Just off the Magnificent Mile, a few blocks away from old warhorses like the Drake and the Conrad Hilton, The James wants to be the place where rock stars throw their plasma TVs out the window. That much is clear one step into the styled-out lobby, even before you come to the art—a set of 50 suitcases containing the entire contents of a real Texas motel room, systematically disassembled and smuggled off the premises by a performance artist. Isn’t that just rock star excess gussied up with a splash of arty pretentiousness?
The lobby at The James Hotel.
WHAT’S THE BIG WOW? The design of the hotel, from the lobby to the rooms, is all clean lines and smooth curves. The décor is inspired by mid-century modernist classics, and there is a certain pleasure in sitting at a Saarinen-like table writing notes with sexy red pencils. Many of the rooms are laid out like self-contained living spaces, as befitting their classification as “studio“, “loft“, or “apartment“ suites. Dining nooks are outfitted with their own (rather enormous) plasma TVs, in case you’d like to watch a movie while sitting on a chair, instead of on a bed like some lout. There’s also a serious gym (the place was founded, after all, by a gym magnate), but how cool can you look on an elliptical machine?
LIKED BEST: The room design is not just pretty, it’s also thoughtful and carefully considered. There’s a hookup for your iPod on the stereo, and dimmers on all the lights not only let you set the mood in the room, but also let you use the bathroom in the middle of the night without blinding yourself. Kiehls products in that bathroom keep you looking good, and a helpful circular shaving mirror also serves to give the bathroom a porthole for a nautical theme. And I would be remiss not to mention that room service delivered fries that were still hot, which is something of a minor miracle.
LIKED LEAST: Now I feel like a loser for not having two wall mounted flat screen TVs in my bedroom at home. And I can’t help but feel that displaying some poor motel’s chopped-up room in the lobby is a bit crass.
WHO SHOULD STAY THERE? Rock-n-rollers, real and imagined, and people jetting into town just to eat at Alinea.
WOULD I GO BACK? Sure, especially since there were old men in gold-buttoned blue blazers and tourists in shorts and white socks in the lobby. Turns out they let regular people in there too.
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