Chicago Meeting Professionals Guide - 2025
What’s new
2024-12-26 09:23:34
Check out Chicago’s newest hotels, restaurants, and venues.
HOTELS
The updated, all-suite Residence Inn Chicago Downtown Magnificent Mile offers 10 event rooms totaling 8,150 square feet. A complimentary breakfast buffet is available, or guests can grab a bite at the allday 101 Patio Bar & Grill. Host a reception at the seasonal 101 Sky Terrace rooftop bar, which features sweeping city and lake views.
Guests will appreciate the luxurious touches at The Duke of Wells, Hyatt Unbound Collection in Old Town. The new hotel boasts 203 guest rooms. Guests can meet for a drink on the rooftop lounge with lovely city views, explore North Avenue Beach just two blocks away, and enjoy easy access to downtown.
A 1920s vibe permeates the long-anticipated Neighborhood Hotel West Loop, housed in a newly renovated historic building. It’s close to lively Fulton Market, and is a great location for a meeting or retreat. Group bookings are available.
The Hyatt Regency Chicago — the city’s biggest hotel and the largest Hyatt in the world — celebrated its 50th anniversary by unveiling a stunning $150 million renovation. The contemporary design incorporates artwork reflecting the city’s history. The hotel has 2,032 guest rooms and suites, plus 240,000 square feet of meeting space.
The 28-floor, contemporary Hotel Riu Plaza Chicago offers 390 guest rooms just off The Magnificent Mile. A full breakfast buffet is available for guests. View the surrounding Streeterville cityscape from the hotel’s seasonal The Rooftop terrace bar, featuring a glass balcony that juts out from the 27th floor.
Book a stylish stay for attendees at L7 Chicago by Lotte, the first U.S. location for South Korea’s Lotte Hotels and Resorts. The elegant 14-story, 191-room hotel resides in a renovated 1912 high-rise at Wabash and Wacker, overlooking the Chicago Riverwalk. Hotel event planners can assist in booking meetings in three third-floor rooms that encompass 4,100 square feet of space. Arrange for catered box lunches or elegant meals from the hotel’s PERILLA Korean American steakhouse.
Plan a wow-worthy event in the new $1.7 billion Bally’s Chicago, scheduled to open in fall 2026. The company’s flagship destination includes a 34-story hotel, a casino, and an array of food and beverage options on 30 sprawling acres in River West. The 500-room hotel, crowned with a rooftop bar, will also feature a 3,000-seat entertainment venue and 20,000-square-foot exhibition space.
DINING
A second Sunda New Asian location has opened in Fulton Market. Sunda’s chefs meld cooking techniques and flavors commonly found throughout Southeast Asia, including Japan and China, creating traditional culinary experiences with a modern twist. Menu highlights include spicy tuna crispy rice, truffled chicken siu mai, and lemongrass beef lollipops. Book the second-floor party room for private dining.
Tre Dita, an exquisite Italian restaurant featuring an open-hearth concept, opened at the luxe St. Regis Chicago hotel. Helmed by James Beard-nominated chef Evan Funke, the menu’s star is handmade pasta, in addition to an array of steaks. Private dining areas are available. The hotel’s Bar Tre Dita offers another imaginative menu from Funke, featuring small plates, pastas, and main dishes like grilled swordfish and porcini-rubbed pork.
Goose Island Beer Co. opened an expansive location along the Chicago River at The Salt Shed, an indoor/outdoor entertainment venue on the site of the historic Morton Salt complex. Goose Island’s roster of new and rotating beers join several “always on” brews that include the popular 312. Pair a brew with pub fare for a casual team get-together or plan a private event.
Hyde Park welcomed Dawn, a breakfast, brunch, and dinner spot that combines innovation with Southern comfort food. Dishes include starters like chicken-and-waffle bites and fried green tomatoes, along with main courses such as shrimp and grits and salmon croquettes. Dawn can accommodate 150 seated guests.
In the Avondale neighborhood, book a dinner at Parachute Hi-Fi, the new chapter for the owners of the former Michelin-starred Parachute. With Korean cuisine as the focus, the chefs have added new menu items such as the return of their beloved bing bread, a Pizza Puff filled with kimchi and pepperoni, and Korean sool drinks. The atmosphere is decidedly casual, with a bar and music as important elements.
