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A Royal Weekend at
InterContinental Chicago
Magnificent Mile
www.icchicagohotel.com
505 North Michigan Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60611
Main/General Inquiries:
(312) 944-4100
Reservations: (800) 628-2112
Meetings & Banquets:
(312) 321-8706
Weddings: (312)321-8735
Fax: +1 312 944 1320
Dr. Roberta E. Zlokower
March 22, 2010
Celebrating my brother’s birthday with family in Chicago this past March, I had the pleasure of staying in a King Suite fit for royalty at InterContinental Chicago on North Michigan Avenue, also called Magnificent Mile. On Friday, after the usual airplane luggage hassle, I arrived at the hotel and was amazed at my luxurious accommodations. I highly recommend staying in a Suite, as the views are spectacular and the rooms are spacious. You can easily entertain friends or relatives who travel “downtown”, as they say, to take in city events and sights. On Friday Susan and I walked North Michigan Avenue, as InterContinental Chicago is located so close to Water Tower Place, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Chicago Water Works Visitor’s Center, the Chicago Trolley and Double Decker, and Fourth Presbyterian Church, with magnificent stained glass windows.
We wandered Water Tower Place, an upscale indoor mall, the Visitors’ Center, housed in the old Chicago Water Tower, and the expansive interior of the Gothic, Fourth Church. InterContinental Chicago is also close to Millennium Park (which I had previously visited at length). Now it was time to head back to the Hotel and warm up in the Lobby Bar with a glass of wine and a quesadilla. Our server exuded wit and personality, and he was generous with the olives.
Friday night we dined at Grand Lux Café, right above Ann Taylor on Michigan Avenue. Later that night I had the pleasure to meet the charming Front Desk Manager, Malcolm Moore. He hosted me back at the Lobby Bar for a discussion of Chicago culture and an orientation to the history of the InterContinental Chicago, that I would see first hand on Saturday. Back in my Suite, I caught up with some work and thoroughly enjoyed the refined furnishings. We had some snow that night, but North Michigan Avenue looked busy, with hardy Chicagoans out on the town. Saturday morning I had to myself, and I enjoyed an elegant omelet and fresh grapefruit juice in Zest, the hotel’s main restaurant. My view was filled with rushing taxis, and I took time to relax. Back in my freshly organized Suite, thanks to the fine housekeeping staff, I photographed the spaces and checked my mail.
Soon Barry, Susan, and Jessie arrived for our Audio Tour of the historical Tower that was once The Medinah Athletic Club. It’s almost impossible to describe the astounding high quality and sophistication of the Hotel’s Ballrooms and Meeting Spaces. It’s like traveling back into time, or into a Medieval Wing of a museum. The Hotel was built in 1929 as a 42-story tower, commissioned by the Shrine Organization, as the future home of the Medinah Athletic Club. The architect was Walter W. Ahlschlager, who also built New York’s Roxy Theatre.
The Medinah Athletic Club fused many architectural styles, including an Indiana limestone façade with Assyrian styled reliefs and scenic friezes, a Moorish dome, originally intended for docking dirigibles, a pool with Spanish majolica tiles (where Johnny Weissmuller trained for the Olympics) and terra cotta fountain, a Grand Ballroom, with Egyptian, Assyrian, and Greek ornaments, (in which hung a 12,000 pound Baccarat crystal chandelier), and The King Arthur Court, with stained glass and murals. Originally the tower also housed a miniature golf course, shooting range, billiards hall, running track, gymnasium, archery range, bowling alley, two-story boxing arena, and the junior Olympic pool. After many incarnations as a residential apartment building and as a hotel owned by various hotel groups, InterContinental Hotels and Resorts bought the property in 1989 and renovated the historical tower in sync with its grand re-opening in 1990. These exquisite spaces must be seen to be believed.
Back from our tour, it was time to prepare for dinner and theatre, Billy Elliot, the Musical at Ford Center for the Performing Arts, Oriental Theatre. We dined at The Gage at 24 South Michigan, near the theatre, and took in the show, which I had also seen on Broadway. The Chicago production was every bit as energized and transporting as was the Broadway show. On Sunday, after a family visit in the Suite to watch a DVD on my computer that I had bought on an excursion to New York’s Ellis Island, and to give Barry mounted documents of our relatives’ historical ships and manifests, we headed out for a Bossa Nova Brunch at Cuatro. Before we finished singing “Happy Birthday” it seemed the weekend was too brief. In fact, as I was checking out, we discovered Eno, the Hotel’s mesmerizing Wine Bar, with cheese flights, wine flights, and “chocolate sensations”.
The trip to the airport was uneventful, but the scheduling drama of the flight was quite a memorable event. Needless to say, I was grateful for the weekend at InterContinental Chicago, with its extraordinary architecture and décor. I highly recommend InterContinental Chicago, Magnificent Mile for your next visit to Chicago for pleasure, business, or both. And, if you live in the Chicago area, you should be sure to take a tour of the meeting rooms and ballrooms in the historical tower, for your personal or corporate events. Your guests and associates will be quite impressed.
Strolling on Michigan Avenue
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
The Chicago Trolley
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Chicago Water Tower
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Chicago Water Works Visitors' Center
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Water Tower Place
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Interior of Fourth Presbyterian Church
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Neiman Marcus
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Wine at the Lobby Bar
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Breakfast View from Zest
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Breakfast at Zest
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
King Suite Marble Bath
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
King Suite Marble Shower
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
King Suite Bedroom
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
King Suite Office
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
King Suite Living Room
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
King Suite Armoire
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
King Suite Snowy View
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
King Suite View of Michigan Avenue
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
King Suite Nighttime View of Michigan Avenue
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Jessie in the Marble Lobby
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Barry, Susan, Jessie
Ready for the Audio Tour
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
The Audio Tour Begins
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
The Grand Staircase
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Medinah Athletic Club Tower
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Medieval Sculpture
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Ornate Friezes and Chandelier
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
A Suit of Shining Armor
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Moorish Ceiling and Chandeliers
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Original Elevators and Murals
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Historical Medinah Photograph
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Intercontinental Chicago Gym
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Junior Olympic Pool and Seating
(Where Johnny Weissmuller Trained for Olympics)
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
The Grand Ballroom and Chandeliers
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Antique Crystal Chandelier
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
King Arthur Court Ballroom
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
King Arthur Court Ballroom
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
View of the Tribune Tower
from the Tower Meeting Room
Courtesy of Jessie Weinrebe
Lake Michigan
Tower Meeting Room View
Courtesy of Jessie Weinrebe
View of Sears Tower
from the Tower Meeting Room
Courtesy of Jessie Weinrebe
Michigan Avenue Bridges and Chicago River
Tower Meeting Room View
Courtesy of Jessie Weinrebe
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