(Chicago) — I”ve stayed now a half-dozen times at the Public hotel and it still ranks as one of my favorite places to stay in Chicago and certainly my favorite Ian Schrager hotel. One of the coolest lobby designs I’ve seen — that great combination of classic architecture and modern design — with good looking people as props. Come in at night and all the wealthy black-dressed Chicagoans are silhouetted against the perfectly lit white whiles. It’s almost an optical illusion.

The rooms are really big, with huge windows and awesome amount of sunlight. Gigantic baths. Love the quiet stretch of upper State Parkway, quiet with gorgeous townhouses lining the blocks. And if you’re a Tablet Plus member, they’re really good about upgrading you to a larger room.  There’s a great Jean-Georges revamp of the famous Pump Room, which is jammed at night and serves an incredible frittata with asian peppers and that oozes poached egg when you slice into it. Great sound system pumps it up at night, all throughout the lobby and, my favorite touch: they convert the night-time boom-she-boom library lounge into a bright barista/snacks station during the morning, so you don’t have to hunt down a Starbucks or blow a half-hour ordering from the restaurant. More hotels should do this.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: This hotel is now called the Hotel Ambassador. Ian Schrager took the PUBLIC name and reopened a different hotel in NYC in 2017]