Chicago Athletic Association Hotel

I was recently in Chicago, speaking to the GTreasury. The group held their 2016 conference at the Chicago Athletic Association Hotel. They were gracious enough to put me up there during my trip. I stay in around 100 hotels a year, and this one took the cake. It wasn’t necessarily the most luxurious or well serviced but, their recent renovation, and attention to detail, took my breath away. I had a pommel horse at the foot of my bed instead of a bench and my hotel robe was made to look like a boxing robe. I could be biased due to my family’s obsession with sports but, when you walk into the “Ballroom” to see the old 1930’s basketball court on the ground instead of a dance floor I immediately felt at home. Orrrrrr it might have been the fact they have a Shake Shack in the lobby!! Below is what the hotel says in their about section:

“With echoes of billiard balls, poker chips and clinking glasses frozen within its walls, this 1890’s Venetian Gothic landmark springs back to life as an incomparable historic downtown Chicago hotel—where the spirit of play reigns supreme.

And this is the club whose members swam with five-time Olympic gold medalist Johnny Weissmuller—a.k.a. the original Hollywood Tarzan—and watched their fellow member Pudge Heffelfinger own so much end zone, he became football’s first pro.

Today, Chicago Athletic Association is a historic monument to the big-shouldered, switch hitting spirit that defines our city.”

I linked an article here if you’re interested in seeing more details from this sporty piece of history now turned chic hotel. http://chicago.curbed.com/2015/5/27/9956746/inside-the-chicago-athletic-association-hotel

 

 

 

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