21c Museum Hotel Chicago

Character and identity

Set between the Magnificent Mile and River North's gallery district, this 297-room hotel doubles as a contemporary art museum, with rotating exhibitions guests can roam around the clock and a free weekly docent tour to unpack the social and political work on display. Interiors by Deborah Berke Partners run cool and gray-toned, softened by cloud-like beds and residential sitting areas in even the entry-level rooms. Downstairs, a Chicago outpost of Lure Fishbar handles the dining, oysters, sushi, sharable shellfish, with a revived happy hour. Service is warm and unintimidating, a deliberate counterweight to the challenging art.

Who's it for

Bottom line

The art programme is the reason to book here, and it's genuinely substantial rather than decorative; the rooms and restaurant are competent supporting acts. Entry-level rooms are perfectly fine since the energy lives in the public spaces, so save the money unless you want a corner suite for the two-angle skyline view. Best paired with a weekend when a docent tour is running.