For fabulous views of the always-buzzing North Avenue Beach, book the iconic Castaways Beach Club. A $3 million renovation of the 22,000-square-foot venue included new dining decks, bars, patios, and cabanas that are available for private events. A portion of the second floor has a new bar earmarked for cocktail parties and corporate events. Castaways can accommodate up to 500+ attendees for a full buyout.
South Shore Social Beach Club offers a fun mix of cocktails, sweet treats, and live music. Menu items include the salmon Philly sandwich, chocolate shakes, and the Lakeshore Iced Tea cocktail. The venue, which is located adjacent to the South Shore Cultural Center, also offers group painting lessons, yoga sessions, and line dancing as great team building options.
Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants, the group behind popular Chicago restaurants and venues like RPM Steak and The Dalcy event hall in Fulton Market, is bringing a new concept to River North. Chef and partner Thai Dang will lead the Southeast Asian-themed Crying Tiger. David Collins Studio, the design architects for Tre Dita, is bring its savvy vision to Crying Tiger.
Acclaimed chef Joe Flamm and his Day Off Group partners, who brought Rose Mary and BLVD Steakhouse to Fulton Market, are launching il Carciofo in the historic foodie haven. The 7,000-square-foot restaurant, housed in an office building at the corner of Fulton and Aberdeen, will also include 3,000 square feet of outdoor space.
The respected Lula Cafe earned another accolade. The Logan Square restaurant, a beloved staple since 1999, won the 2024 James Beard Award for Outstanding Hospitality. The eatery also received Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition. Lula attracts diners in droves for its funky, market-driven dishes and welcoming atmosphere. Catering packages can be customized to meet planners’ needs, whether it’s boxed meals, platters, or full-service dinners.
Bring your group to sample locally made craft beer at Turner Häus Brewery in the Bronzeville neighborhood. Turner Häus cofounders Steven Turner and Blair Turner-Aikens collaborated on the brews, including a kettle sour and Scotch ale, with other Black-owned breweries and distilleries in Chicago and Tennessee.
VENUES
Former President Barack Obama chose his adopted hometown of Chicago as the site of the Obama Presidential Center (slated to debut in spring 2026) and its Home Court athletic and event center, opening in late 2025. The 45,000-square-foot, multipurpose Home Court can host everything from conferences and private events to team building basketball games in its NBA regulation-size gymnasium. Besides a museum and library, the 19.3-acre Jackson Park campus will also feature John Lewis Plaza, The Forum Building, Elie Wiesel Auditorium, Ann Dunham Water Garden (named in honor of Obama’s mother), and the Hadiya Pendleton Winter Garden.
Navy Pier is home to two exciting new attractions — Flyover and Illuminarium. Flyover features a simulated flying journey and stunning aerial photography, taking visitors 13,000 feet above Chicago’s iconic skyline and landmarks. Illuminarium highlights one-of-a-kind experiences during two 360-degree shows that whisk viewers away on a Kenyan safari and through outer space. Group experiences can be customized.
Arrange for attendees to explore mind-boggling sights, sounds, and perceptions in immersive rooms at the Museum of Illusions Chicago. Renovations expanded the museum’s space by 30% and added 20 exhibits, bringing the total to 80. Chicago-themed experiences, in addition to favorites such as the Vortex Tunnel, are perfect for group selfies.
Established in the late 1920s as a movie theatre, the revamped Ramova Theatre made a splash upon its reopening in Bridgeport as a music venue. The theatre is available for full buyouts for private events, and can accommodate 1,800 guests standing or 680 seated. Groups of up to 200 standing and 100 seated can reserve The Ramova Loft, and groups with up to 100 people can meet in the Ramova Taproom & Grill. The theatre was backed by celebrity co-owners Chance the Rapper, Jennifer Hudson, and the late Quincy Jones.
Bassline, a music complex situated on historic Record Row in the South Loop neighborhood, offers its stunning bar and lounge for private events. The 2,200-square-foot loft space, 22Thirty9, located above a recording studio, features AV specialists to ensure that presentations go off without a hitch.
Host an event at Wildman BT, housed in a 1914 former boiler and tank building. Events of all kinds can be customized in the 12,000-square-foot venue that accommodates 500 for a standing reception or 400 for a seated dinner. Amenities include a catering prep kitchen, floor-to-ceiling drapery system, AV equipment, 4K projections onto a 23-foot media wall, and a street-level loading bay.
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