Eastern Hospitality at The Peninsula Chicago

Mention The Peninsula Hotels brand to anybody familiar with travel and you'll watch their eyes gloss as they disappear into a cocoon of imagination fraught with images of travel's most golden age.

When I think of The Peninsula Hotels, I picture the original 1928 property in Kowloon, welcoming well-heeled dignitaries in need of hospitality and comfort after a journey halfway around the world.

The hotel was built to be the "finest east of Suez" and seemed to instinctively know what colonial travelers would find most comforting after a long voyage: fine design and comfortable furnishings in the Western style with distinctive Chinese accents, and perhaps a cup of tea from an exquisite porcelain service.

The brand's growth has been measured and deliberate, and today there are still but a handful of properties bearing The Peninsula name in a selection of cities around the world.

One of these happens to be The Peninsula Chicago, where the East-meets-West charm of the original is flawlessly reproduced. Its fresh, personal approach to hospitality meshes with the homey-yet-cosmopolitan character of The Windy City. In more romantic terms, it's worth noting that both Hong Kong and Chicago reached cultural peaks during the Roaring 20s, so it's no surprise that the glamorous jazz age ethos of the original was an easy match for Michigan Avenue.

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Entering via a grand columned entrance guarded by stone lions—and greeted by bell staff wearing signature gold-trimmed white uniforms with a pillbox hat—it's made apparent from the very beginning that guests are in for a legendary experience.

They are transported not only to the grandeur of another age with the hotel's gracious arcades but also to one of a transglobal jet set, with design inspirations evoking each of the continents. (Of course, with heavy emphasis on the East).

Recently refreshed guest rooms almost seem to do your thinking for you.

Open a bedside drawer and find outlets and cords for most popular electronics. The digital tablet bedside and on the office desk handle room temperature and lighting, do-not-disturb controls, as well as music and television. Simply touch the channel and your room does the rest.

Where technology falls short, good old-fashioned attention to detail makes up the difference. During turndown, a beverage left open on the handy pull-out beverage table on the sofa was thoughtfully covered with a paper coaster.

Guest baths come well-stocked with items typically offered only on request, even at other luxury hotels. These include bath amenities by Oscar de la Renta. Executive Suites like the one I stayed in feature a soaker tub with a view of the city and a built-in television. The marble baths are spacious, with dual back-to-back vanities and separate melt-away-the-journey shower and WC.

Throughout are Eastern design touches like silk art panels and lacquered bureaus.

For the past several years, the hotel has operated the Pen Sky Rink, where in-house guests and local residents alike can take to the (synthetic) ice on the rooftop outside of Shanghai Terrace, with the city skyline and a custom-built winter village for company. After a few exhilarating turns around the rink, there are heat lamps, cozy blankets and mulled wine to warm.

Speaking of Shanghai Terrace, those in the mood for the flavors of the East will not be disappointed in this AAA Four Diamond-rated eatery, where my own experience included a sublime black truffle with chicken and lobster dumpling presented in a bamboo steamer and a delightfully rich oyster beef. The meal rounded off with complimentary jasmine tea and almond cookies with chocolates, (followed by another round when the server noticed how quickly they disappeared).

As if a fine meal at Shangai Terrace weren't enough to satisfy, the hotel offers Chocolate at The Pen on weekend evenings, with a sumptuous buffet of desserts open to the public or available at a reduced rate for those who have also been at one of the hotel's restaurants for dinner the same evening.

The Lobby, a soaring, light-drenched space that is perhaps one of the grandest in the building, is rarely without something special: No sooner had all the chocolate been packed away, it was time to set up for the equally lavish weekend brunch buffet the next morning.

Long shopping days on Michigan Avenue await—or exploring the city's multitude of museums (in a chauffeured Mini if you're staying in a suite) through the hotel's Pen Cities program, which offers hotel guests special benefits for select activities when booked via the concierge call for unwinding. The Peninsula Spa offers a standard menu of treatments along with an immaculate, well-tended and well-patronized facility looked after by expert spa attendants.

I spent the next morning enjoying a cup of jasmine tea from the hotel's exquisite custom-made porcelain, wondering how many decades worth of travelers have spent a departure morning at The Peninsula doing exactly that: Pondering the onward or homeward journey while savoring the last few plush moments in a great hotel that all but requires a return visit at the earliest opportunity.

READ MORE: Is Chicago the Best City in the World?

The Takeaway

The Peninsula Hotels are an experience every luxury traveler should experience at least once—with amazingly attentive service—gorgeous, immaculate facilities, and attention to detail that might even outstrip what one could expect to find in a royal palace. These beautiful hotels are at the very pinnacle of luxury hospitality.

The Math

I've seen rates from around $330 USD per night during the lowest demand periods.

Instagrammable Moment

Any of the hotel's plush public spaces are worth a snap; I got the most engagement from a photo on the Pen Sky Rink.

Loyalty

Like many of its ultra-luxe peers, The Peninsula does not operate a loyalty program, although return guest preferences are meticulously cataloged.

Good To Know

Not all elevators go to the spa and fitness center floor; Hotel staff can get you pointed in the right direction.

Accommodations were furnished by The Peninsula Chicago in preparation for this story.