The Chicago area is home to many hotels of all different shapes and sizes, from luxury to no-frills digs. A unique hotel we like is Hotel Baker, located in St. Charles and offering an appealing getaway destination for travelers and business people looking for a bit of historical character in their accommodations and meetings.

Hotel Baker is located on the site of the Old Haines Mill, built in 1837 to grind corn meal but destroyed by a 1919 fire. Seven years later, a 55-room resort opened on the site, funded by John Gates of U.S. Steel and Texaco. Built with local contractors and supplies, the beautiful Spanish and Moroccan-style building hotel included “the most modern phone system in the country.”

In the 1930s, the resort was known as the “Honeymoon Hotel”; accommodating many visitors of the 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago. Named for Republican Col. Edward Baker, the hotel was a local headquarters for the Republican party for many years  and hosted many stars of the Big Band era. Guests of the hotel included John F. Kennedy, Gerald Ford, Adlai Stevenson, Richard J. Daley, Billy Graham, Mary Martin, and Lawrence Welk. There is still nothing like it in the western suburbs.

The hotel’s Rainbow Room became famous for its 2,620 colored lights under 300 glass blocks, which could be synchronized with the music or lit in a variety of patterns. The two-story ballroom hosted performers like Louie Armstrong, Guy Lombardo and Eddie Duchin. Even now, the floors can be lit up during the year, and are during the Hotel Baker annual New Year’s Eve party.

Hotel Baker’s restaurant, which opened in the 1920s, boasted “electric potato peelers” and “automatic toasters” and fresh eats from Baker’s own Silver Glen Farm. A seven-course meal cost $1.25, and for $3 a visitor could get a meal, two beverages, two five-act floor shows and dancing. That same restaurant - ROX City Grill is where yesterday’s architecture now meets today’s modern styling, and where traditional urban grill fare greets eclectic, multi-ethnic cuisine. It’s a great escape from Chicago, with food as good as the city in an atmosphere that is much more relaxed.

The grounds of the hotel have always been a draw—thanks to the outdoor dining patio, beautiful rose garden, and boathouse all at the edge of the Fox River. During warmer months, Hotel Baker can even help you with riverboat cruises or kayak and canoe rentals.

Baker himself died in 1959, after which the hotel went through tough times and several ownership changes until it was purchased in 2002 at auction by its current owner; residents of St. Charles and city historians. They restored the hotel to its heyday of grandeur, with updated and upscale guest rooms, the beautiful patio and rose garden, the Piano Lounge and the ROX City Grill restaurant. It still attracts celebrities and high-profile entertainment acts, counting among its recent guests Jerry Lewis, Davy Jones, Martin Short, Rick Springfield, Mary Wilson, the band Alice in Chains and the cast of the independent film “Munger Road.”

All this amazing history, along with luxury accommodations, beautiful grounds and a scenic presence by the river, make the Hotel Baker a wonderful destination for world travelers or local stay-cationers. For additional information, visit www.hotelbaker.com or call 630-584-2100.



-By Helen A. Lee