Crimson Lounge

I like the color Crimson and the idea. However, I found this place somewhat boring and overpriced.

This place is now closed and is the bar for the Hotel Chicago. That said, the rennovation done on the bar area is incredible. The Manhattan was also incredible!

A classy hidden gem in River North off the general trajectory of barhoppers. I would feel out of place going in here without a jacket, but as a pseudo-​hotel bar, it takes all types, which kinda detracts from the overall aesthetic of the place. The prices certainly match what you’d expect at a River North hotel bar. But I’d go back just to lounge in the unique and comfy… lounge.

I went here on a relatively quiet night– a thursday. The place is dark and has red couches, with lots of little nooks and crannies to find a private spot. I came here for a date and the place stayed quiet most of the time, so we could talk. The drinks are interesting, though the waitress didnt seem very well informed about what they had or names of drinks. I guess the place makes money from the hotel.

Our first night at the hotel we decided to check out he lounge. We had just returned from dinner and bad leftovers with us. The bouncer told is we had to leave it with him or toss it. It was empty and we just wanted to pop our head in and see what it looked like.
Upon walking in we felt like we had just stepped into a middle school dance. There were pockets of people but it didn’t seem like they mingled outside their groups.
It took about 5−10mins to get a drink at the bar, which is quite awhile if the majority is there to socialize among themselves.

What used to be a happening club is just a sad shell of it’s former self located in the Hotel Chicago (Former Hotel Sax). The boudoir décor is a little outdated but it would work if there was more than one person roaming through the bar. Sexy and lonely is not a good combo. It did serve well as a last stop between hitting the town and retiring to my room 13 floors above in the hotel.

Something needs to be done about this place. It is a lounge so full of potential, but both times I’ve been here it’s about as populated as a remote tundra in the Arctic circle.
When I decided to have my birthday get together here a few months ago, I had an extremely hard time getting a hold of a live person to talk to. You would think calling would result in a speedier response, but I actually ended up getting a hold of someone after I commented on their Facebook page. So, heads up to those who are looking to contact them.
Once there, the staff was super accommodating and professional. They sat us in a space a little away from the rest of the lounge for privacy I suppose, but it wasn’t really necessary because it was maybe only 30% full (and that’s a generous estimate). The clientele skewed older (40s+) and the music never got very loud. I found a little «easter egg» –on one of the numerous paintings they have as décor, someone had stuck a googly eye on a portrait of a man. What a whimsical surprise!
Second time I came here was on Valentine’s Day. Still the same situation although this time we sat at the bar. The cocktails were decent but nothing to write home about.
So, what to do about this place? Better marketing? Stronger brand identity? Louder music? No idea. But I would hate to see this amazingly decorated lounge with such great ambiance fall to the wayside of other much douchier, more predictable establishments.

Overrated bar in the Hotel Sax.
Best thing about Crimson is the décor. Its the type of bar ideal for tourists/​visitors who don’t want to leave the confines of their hotel for an intimate evening. If there isn’t a private party going on, you can easily just go downstairs and get a couch, make goo goo eyes with your S/​O and drink wine all night.
But if you are looking for a night out with your friends, this isn’t it. Drinks are overpriced and the bartenders suck, even when its hardly anyone there. When I go out and at the bar, I don’t want to feel like I have to beg my bartender to come back to get a 2^nd drink. Especially when its overpriced. If you are looking for a hangout with friends, I’d suggest just going across the street to HOB or even the Bar Louie around the corner.

Brought a group of 18 friends here on a Saturday night. Was told to wait for table service. No waitresses to be found all night. The two bartenders hated life and seemed overwhelmed with more than 2 people at the bar. Some friends waited 15+ minutes to even be acknowledged, and it was not busy by bar standards. Whoever manages this place needs to pay attention, kick some ass, and take some names. We all left after one round, and had planned to stay a couple of hours. Fail.

I read that the Crimson Lounge was a sexy little bar with red curtains, lots of little cozy private seating areas, and I thought it would be a good place to meet my husband after work. It is across the parking lot from the House of Blues, and next to the Marina City corn cob buildings on the north side of the river.
I sat at the bar, which is relatively quiet, and ordered grey goose with a twist on the rocks. It took a few minutes for Elliot the bartender to emerge from the back room and take my order, and he wasn’t super pleasant, or friendly, which is surprising for a youngish bartender. My drink was fine, but he never came back down to my end of the bar for any reason. It was not busy, not crowded, not loud, and not fun. It was a Monday night though so what do you want?
The other gentleman who was standing behind the bar made sure to let me know he was NOT the bartender, when I tried to settle my tab. Interesting. $ 13 for a vodka is a bit steep.
We did walk around on our way out and look for the cute little alcoves… and they were cute. I would love to come in and have a little romantic interlude in one of them sometime… maybe if I can ditch my husband. :-) The furniture is antique and comfy and has a Victorian flair. I think they did it right with the lighting, the music, and the ambience… but they hired wrong. Did not encounter anyone with a smile or who made me want to return.

Nice live music, but terrible service. After they made the last call, no one was around to close me out. I ended up waiting for 10+ minutes to get my credit card back. The worst part? It was just my group of friends there.
The Unilocal check in deal (25% off bill) was not honored. Bullshit.
My drink (Laphroaig 10) was supposed to be $ 12; however, I ended up getting a $ 2 surcharge for ordering it neat. What? I don’t even.

Went here for a event that was way too crowded. Had to wait 15 minutes for a drink.
This place is way too overrated and pricey.

