Soho House Chicago - hotel review

Lotte Jeffs is blown away by the Windy City's party scene
Windy city: a stunning view of a Chicago skyline
Lotte Jeffs14 November 2016

Beside my four-poster bed at Chicago’s Soho House hotel were two small cotton drawstring bags containing in-room essentials: one had the word ‘condoms’ printed on it, the other the word ‘earplugs’; as if the room’s cocktail bar and Marshall speaker were not enough of a hint that we’d just checked into the Windy City’s premier party hotel. We sashayed about the converted six-storey belting factory like we owned it, cutting to the front of queues and declaring grandly, ‘We’re guests.’ But such chutzpah goes down well in Chicago — called ‘the Windy City’ not because it’s at the mercy of the elements but, I was told, because its inhabitants were known for talking a lot of hot air.

So in true Chicago style I blagged us to the front of the line at Green Mill, a legendary jazz club, to watch bebop in a low-lit, slightly seedy cocktail lounge. Green Mill was Al Capone’s favourite drinking den during the Prohibition era (operating thanks to a police pay-off). It’s said that each night when Capone entered the bar, the band would stop whatever they were playing and perform his favourite piece of music, Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue’. We slid into Capone’s favourite booth; the one with the clearest view of both exits.

Just opposite the hotel is a cobbled alley leading to Green Street Smoked Meats, a warehouse-sized dive bar serving quirky craft beer (one tap was a rubber penis) and chopped brisket. An unmarked door at the back leads to a secret basement ramen restaurant, because... well, why not?

Green Mill jazz club

Hidden bars and restaurants are ‘a thing’ in the city right now. We went to a molecular cocktail bar called the Aviary where we watched ‘drinks chefs’ work inside a wire cage to produce insane-looking alcoholic concoctions in treasure chests full of dry ice, test tubes and fishbowls. The concierge at Soho House had let us into a secret, and we were whisked downstairs by an important-looking chap with an earpiece, through a locked door and into The Office. It’s a small gentleman’s club-style speakeasy looked after by a master mixologist and a waiter, who asked us to describe the mood we were in so they could make a bespoke cocktail to match. To leave The Office for the bathroom, or a cigarette, one must take a key from the cupped hands of a stone monkey.

The following night it was a relief to discover Wicker Park — a trendy yet unpretentious few streets lined with retro clothes shops, trinket boutiques, bars and restaurants. We had a beer and a shot with some nachos at Mexican joint Xoco before heading for a juicy deep-dish pizza at Giordiano’s.

A room at Soho House hotel

Considering we were only in town for 72 hours, I’m not quite sure how we also found time to watch the Chicago Cubs play the LA Dodgers at Wrigley Field, the country’s oldest baseball stadium (it was celebrating its centenary). Through sheer luck we had scored seats in the dugout, two rows from the front — but spent more time in the hospitality box, where a dessert trolley frequently appeared serving slabs of cheesecake, cookies and ice cream.

It was no wonder we saw so many people running and cycling by Lake Michigan during the day — Chicago is the perfect place to burn off a calorific lifestyle. The lake is like an eerily still ocean — and the white-sand beach is so clean you’d be forgiven for thinking you were somewhere far more exotic, were it not for the stark modernist towers (such as the ones Nik Wallenda walked between on a tightrope earlier this month) looming behind you.

Anish Kapoor's Cloud Gate

We also squeezed in a trip to the Art Institute, home to an extensive collection from Monet’s Water Lilies to Rauschenberg collages. Outside the gallery is Millennium Park and the Anish Kapoor sculpture Cloud Gate. This giant polished stainless-steel bean reflects the sky and shimmering tower blocks surrounding it. Stand underneath it and the city warps and shifts around you, impossible to pin down. There could be no better monument to Chicago.

The latest addition to the ever-evolving city is the Fulton Market district, a redevelopment of the old meatpacking area, with Soho House at its epicentre. Alongside the hotel’s 40 suites there’s a Club Bar (red velvet seats, huge Chesterfield sofa, baby grand piano), outposts of PizzaEast and Chicken Shop, a rooftop pool with its own bar and café, a ground-floor brasserie (open to non-members, too), a gig space and a private cinema. The whole building transforms throughout the day, from cosy spot for a morning meeting to wild party pad. Even if you’re only staying for one night, you can forget about FOMO. Some of the best nightlife happens on your doorstep.

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Virgin Atlantic flies to Chicago from London Heathrow. Economy return from £747 (virgin-atlantic.com). Doubles rooms at Soho House start at $150 (sohohousechicago.com)

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