You absolutely must…
Must Shop:
From big-name department stores to the smallest boutiques, they are all in the zone known as the Magnificent Mile, an eight-block stretch of style and couture that takes in boutique-lined Oak Street and runs into Michigan Avenue and up to the lake.
Must Eat:
This is Chicago, so at least once you have to try one of the famous steakhouses (such as Morton’s), but the hotel is Asian so you must also try the dim sum at Shanghai Terrace.
Must Visit:
Not too far away in a suburb of the Windy City is Taliesin East, the former home and headquarters of legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
• Cutting edge contemporary luxury with an Asian twist.
• The kind of service you normally only get in Hong Kong in one of the best locations in Chicago.
• All the amenities you could want, and then some, including complimentary access with to the award winning spa.
The Whole Story
The Peninsula is chic, elegant and subdued. Anyone who has ever stayed in the Hong Kong Peninsula will know what extraordinarily high standards of service and aesthetics are set there. As with its Hong Kong namesake, the rooms are large and luxuriously appointed, with Sony widescreen televisions, exquisite marble bathrooms, down pillows, luxurious bedlinen, understated furniture, and soft amber lighting.
So far, so good. There is also an amazing spa to rival the one in Hong Kong that most guests find hard to leave. There's a beautiful aqua mosaic-tiled pool, flanked by floor-to-ceiling windows, on the twentieth floor. The view is straight out to the shores of Lake Michigan (a stone’s throw from the hotel). For those with the time (and you should really make the time) the spa has a whirlpool and lap pool, gym, yoga room and steam room, and any number of oriental treatments.
Almost all the stores worth going to are no more than a mile from the hotel. From big-name department stores to the smallest boutiques, they are all in the zone known as the Magnificent Mile, an eight-block stretch of style and couture that takes in boutique-lined Oak Street and runs into Michigan Avenue and up to the lake. There's also plenty of culture to divert you in Chicago: you could take a tour of Frank Lloyd Wright's architectural legacy, or you could make time to visit the Art Institute of Chicago.
But my hunch is that you will almost certainly be too busy indulging yourself. It's all about dressing up in your best clothes for dinner, ordering late-night snacks with champagne, recovering in the spa, and hitting the town feeling like a million bucks.
The Rooms
Luxurious and high-tech, the Peninsula guest rooms combine the extra quality that has become the brand’s signature; marble bathrooms, down pillows, luxurious bedlinen, soft amber lighting, with clean, contemporary design and all the technology features – 42 inch flat screen Sony tvs, broadband etc – that today’s traveller would prefer. Rooms available with 2 double beds or 1 King bed.