By Liz Coffin-KarlinContributing Writer
The entryway of the Margarita European Inn is momentarily confusing, if only because it does not conform to our cookie-cutter image of a hotel entrance.
There is no long lobby filled with overstuffed chairs, no big screen TV blaring local news, no shiny front desk manned by a smiling and uniformed employee. Instead, upon entering, one is faced by a patio filled with fall leaves, an upwardly winding marble staircase and the entrance to a dinner-only restaurant.
Just like the rest of the Margarita, 1566 Oak St., the entryway sets the inn apart from Evanston’s more traditional hotel models. Built in 1927 as housing for girls working away from home, the Margarita has kept much of its original Continental flair.
The Margarita’s 42 rooms differ widely in size, style and decoration.
Until a little over a decade ago all the rooms shared baths, but the inn now offers a mix of shared and private bathrooms, as well as rooms that range from double occupancy “standards” – some of which are still outfitted with the building’s original metal bed frames – to the much larger two-room suites.
Yet even the rooms termed “standard” differ in style and presentation. Each of the rooms has its own sense of elegance, emphasized by each room’s unique adornments, rugs and bureaus.
Phyllis Wilson, who has worked at the Margarita for 16 years, said she works there because of the “uniqueness of the place.”
“[The Margarita] is a little different,” she said. “I don’t know if it’s the last of its kind, but the old buildings sure are disappearing and these new buildings aren’t going to last as long.”
With the upcoming Northwestern Family Weekend, the inn’s schedule is tight: In fact, Wilson said, the Margarita books up for NU’s busiest seasons almost a year in advance.
“When the university is active, we are active,” she said.
The inn is also contacted frequently by various university departments to arrange accommodations for visiting speakers and conference members. In the past, the Margarita has played host to several celebrity visitors to NU, including Meryl Streep and Ralph Nader.
Because many of the inn’s guests are European, Wilson said she feels that Americans, who are used to larger chain hotels, might not understand the Margarita as well.
Despite that, the inn has gained a good deal of attention, including being touted by the “Windy City Guide” in 2003 as one of the “treasures of the North Shore.”
“It’s comfortable and it’s safe,” Wilson said. “Because we have a variety of rooms we have a variety of people as well.”
Even the inn’s restaurant has a foreign feel: Va Pensiero, located on the first floor of the building, is an Italian fine dining restaurant.
The inn also offers its guests several libraries and lounges in which guests can relax or work, a furnished parlor near the main desk and a roof-top deck that guests can visit during the spring and summer. In a city where new development is de rigeur, Wilson said she is reminded of a guest’s comment.
“He said, ‘Back to the 20th century,’ and it must feel that way.”
Reach Liz Coffin-Karlin at [email protected].
