The Robey

When one of your favorite hotel brands moves into one of your favorite underutilized buildings, it’s a win-win. The Robey Chicago, Grupo Habita’s second hotel in the United States, is the new occupant of North Tower, a 1929 Art Deco skyscraper in Wicker Park. The Mexican mini-chain tapped a Belgian design team, Nicolas Schuybroek Architects and Marc Merckx Interiors, to overhaul the place, reshaping office space into 89 guest rooms and a handful of cafés and lounges, including a striking indoor-outdoor bar on the 13th floor.

The look is cool and industrial with a vintage twist, the rooms simply outfitted in wood, chrome, and frosted glass, with free wi-fi, charming Revo clock radios, and proper writing desks. The color palette is bold but sophisticated: these designers weren’t afraid to paint a wall black, and they’ve also experimented with slate gray and deep ruby red. Also present are twenty Annex Loft rooms, some of which sleep four on a pair of queen beds or a queen and a twin-size bunk bed. They’re perfect for larger parties, traveling bands, or just for spreading out a bit.

All told, the Robey Chicago’s interiors aren’t a major departure from the North Tower’s office days. Then again, we’ve never seen an office with 400-thread count sheets, custom-made white terry cloth bathrobes, or bath products by Le Labo. Have a leisurely brunch at Café Robey, the modern American restaurant on the ground level, or slip away to the second-floor lounge, Clever Coyote, complete with its own bar and mod sectional sofas perfect for a couple of cozy pre-dinner drinks.