This hotel is on our list of The 11 Best Hotels in Chicago.
Hyde Park is happening. Catering to the University of Chicago crowd and its visiting dignitaries, the five-year-old Sophy takes inspiration from hometown literary and musical heroes, whose artworks ornament the walls in the popular and always convivial Mesler restaurant. Taking the title of the first boutique hotel on Chicago’s South Side when it opened in 2018, the property occupies a prime spot on 53rd Street—a vibrant commercial hub lined with shops and restaurants owned and frequented by a diverse population that range from academics to local politicians to the city’s cultural influencers. Former UofC professor Barack Obama’s home (and his under-construction presidential library) are nearby.
Chicago-based GREC Architects wove this glass-and-brick hotel into the fabric of the neighborhood, while interiors by New York–based Stonehill Taylor pop with unexpected items: a lighting fixture made of horns here, a circular sofa there. The 98 guest rooms and suites have hardwood floors and neutral tones, enlivened by an abstract fabric artwork by local artist Joey Korom, vinyl records by hometown superstars (Mahalia Jackson, Pops Staples, Junior Wells) that await spinning on the in-room Crosley turntables, and novels by Saul Bellow, Sandra Cisneros, and other Chicago writers. Order up a 5th Ward Burger or book a table at Mesler, then spend the rest of the evening lounging around the double-sided fireplace grooving to live music and some of the best people-watching on the South Side.
