FULTON MARKET — After breaking ground more than a year ago, a new hotel in Fulton Market opened Thursday, offering guests a sweeping view of the skyline as the neighborhood continues to boom.
Hyatt House Chicago/West Loop-Fulton Market at 105 N. May St. welcomed more than 70 guests on its opening day. At the opening, community leaders and heads of businesses involved took a victory lap.
Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. (27th) thanked the neighbors and community organizations for allowing the building to be built, bringing construction and hotel jobs to the area.
He also thanked Sterling Bay, which developed the hotel, for “lighting a spark” in the community.
“This is very exciting,” he told the group gathered in the third-floor lobby and lounge. “Some of you may not believe but this used to be Skid Row.”
Richard Sasso, general manager of the hotel, said most of the employees live in the West Loop, Near West Side and West Side communities. Sasso, who moved to the neighborhood in 2010, noted how the area has developed in the past 10 years.
“It’s like night and day,” he said.
The hotel has 200 apartment-style guestrooms, 67 of which are suites, and two meeting rooms. There are four different room configurations.
Amenities include an indoor pool at the top of the hotel, an outdoor sky deck with views of the Downtown and a 24-hour fitness center. A breakfast buffet is included in the stay.
The hotel is also pet-friendly, and some rooms have kitchen areas stocked with dishes to allow guests to cook during their stay. There are also grills on the outdoor deck area.
The area is flush with new hotels, including the Hoxton Hotel, which opened in April at 200 N. Green St.
The long-awaited Nobu Hotel is expected to open its 115 new hotel rooms and a 10,000-square-foot signature Nobu restaurant on Randolph on July 31.
