Racquet club operator Midtown opens wellness hotel with suite designed by Venus Williams' firm
by Tom Walker | 13 Nov 2017
Tennis legend Venus Williams’ design firm, V STARR Interiors, has designed one of the hotel's suites
/ Shutterstock
US-based Midtown Athletic Clubs, which manages a portfolio of premium health, fitness and racquet clubs, has opened its first hotel at the site of its flagship club in Chicago.
The 55-bedroom Hotel at Midtown is the company’s first venture into the hospitality space and is the final element of a US$85m (€73m, £64m) redevelopment of the Chicago club – one of the world’s largest indoor tennis centres, housing 16 indoor courts.
Designed by Chicago-based DMAC Architecture, the Hotel at Midtown will have a focus on wellness and features a luxury spa with a number of treatment rooms and a customised menu of signature treatments and services, as well as a full-service hair and nail salon.
One of the hotel’s signature features is the V Suite, designed by tennis legend Venus Williams’ design firm, V STARR Interiors. Created to “invoke a sense of relaxation and rejuvenation”, the V Suite features a private bedroom, calming textures, floor-to-ceiling windows with blackout curtains and marble bathrooms.
Williams has also designed the tennis lounge at Midtown Athletic Club.
Other facilities at the hotel include Shave & Tonic, a gentlemen’s barbershop, two meeting rooms, an executive conference room and a variety of event spaces.
“We began this project five years ago, with the goal of creating a health-and-fitness property unlike anything else,” said president and CEO of Midtown Athletic Clubs Steven Schwartz.
“We believe this pioneering project fills a niche within both the fitness and hospitality industries and it represents an entirely new opportunity for Midtown to serve and interact with guests and members not just in Chicago, but worldwide.”
Venus Williams Midtown Athletic Club V STARR Interiors Chicago Hotel at Midtown DMAC Architecture
US-based Midtown Athletic Clubs, which manages a portfolio of premium health, fitness and racquet clubs, has opened its first hotel at the site of its flagship club in Chicago. The 55-bedroom Hotel at Midtown is the company’s first venture into the hospitality space and is the final element of a US$85m (€73m, £64m) redevelopment of the Chicago club – one of the world’s largest indoor tennis centres, housing 16 indoor
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