New hotels in Chicago

We track 17 new hotels in Chicago, opened or announced between 2019 and a still-unscheduled horizon beyond 2028, scattered across eleven pockets of the city from the lakefront towers of Lakeshore East to a converted 1922 auto showroom on Motor Row and a proposed tower on the South Side near the Obama Presidential Center. First-time visitors and shoppers do best in Streeterville or Lakeshore East, near the Magnificent Mile and the lake; foodies should look at the West Loop and Fulton Market; business and convention travelers get the shortest commute from the Loop or Near South Side. The most recently opened is ACME Hotel Chicago, which relaunched in December 2025 as one of the debut properties of Hilton's newest lifestyle brand, Outset Collection.

What to do

A weekend in Chicago

Two days cover downtown Chicago's compact core. Start at Millennium Park to see Cloud Gate (the "Bean"), then walk next door to the Art Institute of Chicago. Ride the elevator to the Skydeck at Willis Tower or the observation deck at 360 Chicago in the former John Hancock Center for a skyline view, and book a Chicago Architecture Center river cruise: most run about 90 minutes along the river's three branches. Save an evening for the Magnificent Mile's shops and a walk out to Navy Pier on the lakefront, then close the trip with dinner in River North or Streeterville, both a short walk from most downtown hotels.

A full week

A full week lets you push beyond the core. Add a day in the West Loop and Fulton Market district, where Restaurant Row on Randolph Street and the surrounding warehouse blocks hold some of the city's most talked-about kitchens. Spend an afternoon at the University of Illinois Chicago and Rush Medical District in Little Italy, walk or bike a stretch of the Lakefront Trail along Lake Michigan, and use a day trip south to see the Obama Presidential Center campus under construction in Jackson Park, near Woodlawn. Baseball fans can catch a Cubs game at Wrigley Field on the North Side, close to Lake View's Northalsted strip, and a trip north along the river to Bucktown and Lincoln Park rounds out a longer stay.

Neighborhoods

The Loop

The Loop is downtown Chicago's historic core, packing the Art Institute, Millennium Park and the Willis Tower Skydeck within walking distance, plus direct access to the CTA's L trains and Metra commuter rail. Canopy by Hilton Chicago Central Loop opened here in November 2021 inside a 117-year-old former Chicago and North Western Railway headquarters on Jackson Boulevard (a building that had never held a hotel room before) occupying 215 of its 350 rooms alongside a separately branded Hilton Garden Inn under the same roof, a block from Union Station.

Streeterville & the Magnificent Mile

Streeterville, the lakefront blocks east of Michigan Avenue anchored by the northern stretch of the Magnificent Mile, carries three of the 17 hotels we track. Hotel Riu Plaza Chicago opened in July 2024 on Ontario Street, a newly built 28-story tower a block off Michigan Avenue and the group's first Chicago property. Ruby Hotel Chicago, confirmed for 2027, is converting the former Inn of Chicago (a late-1920s tower one block east of the Mile) into the German design brand's US debut under a 30-year IHG franchise agreement. EDITION Chicago, still unconfirmed, is in advanced talks to take over roughly 400,000 square feet of vacant office space on floors 23 through 34 of the former John Hancock Center at 875 North Michigan Avenue.

Lakeshore East

Lakeshore East, a planned waterfront district built on former rail yards between the Loop and the lake, has one opening and one announced project. The St. Regis Chicago opened in May 2023 inside Studio Gang's Vista Tower (at 1,198 feet, Chicago's third-tallest building) occupying the lower eleven floors with 192 rooms and suites, most with lake or river views, as the brand's first Midwest outpost. The Hoxton, Lakeshore East, still without a construction loan, would anchor a proposed 47-story tower on one of the district's last undeveloped parcels, combining roughly 240 hotel rooms with about 600 rental apartments: Ennismore's second Chicago address after its Fulton Market property.

