LondonHouse Chicago, Curio Collection by Hilton

A 1920s Riverfront Office Tower Becomes a Hotel

LondonHouse Chicago occupies the former London Guarantee Building, a 21-story office tower completed in 1923 by architect Alfred Alschuler for the London Guarantee and Accident Company, set at the point where Michigan Avenue bends to meet the Chicago River. The hotel kept roughly 305,000 square feet of the original structure and added about 85,000 square feet of new construction on an adjacent lot that had been sitting empty as a parking area. The combination gives the hotel 452 rooms across two buildings that read, from the street, as a single address rather than an old tower with a mismatched neighbor.

Why It Works

We chose this hotel because the addition was designed to serve the original building rather than compete with it. The new tower's saw-toothed facade angles were planned specifically to frame views west along Wacker Drive and over the river, and its cornice lines follow the historic structure's rather than breaking from them. It is the rare infill project that was built around a specific site condition, the river bend itself, instead of a generic glass box dropped onto an empty lot.

Why This Location

The hotel sits directly on the Chicago River at its junction with Michigan Avenue, inside the Magnificent Mile's southern end and a short walk from Millennium Park, the Art Institute, and the Loop. Few addresses in the city put a guest this close to the river's edge while still being inside the Mile's main shopping and dining stretch, making it a practical base for guests who want to walk to both the lakefront and the Loop's cultural core on the same trip.

Fast Facts

• Price: Premium

• Vibe: riverfront landmark, polished, view-driven

• Rooms: 452 rooms across the historic building and new tower

• Best For: river and skyline views, Magnificent Mile access, rooftop drinks with a group

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: the three-level rooftop bar built into the historic building's restored cupola

• Dining: a second-floor lobby bar and multiple rooftop bar levels

• Amenities: three-level rooftop terrace, restored cupola event space, historic elevator lobby

• Attractions: Chicago River and Riverwalk, Magnificent Mile, Millennium Park, Art Institute of Chicago

A New Tower Built to Match the Old One

Rather than isolate the London Guarantee Building behind a disconnected new structure, the architects built the infill tower to complete the street wall left open by the old parking lot next door. Its saw-toothed facade responds directly to sight lines down Wacker Drive and across the river, a detail that only makes sense once a guest sees how the two buildings line up from street level. The approach treats the empty lot as part of the historic building's unfinished composition rather than as a blank canvas for an unrelated design.

Drinks in a Restored 1920s Cupola

The hotel's signature space sits where no one would expect a bar: in the building's rooftop cupola, previously unused space turned into a three-level terrace and lounge. Glass railings were set back from the historic facade to keep the original silhouette intact, a detail required under the city's landmark review process, and the top level opens into the restored cupola itself for private events. It gives the hotel a rooftop that is specific to this building rather than a generic view deck that could sit on any downtown tower.

Old Building, New Building, One Address

Guests moving between the hotel's two structures pass from a historic elevator lobby trimmed in period detail into a second-floor check-in lobby and bar inside the newer glass tower, a sequence that makes the building's two eras legible rather than blended into a single generic interior. It is a useful reminder, walking from one wing to the other, that the hotel is really two buildings from a century apart learning to share plumbing, elevators, and a single address on the river.