The St. Regis Chicago has taken its last major step forward towards completion with the opening of its hotel component at 401 E Wacker Drive in Lakeshore East. Going by the same name as the tower itself and occupying the first 11 lower floors, the hotel and the residences above are being run by St. Regis Hotels and Resorts which is a subsidiary of Marriott. The interiors of the were designed by Gensler with Studio Gang and bKL Architecture working on the overall tower developed by Magellan Development Group.
St. Regis Chicago (left) on skyline. Photo by Jack Crawford
Image of indoor pool at the St. Regis Chicago via St. Regis
Rising 1,198 feet and 101 stories tall, the St. Regis began its life as the Wanda Vista Tower with the Wanda Group at the helm. Originally the hotel was meant to be part of the group’s ‘ultra-luxury’ category the Wanda Vista hotels, becoming their first US outpost and competing with other Asia-based chains entering the market like Korea’s Lotte Hotels. After fully acquiring the property Magellan entered into an agreement with St. Regis in 2020 with an estimated opening in 2021, opening on May 15, 2023 after a few delays.
Image of porte-cochere at the St. Regis Chicago via St. Regis
Updated rendering of Tre Dita on the second floor via St. Regis
On the ground floor the hotel features a large private lobby with a porte-cochere terminating the upper level of Wacker Drive, with the second floor hosting one of two restaurants run by Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises after a deal with the Alinea Group fell through. Located within a double-height in the front frustum facing the river, this will be a Tuscan-inspired restaurant called Tre Dita with chef Evan Funke opening soon. However, opening with the hotel on the 11th floor is an all-day Japanese spot dubbed Miru with chef Hisanobu Osaka.
Updated rendering of Tre Dita on the second floor via St. Regis
Image of a standard room at the St. Regis Chicago via St. Regis
Sandwiched between those is an outdoor and indoor pool, fitness center, ballroom, meeting spaces, and a large spa serving the 192-guest rooms within the property. These are made up of 159 standard rooms and 33 suites, with the smallest of the accommodations ranging from 400 to 519 square feet with rates in August starting at around $700 per night on a Wednesday. The rooms feature a minimalist interior with gold accents and light wood furniture pieces offering guest views of the river and lake or Lakeshore East.
Image (left) vs rendering (right) of the St. Regis Chicago
The opening comes a few days after a condo sold within the tower for $6.5 million, becoming the second highest home sale in the city for 2023 and the 11th sale in the building of the year according to Crain’s. With just the second-floor restaurant left to open within the structure, the St. Regis Chicago can be considered completed after breaking ground in 2016 with McHugh Construction as the contractor. It has earned the title of tallest building in the world designed by a woman, a title Chicago has held since 2009 when nearby Aqua Tower was finished.
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Woohoo! Finally, the only sad part is that hotel is so low, they should have made a deal to have hotel on a higher floors.
Developers often do that – they get much higher returns for high-floor condos.
Institutional ostentatiousness, but glad to see progress and look forward to munching on mussels at the latest lettuce concept!
This may be a dumb question, but is the hotel a tenant who pays rent to the condo association or are they also a co-owner and member of the condo association?
Sorry, but this writer can’t write.