Gatsby Glamour: Prohibition-Era Tribute Stays

“It’s been 85 years since the noir era of Prohibition ended. But its glamorous parties, lavish spending, and life-on-the-edge Gatsby-thrill have inspired many tributes from magnificent hotel ballrooms to dark, secret speakeasies and cocktail bars. Step into any one of these stylish hotels, and step back in time to the Prohibition-era.

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The Drake, Chicago, Illinois
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The second Chicago venue to get a liquor licence post-Prohibition, The Drake is a true icon in the city’s gangster past. With its chandeliers and dragon-headed lamp fittings, you feel like Al Capone himself as you look out at views of Lake Michigan. The Chicago History Museum is worth a visit for its collection of ingenious booze-concealing devices, and there are various fascinating tours. Or you can just soak up the atmosphere over a (legal) whiskey in the hotel’s elegant Coq D’or bar.

If you want to see more hotels in Chicago, visit our Chicago hotels page.

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The Arizona Biltmore, Arizona, Phoenix
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First opened during Prohibition in 1929, the Arizona Biltmore was a playground for the rich and famous. It had a ‘mystery room’, a secret speakeasy hidden in the resort’s main building with a well-stocked liquor cabinet that turned into a bookcase when the cops were called, and a high-powered spotlight on the roof to watch for patrol cars. You can still drink in the mystery room – if you know the password. Legend has is that iconic cocktail the Tequila Sunrise was invented here by bartender Gene Sulit.

If you want to see more hotels in Phoenix, visit our Phoenix hotels page.

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St Regis New York
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New York is perhaps the city most synonymous with Prohibition-era glamour. Since Angel’s Share start the neo-speakeasy trend nearly 20 years ago, some of the city’s best bars are still excitingly concealed behind laundrettes and down dark staircases. Built by John Jacob Astor IV who died on the Titanic, the sumptuous St. Regis New York is more glamourous than you could imagine. The magnificent ballroom known as the St. Regis Roof takes you right back to when it was added to the hotel in 1927.

If you want to see more hotels in Western Cape, visit our New York hotels page.

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Montage Beverly Hills, LA, California
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The Montage Beverly Hills has one of LA’s classiest – and most secret – bars. On the second floor of the hotel, it’s only open to guests and locals in-the-know. With speakeasy style leather, mahogany and crystal glasses, Scotch is the order of the day, namely an exclusive selection of Macallan Single Malts, including a 65-year-old dram for $5000, poured over kold-draft cubes, soapstone rocks, or ice made from Highland Springs water. Top cocktails from the menu include Skinny Ma-Linky Longlegs and a good Old Fashioned.

If you want to see more hotels in Los Angeles, visit our Los Angeles hotels page.

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Omni William Penn Hotel, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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After decades of disuse, the newly-restored Speakeasy is hidden away under the lobby of the Omni William Penn Hotel. Whisking you back to 1920s Pittsburgh with noir era plush scarlet seating and flocked wallpaper, this prohibition-bar bar is dark, sensual and cosy. Enjoy a traditional Sidecar cocktail, bourbon or a local brew. In 1929, the Prohibition Bureau estimated that so much illicit beer was being brewed that sewer systems were choked by spent hops, and it’s easy to imagine you’re sipping an illegal homebrew here.

If you want to see more hotels in Pittsburgh, visit our Pittsburgh hotels page.”