(Above) Overlooking Kinzie Street and Marina City’s Hotel Sax, a “king guestroom” at Kinzie Hotel. (Click on images to view larger versions.)

December 31, 2013 – “Get back out there and explore Chicago” is what the Kinzie Hotel, scheduled to open in February, slightly earlier than expected, will be telling its guests through interior designs shared recently.

Expect vintage imagery of early 19th century Chicago maps and compasses, concierge-style check-in desks in a renovated 1,500 square foot lobby, a 689 square foot “Double Cross Lounge,” and common areas in navy blue and gray colors, according to a December 16 news release.

The 215-room hotel on West Kinzie Street, formerly the Amalfi Hotel, is embracing its connection to early Chicagoan John Kinzie, for whom Kinzie Street is named. Kinzie was one of the first non-native settlers of Chicago. His son, James Kinzie, built a two-story “Kinzie Hotel” of logs and unfinished boards around 1833, most likely near Fort Dearborn, which was located near what is now Michigan Avenue.

Ben Nicholas, design director for Gettys Design Group of Chicago, which created the new designs, says the Kinzie Hotel will be “a quintessential Chicago hotel.”

(Above) Rendering of what the Kinzie Hotel lobby will look like.

When the Amalfi, located on five floors of a 17-story building also occupied by Keefer’s Restaurant, was sold in December 2012 for $48 million, the new owner, The Harp Group, contractually had two years to change the name of the hotel. The new name was announced in October 2013.

The hotel is managed by Portfolio Hotels & Resorts, located west of Chicago in Westmont, Illinois. The company manages 14 hotels in six states, including seven hotels in California and three in Ohio.

The Kinzie Hotel is currently taking reservations for a launch sometime in February. An exact opening date has not been announced.

• Previous story: Kinzie Hotel to make a comeback after 181 years
• Website: Gettys Design Group