Everyone in Chicago knows Aqua. But good luck finding a cab driver that knows where the Radisson Blu Aqua hotel is. More than once, I’ve had a cabbie try to take me to some random suburb from O’Hare when he heard the word “Radisson.”
No such confusion for Uptown Spy Abe, who sent in this photograph of the lobby of the Radisson Blu inside the Aqua building (225 North Columbus Drive). He took it during this past weekend’s Open House Chicago architecture safari.
This is one of my favorite Chicago hotel lobbies to hang out in and meet clients, in part because it’s visually stunning. There’s a lot going on, and lots of light, but somehow it all gets absorbed into a black hole, because the whole place is very subdued. Plus, the entire lobby is an extension of the hotel bar, so if you sit there more than a couple of minutes, a cocktail waitress is bound to show up. And there’s no better way to start a meeting with your accountant than with a Baracardi and Coke.
That makes it a business expense, right?