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“I bump into people a lot,” says John Williamson of walking through the lobby at the recently renovated Palmer House Hilton. The ceiling is breathtaking, a beaux-arts masterpiece, and more than a few visitors look up and get dumbstruck, causing collisions in the process. Complementing the classic glamour of the hotel lobby is the new hotel lounge Potter’s, named after the hotel’s founder Potter Palmer (try saying that ten times fast!)

Hotel bars have a special kind of magic in the American imagination. After Lost In Translation, the New York Bar at the Park Hyatt Tokyo saw an influx of American tourists hoping to reenact those famous scenes between Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson. I had my own Lost In Translation moment sipping cocktails with my date Syreeta, sequestered in a mahogany leather booth at Potter’s recent media VIP party. I may have a few years on Scarlett, and Syreeta is certainly a whole lot prettier than Bill, but the romance of an elegant hotel bar was there all the same. Potter’s is just that kind of place.

The dark polished wood and brown leather couches give the bar a timeless feel; the Rat Pack should be hanging out here after a gig at the Empire Room. The walls are adorned with glowing panels of celebs—Hugh Hefner, Nat King Cole, and John Belushi—who stayed or performed at the hotel. Two glass-encased, fluffy white feathered columns are a nod to Sally Rand’s naughty fan dance at Chicago’s Century of Progress Exposition in 1933. The bartenders wear vests and ties as they shake up timeless cocktails like Perfect Manhattans and Negronis (made with blood orange juice) behind the red-lit marble bar. Potter’s is also one of a handful of Chicagoland bars offering absinthe; Williamson opted for a French brand called Le Tourment Vert (green torment).

This swanky bar is open until 2 a.m. every night, making it the perfect spot for a romantic first date or late-night rendezvous.

Potter’s, Historic Palmer House Hilton, 17 E. Monroe St., 312-917-3404. 3 p.m.- 2 a.m. daily.

Photo by Sam Todd Dyess