So the Hyatt Chicago Athletic Association has a bit of a following online in certain circles. It’s a hotel known as a great Hyatt award redemption when visiting Chicago. That’s how I heard about it, some friends of mine told me about it as they were going to visit Chicago and booked it. They reported good things so when I was looking for a place to stay in Chicago, the Athletic Association. I’ve been looking forward to this stay and review for a few weeks.
I don’t stay at too many Hyatt hotels as they just don’t have the footprint of the other major chains. I’m rarely disappointing in Hyatt hotels and the Chicago Athletic Association is no exception, I enjoyed this hotel a lot and really had a fun time with the uniqueness of the experience.
This is the second hotel that I’m staying at on this trip, not really by choice. Finding a single hotel to book for the entirety of my trip was tricky. Lots of crazy high rates and plenty of just sold out hotels.
Bottom Line: The Chicago Athletic Association is a great hotel in a perfect location. It checks every box for a visit to Chicago. Location, Clean, Service, Rooftop Bar, Unique features, all of it. Top notch hotel.
Date of stay: October 2022
- Chicago Athletic Association Location
- Chicago Athletic Association Exterior
- Chicago Athletic Association Lobby and Check-in Review
- Chicago Athletic Association King Room Review
- Chicago Athletic Association Bathroom Review
- Chicago Athletic Association Public Spaces and History
- Chicago Athletic Association Bar and Rooftop
Chicago Athletic Association Location
The Hyatt Chicago Athletic Association is a fantastic location for a few reasons. It’s close to all the public transport options that you’d expect in Downtown Chicago. It’s on Michigan Ave so perfect for sight seeing and shopping in the city. It also overlooks Millennium Park right outside the Loop in Chicago.
Chicago Athletic Association Exterior
The Chicago Athletic Association Hotel is a really interesting old building, I’ll get into that later. The exterior on Michigan Ave has such a cool presence, especially at night.
Chicago Athletic Association Lobby and Check-in Review
I walked into the Chicago Athletic Association and was pretty impressed. The building is beautiful and the mosaic tile floors are incredible. It’s only 8am and I was just expecting to check my bag with the bell hop but he encouraged me to check with the front desk to see if anything is available. He directed me to the front desk on the next floor up.
The lobby on the second floor is certainly ornate and of the era that the building was built. Much of it seemed to be original too so that’s really cool. The front desk is to the right, they were able to check me in and get a room, even though it’s so early.
To the left is facing Michigan Ave and Millennium Park. There’s a nice seating area to hang out or meet people here.
Chicago Athletic Association King Room Review
First I want to apologize for the pictures in this part of the review, I had a dirty lens and didn’t know it.
Walking into the rooms at the Chicago Athletic Association I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was pleased with what I found. The rooms were large, well appointed, and very clean. Everything you’d expect from a Hyatt hotel.
The bed was interesting, very comfortable but the Chicago Athletic Association is taking the “old timey” gymnasium aesthetic throughout the building.
Across from the bed was a small bar area. It had things like a corkscrew, shaker, and of course glasses. In the lower cabinet was a fridge.
Next to the bar is a desk area with the TV. Fortunately at this point of the trip I didn’t need to use the desk.
There was an interesting alarm clock, I did have an issue with it though, it was 5 hours off. I’d set the clock, and it would reset to being 5 hours off again.
After some digging through menus, I found that it was using NIST time that’s broadcast from an atomic clock. It had the time zone set incorrectly so it was always off. Anyway, I fixed that.
Chicago Athletic Association Bathroom Review
The bathroom at the Chicago Athletic Association is huge. One of the bigger hotel bathrooms that I’ve seen in a while. It was lousy with tile and marble, very nice place to get cleaned up.
The shower was excellent. Lots of tile and glass. I also liked that the shower head was opposite the controls.
Chicago Athletic Association Public Spaces and History
The Chicago Athletic Association was just dripping with marble and tile. This area led up to a kinda weird balcony area.
It overlooked what appeared to be a pool, but there’s no way it was ever filled with water. Obviously lots of tile and it looks fantastic, but I’m not sure of it’s original use.
Leading up to the lobby was an original stair case. Again more marble and iron.
The tile was incredible. Lots of money went into the original building when the hotel really was an Athletic Club.
The Chicago Athletic Association really was an athletic club, but in a strange way. It was more like a social club that men might exercise in.
Chicago Athletic Association Bar and Rooftop
On the rooftop of the Chicago Athletic Association is an amazing bar called Cindy’s. They have a great selection of booze and make great cocktails. They also have a nice little selection of local beers.
Facing back towards the street is a public house style sitting area with large tables and servers.
Beyond the back glass doors was a rooftop overlook with amazing views of Millennium Park and beyond that lake Michigan. On my last night in town I went up, enjoyed a beer, and took in the view from the Chicago Athletic Association.
Chicago Athletic Association Hotel Final Thoughts
The Hyatt Chicago Athletic Association is a great hotel in an amazing location. The building itself is really the gem here. While very nice, the rooms are not anything special. They are clean and comfortable but the public areas make this hotel a top pick.
If you’re one to just use a hotel room like a locker or like to relax in your own room, there’s nothing special here. If you like to explore an old building and see everything that a hotel has to offer, this is the place to stay in Chicago. The tile work and the view from the roof are really top notch.
If I was in Chicago, I’d gladly stay here again. The Chicago Athletic Association hotel is a great place to stay for tourism or work in Chicago. It’s easy to get around and located right on Michigan Ave is great for exploring.
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