Built in 1927 as fashionable apartments for wealthy North Side residents, the building was converted to a luxury hotel in 1974 and has played host to executives, world leaders and celebrities ever since. Sitting in the heart of the Gold Coast, Chicago's most exclusive neighborhood, The Whitehall Hotel offers a European boutique sense of grace and grandeur amid the Magnificent Mile's shops, restaurants, theaters and entertainment as well as in the city's Loop business district. Guests looking for some action are only a block from the restaurants and pulsating clubs of Rush Street. Recreational enthusiasts are just five blocks from Lake Michigan's 20 mile shoreline path perfect for walking, jogging, biking and skating. The elegant lobby of original wood paneling, fresh flowers, antique mahogany furnishings, richly patterned carpeting and oil paintings provides quiet settings for conversation, reading and sipping tea. In addition to the Mag Mile's upscale dining, the hotel's restaurant, Fornetto Mei, specializes in pan Italian influenced cuisine in a stylish room where the ambience is with colorful murals and dark woods. Fornetto Mei's trendy bar serves more than 200 varieties of martinis, 40 different wines and abundant single malt whiskies, port, Madeira and sherry. Guests also can work out at the Whitehall's fully equipped fitness center, get work done in the business center and pamper themselves with 24 hour room service. The Whitehall's 223 guest rooms are decorated with antique style, dark wood furniture, crown moldings and carved headboards with contrasting floral and striped prints. They feature minibars, data ports and specialty touches like fluffy terrycloth bathrobes and designer bath products. Shoppers and business travelers alike appreciate the Whitehall's pedigree and location near Michigan Avenue attractions and Oak Street boutiques.