Ian Schrager Comes to Chicago: A Revamp for the Ambassador East Hotel

It's a done deal. After much speculation, it's confirmed: hotelier Ian Schrager took the plunge and bought Chicago's 285-room Ambassador East Hotel, the 84-year-old icon where Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall tied the knot, along with its famous Pump Room. His plans? To "turn it into a hipper, less expensive hotel for the chic set." The Studio 54 nightclub co-founder closed on the hotel earlier this month and is considering keeping the hotel and restaurant names intact because they have a "certain DNA and ethos." For the inside scoop on the Schrager's first hotel project since the sexy Gramercy Park Hotel, check out this exclusive interview with HotelChatter.