Hotel Baker hosts meetings, conferences, corporate retreats, banquets, private parties and weddings for groups of 10 to 350 guests, with bedrooms on site for those who stay overnight. The hotel stands on the bank of the Fox River in downtown St. Charles, Illinois, and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Seminars and company events
The hotel sells its function rooms for business meetings, conference sessions, banquets, team building and corporate retreats. Four rooms can be booked: the Rainbow Room ballroom, the Waterfront Room, the St. Charles Room and the Triple Crown Room. An in-house team of event planners and catering staff handles the organization. Attendees can stay in the hotel and spend the evening at ROX, the wine and martini lounge on the ground floor, without leaving the building.
Weddings and receptions
Ceremonies take place outdoors on the Waterfront Patio or in the Rose Garden, a formal English-style garden with a boathouse that is lit with small golden lights in the evening. Cocktails and dinner then follow in the Rainbow Room or the Waterfront Room. The hotel does not book ceremonies alone: the reception must also be held on site. Brunch and luncheon receptions are possible, and rehearsal dinners can be held at ROX or as a buffet in one of the ballrooms. A block of bedrooms is held for the wedding night, 15 rooms for a Rainbow Room wedding and 10 for the Waterfront Ballroom. The hotel also hosts reunions, anniversaries, galas and charity events.
Rooms and capacities
The Rainbow Room is a two-story ballroom ringed by columns with a circular balcony. It seats up to 200 guests across its two levels, with clear sightlines for speakers, and has a lighted dance floor. It looks out over the Rose Garden and the river.
The Waterfront Room, also called the Waterfront Ballroom, has painted ceilings, marble floors, chandeliers and large windows on the Fox River. French doors open onto a riverside patio. It is the smaller of the two ballrooms and suits both meetings and receptions.
The St. Charles Room is on the main floor, with daylight, river views and current meeting technology. The Triple Crown Room is a private meeting and dining room on the second floor, with its own restroom, several possible layouts and views over the river and the Waterfront Room.
Accommodation
The hotel has 53 bedrooms and suites, each furnished differently, some with original pieces from 1928. Categories range from double rooms and standard kings to river-view kings, one-bedroom suites with a separate living area, and spa suites such as the Baker Suite and the Penthouse Suite, which have private outdoor hot tubs. For groups that want to stay together, the hotel also rents a house two blocks away.
Catering
Meals for events are prepared by the hotel's own catering team, from plated dinners to buffets, brunches and luncheons. ROX at Hotel Baker serves wines, martinis and small plates from Wednesday to Saturday evening, with live music on Fridays and Saturdays.
History and setting
Colonel Edward J. Baker opened the hotel in 1928 on the site of the former Haines Mill. Local architects gave it a Spanish-Moroccan style, and it had its own hydroelectric plant, a parking garage and the Rainbow Room, whose dance floor holds 2,620 colored lights under glass blocks. The hotel was cited at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair, ran a radio station from its tower, now the Penthouse Suite, and drew performers such as Louis Armstrong and Tommy Dorsey. It has since been restored.
Getting there
The address is 100 West Main Street, St. Charles, IL 60174, in the center of town on the Fox River, a short drive west of Chicago. Chicago O'Hare International Airport is the nearest major airport, and Geneva station on the Metra Union Pacific West line is the closest commuter rail stop.
