The Langham Chicago

The Last Tower Mies Designed, Turned Inward

Mies van der Rohe finished his career on the north bank of the Chicago River. 330 North Wabash, completed after his death, was the last office building he designed: a black steel and glass rectangle that never tried to be picturesque and never needed to be. For decades it was a workplace. The Langham took the lower floors and did the unusual thing, which was to keep the discipline of the frame and warm it from the inside. Ceilings stay high, windows stay enormous, and the river runs past at the foot of the tower. The result is a hotel that argues, quietly, that modernism was always meant to be comfortable.

Why It Works

Chicago has no shortage of luxury addresses, and what separates this one is that the building is itself a reason to stay. Guests sleep inside a Mies, which is a sentence very few hotels can write. The second reason is the river. Rooms face the water and the bridges rather than an airshaft, and the light coming off the river late in the afternoon does more for a room than any amount of decoration. The third is the house standard: Forbes Five Star, two Michelin Keys, a spa, a pool and a restaurant with its own following, all held at the same level.

Why This Location

330 North Wabash sits on the north bank, a bridge away from the Loop and a short walk from the Magnificent Mile. The Riverwalk starts at the door, which puts the whole run west to Lake Street and east to the lake within walking distance. The Art Institute is about fifteen minutes on foot across the Michigan Avenue bridge and Millennium Park a little less, the Chicago Architecture Center stands directly across the water, and the boat tours that explain the skyline leave from the same stretch of river. Trains on the Red and Brown lines are a couple of blocks away. For a first visit to Chicago, the position is hard to better.

Fast Facts

• Price: Luxury

• Vibe: Modernist, riverside, serene, architectural

• Rooms: Rooms and suites on the lower floors of the tower, most of them facing the river; Club rooms carry lounge access and the suites run up to the Infinity and the Regent

• Best For: Architecture travellers, couples on a city break, business stays that want a spa at the end of the day

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: Sleeping inside the last building Mies van der Rohe designed, with the river running past the window

• Dining: Travelle, the restaurant and bar with interiors by David Rockwell, plus the Pavilion, the Travelle Lounge, private dining and afternoon tea

• Amenities: Chuan Spa, indoor swimming pool, health club, Langham Club lounge, pets welcome

• Attractions: Chicago Riverwalk (at the door), Magnificent Mile, Chicago Architecture Center (across the river), Art Institute of Chicago (about fifteen minutes on foot), Millennium Park

Travelle, the Pavilion and the Tea Habit

Travelle is the house restaurant and bar, and Rockwell's interiors were drawn to answer the building: wood and metal, open sightlines, nothing that fights the frame. It keeps a following beyond the hotel, which is the real test. The Pavilion covers the lighter end of the day and the Travelle Lounge takes the drinks. Afternoon tea is the Langham habit, carried over from the London house where the ritual was formalised in the nineteenth century, and it is served here with the river as the view. Private dining rooms handle the rest. None of it feels bolted on.

Chuan Spa and the Wellness Floor

The wellness floor is one of the reasons this address holds up over several nights. Chuan Spa works from traditional Chinese medicine principles, with a consultation that shapes the treatment rather than a menu picked at random. The indoor pool is long enough to swim properly in, with the city through the glass, and the health club is fully equipped. In a city where the weather does half the planning, being able to spend a morning indoors without leaving the building is worth more than it sounds. Club rooms add a lounge with its own service through the day.