Nobu Hotel Chicago
155 North Peoria Street, Chicago, Illinois, 60607, USA
Why We Like It
This veritable step into Asian design is a refreshing take on luxury hospitality in Chicago and to have a renowned restaurant attached, along with a rooftop bar, makes for an ideal weekend getaway.
Fodor's Expert Review
There’s not a more fitting neighborhood than the edgy Fulton Market (Chicago’s former meat-packing district) for this Japanese-inspired hotel (with actor Robert De Niro and sushi chef Nobu Matsuhisa as partners) to have popped up in late 2020. Minimal, elegant design marks the attached Nobu Chicago (the restaurant) and the hotel’s rooms, and the rooftop is a sweet year-round spot.
PROS
- Foodies will love Nobu Chicago
- Rooftop bar offers a great view
- Only luxury hotel in Fulton Market
CONS
- Not family-friendly
- No full-service spa on site
- Pricey room rates
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Room
Extremely large in size, with the smallest rooms at 380 square feet, the design is like what you’d find in a Japanese ryokan (a traditional Japanese hotel with Zen-ish design that includes tatami floors), especially the platform-style beds and blonde-stained woods. Every little detail is designed with Zen in mind. Floor-to-ceiling windows invite natural light and cozy up the rooms’ 14-foot-tall ceilings. The hotel has 25 suites and suites, which is a high percentage given that there are 115 rooms total. Tablets in each room or suite allow you to request staff assistance. In-room dining is by Nobu Chicago, adjacent to the hotel.
You Should Know Despite the long desk attached to the wall and an ergonomic-friendly chair, this is not a great hotel if you want to get some work done on your laptop or host Zoom calls. Lighting in the rooms is very dim and there’s no obvious space to work in the lobby.
Bathroom
All accommodations feature luxurious baths, whether an all-marble walk-in shower with a rainforest showerhead or, in the suites and villas, a free-standing teak tub. The walls are painted a dramatic navy blue and the toiletries are by Natura Bissé. Each bathroom also includes a Dyson hair straightener.
Lobby
The lobby is small, with a few chairs off to the side of a check-in desk. Still, its intentional minimalist design is an apt intro to this hotel’s calm vibe after engaging with the city’s urban energy.
Pool
If you like a view while you swim, this hotel doesn’t offer that but there’s a clear reason: Celebrity guests like their privacy. Who knows, you may find yourself sharing the pool on the hotel’s lower level with a well-known actor. The pool is so chill that hotel staff call it the Tranquility Pool. Lounge chairs are poolside and one wall is lit with handmade pink resin leaves.
Gym
Just like the pool, this hotel’s fitness center, also on the lower level, lacks windows to protect its famous clientele. Stocked with TechnoGym equipment, one can cycle, use a treadmill or use free weights, resistance bands, and other fitness tools. A snack bar is in the gym. The gym also has steam rooms, a sauna, showers, flat irons, and Dyson hairdryers.
Dining
There are two options for dining at Nobu Hotel Chicago: Nobu Chicago (fine-dining Japanese for lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch; with columns and fancy light fixtures) and The Rooftop at Nobu Chicago (hours vary depending on the season). At the rooftop space, it’s more than bar snacks: pair flambé Wagyu with Take away the decision-making at Nobu Chicago with its omakase experience and enjoy at the Sushi Bar, watching the chefs in action.
Tip There’s no need to step outside to eat at Nobu Chicago: just enter the hotel through a “secret” door near the hotel’s check-in desk.
Drinking
Rooftop bars are a big deal during Chicago summers but this hotel’s, called the Rooftop at Nobu Hotel Chicago, is open year-round, moving to daily hours in summer. Innovative, Asian-inspired cocktails like the Matsuhisa Martini with Japanese vodka, sake, and Japanese cucumbers, along with rare and Nobu-branded tequila, are available at Nobu Chicago and Rooftop at Nobu Chicago.
What's Nearby
Getting Around
Fulton Market is where most of the city’s popular bars and restaurants are and why the area’s called Restaurant Row. You’ll also find art galleries in this neighborhood. Located in what’s considered the West Loop, Union Station and access to Metra trains is a 23-minute walk. CTA bus and L lines also access Fulton Market. As Nobu Hotel Chicago’s parking is $85 per night, and you really don’t need a car in Chicago, use taxis, Lyft, and Uber for rides.
Restaurants
From the famed Levain Bakery’s chocolate-chip walnut cookies next door to au Au Cheval’s burgers a block away, as well as three restaurants from celebrity chef Stephanie Izard (Cabra, a 2-minute walk; Duck Duck Goat, a 4-minute walk; and Girl & the Goat Chicago, a 2-minute walk). For an authentic Chicago-steakhouse experience, Swift & Sons’ sprawling dining room with retro flair is also in the neighborhood and only a 7-minute walk.
Bars
Nearly all of Fulton Market’s restaurants and bars flaunt Instagram-worthy cocktails, including The Aviary where one is served in an upright glass-enclosed wheel, and a deep wine list but to hit up the best of the best, visit spots like Lazy Bird, inside The Hoxton Chicago (a 2-minute walk) and Bisous (emulating a 1960s Parisian cocktail bar, and a 2-minute walk).
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