HIGH DRAMA CHICAGO OOZES LUXURY ON EVERY LEVEL, FINDS ELLA BUCHAN ADAM ALEXANDER PHOTOGRAPHY/CHOOSE CHICAGO ALEXANDER PHOTOGRAPHY/CHOOSE ADAM PICTURE:

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don’t need an app or the toot of a horn to know my ride has arrived. I can tell by the quickening of the air, Ithe whoosh of wind and the rhythmic ‘thwop‑thwop’ of the rotor blades. FAR LEFT: Chicago beachfront After a windswept photo, I climb CENTRE: Helicopter tour aboard a scarlet chopper for a jaunt ABOVE: Salon and spa at the Kimpton Gray Hotel through the skies with Chicago Helicopter Experience. While the Windy City’s steely skyline is impressive from any angle, there are few better vantage points than 1,500 feet above ground. Other cities may have taller buildings but Chicago, birthplace of the skyscraper, still stands spires and shoulders above the rest. The helicopter zigzags past the twin antennae of the , home to vertiginous glass-viewing platform underground parking lot with tennis New hotels include the chic Kimpton (central business district), face tilted railroad. The paths are bordered by SkyDeck. The city’s tallest building, it courts, an outdoor climbing wall and Gray, named for the original Georgia Gray upwards to gawp at the towers, I felt the fragrant grasses and wildflowers, and soars like a gleaming king on a board of picnic spots next to ’s 25 marble in the lobby. Then there’s the city’s entire city wrapping me in a welcoming dotted with sculptures. “Ah, Chicago is a intricate chess pieces. Styles range from art acres. Spanning the two parks is Frank Chicago’s architecture, first Conrad, a classically elegant choice blanket. great city,” sighs David. deco (333 North Michigan) and modernist Gehry’s BP Pedestrian Bridge, a sinuous for business travellers. This autumn sees Chicagoans love their city so much, (the John Hancock Building, or ‘Big John’) squiggle of brushed . water and lush green the Viceroy open in the glitzy Gold Coast they want to tell you everything. Take WEIRD AND WONDERFUL to the Spanish colonial revival of the Then there’s the art. The Art Institute’s spaces have earned it the neighbourhood, while the new Ace Hotel the Chicago Greeters, locals who show Few are as enthusiastic about their Wrigley Building, its Seville‑inspired clock permanent collection – world-famous Chicago caters to moneyed millennials. visitors around for free, like a welcome neighbourhood as Margaret Hicks, tower telling time by the teal-coloured paintings include Grant Wood’s American nickname ‘Urbs in Horto’, There are endless opportunities to gift. The scheme has been curated by who founded Elevated Tours. And few Chicago River. From the air, doll-sized Gothic, Picasso’s The Old Guitarist and Edward or city in a garden splurge. Clients can take a champagne Choose Chicago, the destination’s official neighbourhoods are as strange as hers. walkers, joggers, cyclists and rollerbladers Hopper’s Nighthawks – is as dizzying as helicopter tour, shop for Louis Vuitton marketing organisation. The comedian has a passion for dot the wide paths around , those buildings, which glint through the luggage on Michigan Avenue’s My guide, retired businessman David the Pedway, a subterranean network while others laze on beaches and grass. glass as I weave between floors. ‘Magnificent Mile’, or linger over nine Dresden, takes me to Wicker Park, one of tunnels linking some of The Loop’s Chicago knows it’s gorgeous. All that impeccable courses at three-Michelin- of Chicago’s oldest neighbourhoods and famous buildings. She guides me past a architecture, water and lush green spaces LUXE APPEAL starred Grace restaurant. currently the hippest. We pass former gallery of stained glass underneath Macy’s has earned it the nickname ‘Urbs in Horto’, The luxury travel market is taking notice. All this could easily go to a city’s head. furniture factories that are now record towards the Marriage Bureau, where or city in a garden. Bespoke Experiences, which works with Yet the city oozes down-to-earth, Midwest stores, pho restaurants and vintage photographer Ed waits patiently to hawk And it hasn’t let itself go. Maggie travel agents to tailor exclusive tours, charm and generosity of spirit. emporiums, before ascending to The 606, his wedding portraiture. Daley Park opened in 2015, replacing an recently added Chicago to its portfolio. From my first strides around The Loop a 2.7-mile-long elevated park on a former Margaret is planning to launch a

