I stayed at The Pendry, Chicago, a luxury hotel that feels like home

This skyscraper hotel may be set in a glamorous century-old building from Chicago’s Gilded Age, but it has a modern vibe that makes it feel like a home away from home.

Craig Tansley

3 min read

July 24, 2025 - 4:42PM

Lifestyle

Don't miss out on the headlines from Lifestyle. Followed categories will be added to My News.

Luxury in inner-city Chicago doesn’t have to come with old-world stuffiness if you opt to stay at a hotel that prefers you put your feet up and make it your home while enjoying some of the best views in town.

The scene

At check-in I’m offered a glass of the jasmine tea punch available beside reception and told to take into the lobby bar where I should tell the bartender the secret word for the day, then to “make it dirty” (put liquor in it), for free). That should tell you everything about The Pendry.

It may be set in a glamorous century-old building from Chicago’s Gilded Age, but there’s a next-generation fun vibe about everything in here that’s obvious from the moment I walk into the lobby.

Set in a neighbourhood of old-world luxury hotels, the emphasis at the four-star property seems to be on everyone feeling comfortable and getting to know one another. Guests mill around a free coffee station talking, sit at a big open-plan bar or by a double-sided fireplace in the lobby bar (Bar Pendry). I have the impression they want us to feel right at home (home, that is, if you happened to be worth many millions of dollars).

I’m at the edge of the Loop, Chicago’s central business district, and barely a block from the Magnificent Mile. Picture: Supplied.

Location

I’m at the edge of the Loop – Chicago’s central business district – and barely a block from the Magnificent Mile, the city’s most popular tourist destination. More than 275 restaurants are on this strip, and 460 stores as well as some of America’s most celebrated buildings and the country’s best-loved art and museum attractions. It’s not just tourists who come here either – locals flock too, for upscale department stores and the kinds of historic buildings that make me feel like I’m in Europe.

My room’s massive for an inner-city hotel. Picture: Supplied.

The room

My room’s massive for an inner-city hotel. The smallest here are between 28 and 38sq m (which is the size of about two standard Paris hotel rooms), with comfortable sitting areas. Most feature double bay windows so there’s lots of light. Mine has several, with amazing views of boats going down the Chicago River, which looks even better at night when the lights on all those bridges are sparkling. There’s a minimalist vibe going on here, with a black and white colour scheme and lots of monochrome architecture prints on the walls. It’s all very understated, which is in keeping with the Pendry brand – the newest, and hippest, division of America’s uber-luxurious Montage Hotels & Resorts company. In the bathroom I lather on bathroom amenities custom made for me in a collaboration with New York perfumerie and apothecary label, Min New York.

Take the lift to the roof where Château Carbide offers outside and inside small bites and drinks with ridiculous views. Picture: Supplied.

Food and drinks

There are numerous options on-site, with French brasserie Venteux the best bet. It’s on the ground floor and takes my breath away when I walk in. It’s all La Belle Epoque (the beautiful era) in here, with 12m floor-to-ceiling windows looking out across greenery to the dining space outside. Still, there’s a very casual elegance about the place that puts me right at ease, dressed as I am in jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt. There are Happy Hour deals from Monday to Saturday offering $US10 ($15) cocktails and half a dozen oysters for $US12 ($18).

There’s also a bar menu available at Bar Pendry. Picture: Supplied.

Or take the lift to the roof where Château Carbide offers outside and inside small bites and drinks with ridiculous views over everything including the river, the fancy tall buildings and Trump Tower. You can book a dining spot around your very own fireplace, or when it’s warmer, just sit outside and admire the views as you eat French onion grilled cheese. There’s also a bar menu available at Bar Pendry.

This labyrinth of baths in a restored factory from 1902 makes me feels like I’ve left Chicago for Rome, circa 500BC. Picture: Supplied.

Wellness

The gym is fantastic, and if you find motivation a problem (even after the burger with gruyére and raclette you devoured at Venteux) there’s a Tonal digital training system on hand, which is like a trainer, but one you can switch off when it tells you to do more push-ups. There’s no spa on site, but the hotel offers priority booking and discounts plus free transport to Aire Ancient Baths. This labyrinth of baths decorated in the ancient Greek, Roman and Ottoman manner in a restored factory from 1902 makes me feels like I’ve left Chicago for Rome, circa 500BC.

It may be set in a glamorous century-old building, but there’s a next-generation fun vibe about everything in here that’s obvious from the moment I walk into the lobby. Picture: Supplied.