor, guests will find Il Tavolino, inspired by an authentic Italian café, which is open for breakfast and lunch. On the 20th floor, Baptiste & Bottle will serve as the pillar of the property’s food and beverage program, featuring approachable American cuisine with a bourbon centric beverage program.  Slated to open summer 2017, Noyane, the hotel’s sleek Japanese restaurant located on the rooftop, takes its cues from modern Japanese design and draws attention to the venue’s awe-inspiring views of the city.

Understanding that traveling isn’t just about the destination, Conrad Hotels developed the Conrad 1/3/5, a program showcasing the most unique and locally inspired experiences the city has to offer guests who may only have 1, 3, or 5 hours to discover the destination. With a unique mix of edgy neighborhood tours, reinvented icons and landmarks, museums, late-night cocktails, and more, each 1/3/5 experience reflects a local take on culture, art, food and adventure, so guests can make the most of their trip, even when time is at a premium.

Conrad Chicago will be the first hotel to offer a complimentary high-tech Conrad 1/3/5 experience with its Virtual Reality Enhanced Concierge. The Conrad Chicago concierge allows the smart luxury traveler to sample Conrad Chicago’s specially curated 1/3/5 experiences. The VR Concierge features 360 video and Oculus headsets allowing guests to virtually try unique Chicago experiences such as looking at the city from 1,000 feet above ground from The John Hancock building. Capturing the sights and sounds of the selected activities as if guests were there themselves is just one of the many tech-forward innovations built into the Conrad Chicago experience.

Conrad Chicago will participate in Hilton HHonors, the only guest loyalty program where guests who book directly through www.conradhotels.com have access to benefits including the digital Conrad Concierge app and complimentary Wi-Fi at 26 Conrad hotels.

www.conradhotels.com/chicago