River North

River North, just north of the Chicago River, is one of the city's densest concentrations of hotels, restaurants and nightlife. ACME Hotel Chicago relaunched in December 2025 as one of the debut properties of Outset Collection, Hilton's newest lifestyle brand, two blocks from the Magnificent Mile and close to the Chicago Riverwalk: its murals, retro-cool interiors and ties to the city's music scene carried over from its previous incarnation.

River West

River West, along the Chicago River northwest of the Loop, is where Bally's Chicago is building the permanent home for the city's first legal casino. The 500-room, 34-story tower on West Grand Avenue topped off in 2026, part of a roughly $1.7 billion project confirmed for spring 2027 that will replace the temporary casino Bally's has run at a different site since 2023.

West Loop & Fulton Market

The West Loop and its Fulton Market sub-district have become Chicago's dining destination, and this guide tracks four hotels here. The Hoxton, Chicago opened in April 2019 on Green Street, a purpose-built 182-room property with bedding designed by local artist Cody Hudson: the London-founded brand's first Midwest hotel. Nobu Hotel Chicago followed in July 2020 on Restaurant Row, an eleven-story new build that Robert De Niro's hospitality group chose over its usual landmark-conversion approach, opening in the middle of the pandemic's first summer. Two more remain unconfirmed: The Neighborhood Hotel (West Loop, targeted for 2027, is converting a landmarked 1912 bank headquarters on Madison Street) vacant since 2005, into a 76-room hotel with its old vaults becoming a whiskey bar; and the 1016 W. Lake Street Hotel, approved for 143 rooms in February 2024 but not yet under construction, would be a net-zero-carbon building two blocks from Google's Midwest headquarters, with no operator announced.

Near South Side & Motor Row

The Near South Side's Motor Row District, once lined with early-20th-century auto showrooms and now marketed as an emerging entertainment district, is where two former NFL players are converting a 1922 Hudson Motor Car Company showroom into Hudson House, Motor Row, a 154-room Hilton Curio Collection hotel. The building, designed by Alfred Alschuler and never previously operated as a hotel, sits within walking distance of McCormick Place, the country's largest convention center: after a residential component was dropped in 2024, the City Council approved the current hotel-only plan in January 2025, though no opening date has been confirmed.

Little Italy & the Illinois Medical District

Little Italy, home to UIC and the Rush Medical District, has one tracked opening built specifically for longer stays: The Neighborhood Hotel, Little Italy, which opened in fall 2023 inside the former National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame on Taylor Street, its 35 apartment-style suites each carrying a full kitchen and in-unit washer/dryer.

Lake View & Northalsted

Lake View's Northalsted strip, a historic LGBTQ+ district on Chicago's North Side, has never had a hotel directly on it: Backbeat Hotel, targeted for 2028, would be the first, a ground-up, 50-room, LGBTQ+-owned project named for the city's house-music history, with construction expected to begin after a planned 2026 demolition.

Woodlawn & the South Side

Woodlawn, facing Jackson Park where the Obama Presidential Center has been under construction since 2021 and is expected to draw roughly 800,000 visitors a year, has seen almost no hotel investment in decades. Aquinnah Hotel, a 26-story, 250-room tower approved by the City Council in October 2025, would change that, though no hotel brand or construction timeline has been announced.

Bucktown, Lincoln Park & the North Side river bend

On a bend of the Chicago River between Bucktown and Lincoln Park, Foundry Park, the $3 billion redevelopment that replaced the abandoned Lincoln Yards megaproject, cleared final zoning in February 2026 with one hotel included in its program. Foundry Park Hotel exists so far mainly as a building envelope on a zoning map, with no brand, operator or room count confirmed.

Which hotel for your trip

Design & architecture enthusiasts

The St. Regis Chicago, inside Studio Gang's tapering Vista Tower, and Canopy by Hilton Chicago Central Loop, inside a 117-year-old former railway headquarters, both put a genuine piece of Chicago architecture at the center of the stay. Ruby Hotel Chicago, once its 1920s tower conversion is finished, will add the German brand's stripped-back, character-driven interiors to the Streeterville skyline.