I’m not big on super packed lounges, but seeing as how it was saturday and we were looking slick after a wedding last weekend, my buddy and I decided to check out the scene. The atmosphere is cool and the music was pretty good, considering. It got really packed really quick, the crowd seemed relatively diverse. Getting a drink at the bar was pretty difficult, but not impossible, which seems normal for that type of place. One thing I don’t like is that the set up they have created, while it looks cool, seems to serve no real purpose except to create traffic jams of people trying to pass those standing near the tables– it sort of deadlocked the whole side of the lounge!
My big complaint is that the bartender pretty blatantly ripped me off. The 2 drinks I ordered came to $ 22.00 (no that wasn’t the ripoff part) and I gave the bartender $ 30. He returned with $ 2, tossed it down, and took off the other side of the bar. I tried to get his attention a few times but he seemed to «not see me.» I would have left 4 – 5 bucks, but it seems he felt he deserved 6. A couple bucks isn’t a big deal, but it’s the principle of the matter! Even if he gave me back 3, I would have given him the benefit of the doubt for thinking i gave him 25 instead of 30, but there’s just no way I can justify that dishonesty. I don’t blame his action on the establishment, but it’s enough to keep me away.

I came here last night for the «Freedom Party» for my friend Jeanelle’s birthday. I haven’t been out to a club in a while, and I was a little weirded out by the fact that this place is in a hotel. But it was cool.
The cover was $ 10 for guys, $ 5 for girls before 11pm. Drinks are really expensive, but Friday Stoli is $ 6.
This club has a huge mix of people. There are young cool people, lots of cool people in their late 20s and 30s, middle age people staying in the hotel, black, white, asain, etc. It was a good crowd.
The DJ played a great mix of music. It was mostly all dance music, but it varied across genres.
This place is loud as hell, the décor is odd, and the drinks is crazy expensive, but it was fun.

We were staying at the Sax so we stopped in for their Friday night specials before going to dinner. $ 6 Stoli martinis. The bartender was very nice and offered to mix up his creation that wasn’t on the menu. It was really good! The waitress offered us complimentary spring roll appetizers. A small 2 man band was also playing and it was early, we were there between 6 and 7:15!!!
The atmosphere is ultimately very swanky!!! Dark, sultry and mysterious would explain it the best! I loved the Sookie Stackhouse series books (True Blood on HBO). Felt like what I would imagine Fangtasia to be like! Lol. Couches and little dark sitting nooks everywhere! Let me tell you they don’t have lounges like this in WI!

Bartender was moody and he was the only staff member that I saw. Cocktail was $ 14 for a pink lemonade flavor. Didn’t like it. Didn’t even finish it. Couldn’t see my date and could barely hear him.
Left unhappy with the entire experience.

I may be a little biased writing this review because of the emotional connection I have to this place. So here’s the short end of the story, this was the first place my husband and I went to the minute I got engaged as we were staying at the beautiful Sax hotel. So to celebrate the two of us, just getting engaged we went to the Crimson Lounge. Granted this was a Tuesday evening during the summer, so it was pretty empty, score for us as we had the whole place to ourselves. Sweet!!! The place is beautiful, very vintage, yet sophisticated, a classy red everywhere with red leather couches all around, a mirrored classy bar and even some red velour love chairs, talk about HOT! Not what you may think of as the Christian Grey red room of pain, totally the opposite.
Our bartender was very sweet, gave us some congratulatory champagne in beautiful glasses and the bubbly was delicious and memorable. Overall, we chilled there for about an hour before continuing the celebration but the nostalgia remains and I will forever be a big fan of this place. I’d be interested to see how my experience changes over a weekend night. Definitely a fun place to have a romantic date with your sig. other or even a girls night if you’re feeling ultra-​sexy. Crimson, you paint us a racy, risqué red.

I have a friend that works here but I will give my opinion non the less.
Maybe I shiould not say this because maybe I was supposed to keep this quiet.
One of the sr managers of this place gave me and my friend Stacy a tour of the 6^th floor lounge area that (or is it on the 5^th floor) not many people know about and I love the space. I wish that as an alternative to CRIMSON Lounge on some nights, they opened that space and allowed people to drink over there and just chill out.
There the cat is out of the bag :)
IT HAS SOME NICE COUCHES AND THE LIGHTING IS BETTER THAN THE DOWNSTAIRS LOUNGE.
I’m just sayin’
Is it really needed to play music at the same noise level as a missle launch?
probably not.
However many people like the room to the left when you first walk in because it has art in it… which is always a nice touch.
Hopefully the new owners at Thompson can open the 6^th floor space to the public on some nights and make some money that way

I have not lived in Chicago for over a year now, but somehow I do not think this place has changed much…
Crimson gives off the air of a very happening and hip spot and maybe at one point it was a hot spot in Chicago, but I think that time has come and gone. They have security at the door and VIP booths and kind of a Vegas feel, but it is no Vegas nightclub.
I’ve attended birthday parties here and just come on a night when something was supposed to be going on and it did not meet my expectations. The drinks are expensive, the location is terrible for parking, especially if the House of Blues (HOB) lot is full because something is going on at HOB. The only time this place has a real line is when there is an event at HOB and the after party is here or when they want to give the illusion that the place is packed.
I am not jumping to get back to Chicago to hangout here…

Crimson saved the day for our unofficial After-​Holiday Party happy hour after the other place cancelled our group’s reservation. For me, that weighs heavily in a solid review. They were quick to accommodate our group of about 30 – 40 people and we all had a good time.
The drinks were rather expensive, but we knew that would be the case because of the location — and it’s in the Sax Hotel. While the drinks were expensive, they were tasty and packed a little punch without hitting you in the face. The bartenders were a bit slow, but I understand that we packed quite a few people in there and they did they best that they could. All in all, the after party turned out to be a success.