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REVIEW THE KIMPTON GRAY HOTEL

Clients might be advised to speak loudly and clearly in earshot of staff if they have a favourite cocktail, say, or are celebrating a birthday – they may just return from a day out to find a mimosa bar, bouquet of flowers or the wherewithal to mix an old fashioned in their room. It’s lovely little touches like these that make this hotel, which is housed in former law offices and boasts an original marble lobby. The complimentary wine hour in the lobby helps too, while

ABOVE: rooftop bar Boleo mixes its pisco sours CENTRE: sculpture with hip-shaking Latin beats. RIGHT: Michigan Avenue The room decor looks like it was inspired by a fine Savile Row suit. Muted greys and blues are broken with pops of colour, luxury tour with spa treatments, cocktails was designed by the same team as New with rum. We opt for the chef’s choice, such as hothouse flowers painted inside and dinner, all without stepping outside. York’s Dead Rabbit, regularly rated the and the table groans under platters of crab BOOK IT the wardrobe doors and bright cushions “Not everyone gets it,” she admits. “But world’s best bar. Dishes include ricotta legs, oysters and wood-fired filet mignon. on the beds. A ‘Keep Calm it’s Just Garlic’ Aer Lingus has twice-daily I just love it. It’s so weird.” cavatelli pasta with short rib and morels, The treats keep coming at Buddy Guy’s sign in the bathroom refers to the The symphony soars from flights from to Less niche is a boat tour with the self-sauced by a runny poached egg. I Legends, owned by the blues star. “Mr city’s origins as a wild garlic patch. Chicago, connecting via Chicago Architecture Foundation. The can’t resist trying a Michelin-starred under the honeycombed Guy’s on stage right now if you wanna Refreshingly, there’s no extra charge for Dublin where passengers can guides are volunteer staff members who cheeseburger, rare, juicy and almost catch him,” drawls the doorman. bringing a furry pal. Dogs and cats (and roof. The notes hit pre-clear US immigration. know the buildings brick by brick (or steel truffle-like in its richness. And there he is, 81 years old in a green rabbits) are given custom beds, treats Prices start at £249 each rod). I lean back to gaze up at the eclectic Proxi, in the West Loop, is chef Andrew my skin like shards of plaid shirt and still working the crowd and dapper bow-ties to take home. way and £1,099 in business parade of beauties. Zimmerman’s second restaurant. His first, with gravelly, melodic riffs about whiskey ice. Goosebumps class. Afterwards, I devour oozy burrata Sepia, already has a star. With sharing and wimmin’. aerlingus.com (cheese) with a glass of rosé at Chicago City plates like tempura elotes (smoked corn There’s more music the following Winery on the Riverwalk. fritters) and crisp-fried fish collars with evening at ’s Jay Pritzker Hayes & Jarvis has a Food has always been a big deal in garlic chilli sauce, I predict another. Pavilion, where the city hosts free summer four-night package from Chicago, though it has moved beyond Eden, in edgy West Lake, draws crowds concerts. The Grant Park Orchestra fills £1,099 per person, with deep-dish pizza and hot dogs splodged keen to taste (and Instagram) its umami the stage, bows and vocal chords poised. accommodation at the with mustard. doughnuts with roasted mushroom miso Then the symphony soars from under the Kimpton Gray Hotel and Now the city twinkles with 35 Michelin and raclette. honeycombed roof, brimmed with steel return flights from London stars. One-starred GreenRiver is tucked Sepia lighting and scantily-clad staff ribbons. The notes hit my skin like shards via Dublin with Aer Lingus, on the 18th floor of a medical building. mean Maple & Ash, in Gold Coast, feels of ice. Goosebumps. Visitors can pay for departing March 18. Not exactly prepossessing – until I step more like an exclusive nightclub than a a seat in the stands or simply laze on the hayesandjarvis.co.uk out to views that swoosh towards Lake restaurant. In lieu of an amuse-bouche, grass with a picnic – unwrapping another

Michigan. The encyclopedic cocktail menu the waiter pours a citrussy aperitif, stiff gift from this big-hearted city. PICTURES: CHOOSE CHICAGO/CLAYTON HAUCK; PATRICK L PYSZKA/CITY OF CHICAGO; ADAM ALEXANDER PHOTOGRAPHY

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