The Ritz-Carlton Chicago

Set above Water Tower Place, guest rooms frame Chicago through large picture windows, alternating between the steel lines of the skyline and the flat grey plane of Lake Michigan. Each room carries a marble bathroom and a 37-inch television, plain comforts against the view. The hotel sits in the Gold Coast, close enough to the Magnificent Mile that its shops and restaurants are a short walk rather than a taxi ride. A four-lane lap pool runs temperature-controlled indoors, and the fitness centre looks out over the same lake and city. On the twelfth floor, Rooftop at Torali opens onto an outdoor lounge for cocktails after dark, while Torali Italian-Steak serves a chef-driven menu of pastas and prime steak below. The Ritz-Carlton Ballroom, the largest of its kind in the city, holds up to 850 guests under a chandelier set with 400,000 crystals. Smaller rooms, among them the window-walled St. Clair and the lake-facing Lakeside, handle more private gatherings. K'Alma Spa runs treatments built around facials and massage, and the Club Lounge, reserved for guests on Club-level bookings, serves five food and drink presentations through the day. It is a hotel built for a view as much as a stay. Check-in runs from 4pm, check-out at noon.