The Langham Chicago

There was a time when Chicago’s hotel scene, on the whole, lagged far behind those of coastal capitals like New York and Los Angeles. Today, though, its best hotels are more than worthy of its status as a world-class city. A hotel like the Langham, Chicago, then, is a sign of the times, and a remarkably complete package as well: contemporary design, state-of-the-art comforts, thoughtful, professional service, and a link to the city’s urban history, embodied in its location: 330 North Wabash, formerly known as IBM Plaza, the last work of the modernist master architect Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe.

This is a skyscraper hotel, American-style, which means, in contrast with its Asian cousins, that the hotel occupies the bottom floors rather than the top. (The views from twelve floors up, in this town, are scenic enough.) Once you’re in your room you’ll find you’ve left Mies’s high modernism behind — though there’s some mid-century influence visible, the look is more obviously influenced by the Langham group’s Hong Kong and London roots. Space is plentiful, as is sunshine, and the details are impressively selected, right down to the well-stocked minibar.

The Chuan Spa is an elaborate one, complete with pool and fitness center. Meanwhile Travelle is the restaurant, bar and lounge, where chef Tim Graham serves Mediterranean-inflected fare, and Pavillon is the lobby lounge, home to a cracking afternoon tea service. And if you’re a foodie, there’s no need to stay in — the Langham’s downtown location places you in the heart of one of America’s best-fed cities.