Hotels & Chicago, Public Hotel!
It’s weird having taken a break from the site - cause I want to write about stuff that happened while we were on vacation - but I’m like, “Is it old news?!” Whatever. I’ve always been fascinated by hotels, remember being a little kids and running down the hall ways as fast as you could? Vending machines? Indoor pools that had like a fake palm tree vibe? Straight Radisson status. Fast forward to my early/mid 20’s and I started traveling more - experiencing more hotels, etc, kind of getting the vibe for what I dig, etc. At its core, a hotel is about rest, you know? Not always sleep - but rest. And luxury is, by my definition, comfort - not always excess - but thoughtfulness. I stayed at the Public Hotel in Chicago for the first time like a month or two after they opened - actually booked it cause RSVP Gallery was interviewing me and I liked to color tone from the pictures for place to shoot it at. Stayed there like 15-20 times since maybe? I actually stay there on Christmas day now as like a new “thing”, tradition. Ian Schrager absolutely nailed it. It’s actually a super old hotel that they’ve converted, read up on it, etc. Its every little detail. The cups in the bathroom, painting over the linen wallpaper heavily, the original brass hardware on the closets/bathroom, the double organza floor to ceiling curtains, the hallways!!!!, the neighborhood its in, that CVS you can walk to on the corner in the morning, even the way you enter the place…its gets my like every time I swear. Though, I can say the Pump Room is good - its more just a better magnet for interesting people. And I might change the carpet style in the room - would be insanely expensive but chevron, wide plank, wood flooring would be perfect. Ahhhh, cool, I finally have this post off my chest, ha. All these over-the-top themed-out hotels have such a short shelf-life - and when they’re times up they look like a joke. I think Public hit that sweet spot, they’ll get cooler with age. Stay in the “Loft” style room, and ask for a corner - its better than the 1 bedroom suite.
I actually, no joke, have worked with a developer a bit to better understand if a 10 room hotel can work out financially…hmmmmmmmm. I already have the flooring and bathroom fixtures picked out, etc, etc. Ha. Hmmm.