City: Chicago, IL

Category: Accommodations

Telephone: (800) 445-8667, (312) 726-7500

Address: 17 E. Monroe St.

Insider Pick:

Description: At more than 140 years old, this stunning historic hotel in the heart of the Loop is the oldest continuously operating hotel in the US. Bestowed as a wedding gift from Potter Palmer (founding partner of Marshall Field’s department store) to his wife Bertha in 1871, the hotel tragically burned down in the Chicago Fire of the same year. Not to be deterred, Palmer rebuilt and reopened in 1873 as the first fully fireproof hotel. Since then, it has hosted international celebrities and society elites, but remains welcoming to all, attaining accolades as one of the most luxurious hotels in the world. Recently renewed to its original grandeur, its vast lobby awes with fresco-graced cathedral-like ceilings, Tiffany statues, plush seating, and dazzling chandeliers. Most of the 1,639 rooms were remodeled with tasteful and unique decor. Added were a new 10,000-square-foot health club, 54 suites, a lobby bar, the casually elegant Lockwood restaurant, a million-dollar penthouse suite, and an Executive Level for the most discerning of guests. Another Palmer House claim to fame: Its chefs purportedly created a recipe that inspired the first brownie.