PRICE:
Frommer's Very Highly Recommended

Built as the Medinah Athletic Club in 1929, the building features truly grand details: marble columns, hand-stenciled ceilings, and historic tapestries (for a peek, go in the southern entrance on the corner of Illinois St.). The guest rooms have two distinct identities: Rooms in the Main Building (a 1960s addition) have an elegant, urban style -- dark wood, deep yellow walls, red velvet banquettes -- but fairly small bathrooms. Rooms in the Historic Tower (the original building) have a more old-world feel: elaborately carved headboards, gold accents, and deep-red-and-cream drapes and bedding. The bathrooms, however, are completely modern; most come with both a tub and separate, large shower stall. (You'll pay about $50 more for rooms in the Historic Tower.) The InterContinental's main claim to fame is its junior Olympic-size pool on the top floor, a beautiful 1920s gem surrounded by elegant mosaics. Architecture buffs can pick up a free audiotour from the concierge.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's Chicago 2009, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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