Why haven't you heard about this excellent contemporary hotel? I mean, look at its selling points: Windows that are nearly floor-to-ceiling. Massive beds and big bathrooms (no tubs) plus lots of plush extras like Frette linens and robes, steamers, safes, and fancy Nespresso. A to-die-for location, perfectly between the Loop and the Mag Mile, from which front-facing rooms actually overlook the top of Millennium Park and even take in the Bean sculpture. A fully equipped fitness center as big as some hotels' presidential suites. Quick elevators (which are rarer than you'd think). A decent, non-scene lobby restaurant and bar, About Last Knife, where you can have a meal and a drink with dignity if you're too tired to drag yourself out. 

So why havent you heard of it? Probably because it's small, off the radar, and not bound up in corporate marketing and points-earners. But it still meets or exceeds the highest standard of any well-known corporate hotel you could name, and perhaps because it's not well-known, rates often dip down to double digits, which qualifies it as an absolute steal. Do try to get a front-facing Vista or Millennium room, not just for its views but for its peace; a skyscraper is going up on the west-facing side.


Urban fee warning: $15 added per night.