Viceroy Chicago

The Viceroy hotels exist at the intersection of luxury-hotel extravagance and boutique-hotel tastefulness, and the brand-new Viceroy Chicago is no different. The building, a gently undulating glass tower, is pure luxe modernity, but the lower floors blend effortlessly into Chicago’s Gold Coast, thanks to the meticulously preserved façade of the 1920s-vintage Cedar Hotel, which was reassembled brick by brick once the tower was complete.

Such contrasts persist in the interiors as well; the gilded headboards recall the sort of hotels the pharaohs might have built, even as the rest of the furniture channels clean-lined Chicago modernist cool. The view commands the bulk of your attention, thanks to the floor-to-ceiling windows, but these rooms are full of subtle stylistic charms, and feel fully realized, a reflection of Viceroy’s expertise (and that of the designers, TAL Studio).

Naturally there’s a vibrant social life here as well. Somerset, the restaurant, serves modern American cuisine in a split-level space that’s purportedly an homage to country-club culture, but is miles more stylish than that sounds.