Foodies

Nobu Hotel Chicago and The Hoxton, Chicago both sit inside Fulton Market and the West Loop's Restaurant Row, within walking distance of the neighborhood's most talked-about kitchens, Nobu's own ground-floor restaurant among them. The Neighborhood Hotel, West Loop, once open, will add a whiskey bar built into a landmarked bank's old vaults a few blocks away.

Business & convention travelers

Canopy by Hilton Chicago Central Loop sits a block from Union Station and the Loop's financial towers, while Hudson House, Motor Row is being built specifically within walking distance of McCormick Place for trade-show and conference demand. Hotel Riu Plaza Chicago's Magnificent Mile tower offers an efficiency-driven, high-occupancy alternative for travelers who want to be near the retail spine rather than the convention floor.

Longer stays

The Neighborhood Hotel, Little Italy is built for exactly this: every one of its 35 suites has a full kitchen and in-unit laundry, aimed at visitors to the nearby medical district and UIC campus rather than a short leisure trip.

Travelers watching Chicago's next wave

Several of the hotels on this list remain years from opening. EDITION Chicago, Bally's Chicago, The Hoxton at Lakeshore East, Backbeat Hotel on Northalsted, and the still-unbranded Aquinnah Hotel, Foundry Park Hotel and 1016 W. Lake Street Hotel are all confirmed or proposed but not yet operating: worth checking back on as dates and operators firm up.

Frequently asked questions

What is the newest hotel to open in Chicago?

Among the 17 hotels we track, ACME Hotel Chicago, Outset Collection by Hilton is the most recent, relaunching in December 2025 in River North as one of the debut properties of Hilton's newest lifestyle brand. Hotel Riu Plaza Chicago opened in July 2024 on the Magnificent Mile.

Which Chicago hotel is inside a historic building?

Canopy by Hilton Chicago Central Loop occupies a 117-year-old former railway headquarters, Hudson House, Motor Row is converting a 1922 auto showroom, and The Neighborhood Hotel (Little Italy took over the former National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame. The Neighborhood Hotel) West Loop, once complete, will occupy a landmarked 1912 bank building.

Is there a hotel connected to Chicago's casino?

Bally's Chicago, confirmed for spring 2027, is the permanent hotel component of the city's first legal casino, a 500-room tower on the Chicago River in River West that replaces a temporary casino site.

Which Chicago hotels are still unconfirmed or years from opening?

EDITION Chicago (a proposed conversion of the former John Hancock Center's office floors), Backbeat Hotel (targeted 2028, on the Northalsted strip), Aquinnah Hotel and Foundry Park Hotel (both approved but without a hotel brand attached) and the 1016 W. Lake Street Hotel in Fulton Market (approved in 2024, not yet under construction) all remain years or an unconfirmed distance from opening.

Which Chicago hotel is best for a stay near the University of Illinois Chicago?

The Neighborhood Hotel: Little Italy, on Taylor Street, sits close to UIC and the Rush Medical District, with apartment-style suites carrying full kitchens for longer visits.

Are any new Chicago hotels outside the downtown core?

Yes. Hudson House, Motor Row sits on the Near South Side near McCormick Place; Backbeat Hotel is planned on the North Side's Northalsted strip; Aquinnah Hotel is proposed for Woodlawn, near the Obama Presidential Center; and Foundry Park Hotel would sit on the river bend between Bucktown and Lincoln Park.

How many new hotels does this guide track in Chicago?

Seventeen, opened or announced between 2019 and beyond 2028: The Hoxton (Chicago), Nobu Hotel Chicago, Canopy by Hilton Chicago Central Loop, The Neighborhood Hotel (Little Italy, St. Regis Chicago, Hotel Riu Plaza Chicago, ACME Hotel Chicago, Ruby Hotel Chicago, EDITION Chicago, Bally's Chicago, The Neighborhood Hotel) West Loop, Backbeat Hotel, 1016 W. Lake Street Hotel, Hudson House Motor Row, The Hoxton (Lakeshore East), Aquinnah Hotel and Foundry Park Hotel. Each has its own fiche with opening details on this site.