Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel Chicago

163 East Walton Place, Chicago, IL

251-300 guest capacity

This venue can host up to 300 guests

About this vendor

Few venues match the splendor and beauty of the Millennium Knickerbocker hotel. Located on the famed Magnificent Mile, the Knickerbocker emanates the allure and glamour reminiscent of the 1920s and 1930s. The Crystal Ballroom is a venue rich in history, elegance, tradition and is the setting for many prominent weddings. Nothing compares to the ballroom's gold-gilded ceiling, 3 larger-than-life Chandeliers, and the city's biggest illuminated dance floor! It’s the perfect place for your urban fairytale wedding. If you are planning a glamorous dinner reception for up to 250 guests we have the space in a timeless setting.

Amenities + details

Ceremony Area

Dressing Room

Handicap Accessible

Indoor Event Space

On-Site Accommodations

Reception Area

Wireless Internet

Covered Outdoors Space

Liability Insurance

Outdoor Event Space

Business Attributes

Asian-owned Business

Ceremony Types

Civil Union
Commitment Ceremony
Elopement
Interfaith Ceremony
Non-Religious Ceremony
Religious Ceremony

Guest Capacity

Up to 300

Settings

Ballroom
Historic Venue
Hotel

Venue Service Offerings

Bar & Drinks
Destination Weddings
Destination Wedding Packages
Destination Wedding Planning
Food & Catering
Planning

4.3

out of 5.0

20 reviews

Search reviews

4/26/2023 • Caitlyn M

Before I go into detail I do want to point out our wedding was in March 2022, so I am hoping things have improved since then. I’ll start with all the great things. We originally chose the Knickerbocker because of the ballroom. We both wanted a gold/ornate vibe and the ballroom is beautiful. The venue itself I would give a 5/5. The ballroom was gorgeous, the cocktail hour area was nice, the suite was great, and the light up floor and champagne parade were a hit with guests. Our reception was perfect. The servers were amazing. Food and cake was perfect. I would not change anything about the reception. What left room to be desired was the ceremony (which is not how you should feel, right) and the planning staff. I believe there was a change in wedding coordinators throughout our planning period. At one point it was a head of sales and another point it was a building supervisor we were working with. It seemed like by the end, the person planning was not someone who planned weddings for their career. She did fine, but for the amount you pay to get married here (around $50,000 total for us in the off season) it really is a let down. I was very detail oriented and constantly checked in about things I was worried about (extra tables, vendors, stages, etc). I couldn’t remember everything and what ended up really being an eyesore and disappointing was the number of chairs they set out for our ceremony. The day of coordinator guaranteed me she would make sure everything looked perfect for the ceremony, so on the day of, I never went down to check beforehand. We had around 180 guests total, but that included 20 people in our wedding party standing besides us (10 on each side) and our officiant (yes I know a lot). The coordinator never checked with us the total number of chairs that should be put out (originally we estimated 200) so they ended up setting the full 200. This resulted in tons of chairs being empty in the back of the room, which really affected our pictures and the vibe of the room since there was tons of empty chairs. The coordinator also did not help the ushers (which she assured me she would help guide people) so they ended up seating most people on one side rather than at least equal on each. My husband/groom realized it when he went down before me, but the guest were already there so there was nothing that could be done. It is really a shame to look back on pictures and videos and be reminded of the error. We also paid a good amount of money for a lunch buffet to be provided in the afternoon for the wedding party. There was a lot of miscommunication on what room this was in (they switched the conference room without telling us) and the food was served late. I don’t blame anyone directly but I just hope this can be a reminder to staff and to future brides to definitely confirm with the staff the final number of chairs cause it is something I never would have thought of before.

11/24/2021 • Toni L

We absolutely loved our experience getting married at The Knickerbocker. First and foremost, we could not have asked for a more accommodating and responsive vendor as we pushed our wedding from Oct. 2020 to July 2021 to Nov. 2021. After hearing so many COVID horror stories and conscious of how bad the hospitality and wedding industries were hit by COVID, we feel so grateful that the Knickerbocker was so flexible and still allowed us to have our dream wedding. Also want to shout out the full Knickerbocker team, and especially Wendy who took over a few months before our wedding, yet somehow made such a seamless transition it felt like she was our contact/coordinator the whole time. She is truly great at what she does - bending over backward for couples to make sure the day is perfect. Everyone was incredibly accommodating and welcomed us like family. The space is just amazing and rich with Chicago history. It's also situated between the lake and some of the best shopping and dining in the city which is a plus for out of town guests. We had both our ceremony and reception in the Crystal Ballroom and we were so impressed with how quickly they were able to transform that room! We received so many compliments from our guests about the entire night, but one of our favorites was that the food was probably the best wedding food they've ever had. The filet was cooked perfectly - which is so uncommon at weddings. Overall, every aspect was perfect and I would 10000000000000000% recommend the Knickerbocker to other brides and grooms (or other events for that matter).

7/07/2020 • Andrew W

I love this venue both inside and out. Inside it has the authentic feel and history of classic Chicago hotel and just out its' doors downtown awaits. A perfect spot for a celebration!!

3/22/2020 • Melissa L

We had our reception at the Knickerbocker in Chicago in the Crystal Ballroom, and it could not have been more perfect!! We stayed at the hotel the night before, as well as got ready in two rooms there on the day of. The hotel staff was AMAZING...they brought us bar stools for makeup, made sure the rooms were clean after we left (since we got ready in the bridal suite), and were so wonderful the entire weekend. The food was great, the wait and bar staff at the reception were incredible and so attentive, and every single guest complimented us on how beautiful the venue was! I must give a HUGE shout out to Kristin J., their wedding and catering manager. She made sure every last detail of our day went off without a hitch!! From when we first met her at the tasting, to planning conversations along the way, creating our day of timeline, and everything on the actual weekend of our wedding, Kristin made me feel like I was the only bride and she was as focused on making my day amazing as I was! Working with her let me know everything was in great hands on the day of our wedding & that I wouldn't have to worry about a thing--and I didn't! It was perfect!

12/11/2019 • Hannah O

The Millennium Knickerbocker is the best wedding venue out there! We fell in love and remain in love with the Knickerbocker. The ballroom is absolutely breathtaking. They provide top notch service, the best I have ever seen at a wedding (and we have been to 13 in the last year!). Literally they wear white gloves. The guest have a surprise entrance to the ballroom which gives the ultimate WOW factor. Best of all they have a champagne parade! Not to mention the light up dance floor. The overall service was amazing throughout the process and Louie made our night extra special by ensuring everything went seamless. The night was flawless and honestly perfect. If you are looking for the most beautiful crystal/gold ballroom for your wedding day you must book Millennium Knickerbocker!

7/02/2019 • Ben M

The Knickerbocker puts on over 70 weddings per year, and it shows - in a good way! Their planning and execution of our wedding was absolutely flawless. Seriously, with all the moving pieces of a wedding, added to the fact that they flipped the ballroom from ceremony to reception in under an hour, there was a lot of potential for error. The Knickerbocker staff had exactly zero errors, and everything about the evening was exactly, 100% as we had planned it. We used several outside vendors (decorations, DJ, photographer/videographer, cake) and we did not have to speak to a single one of them on the day of the event. Our venue manager (Justin) managed every single vendor behind the scenes without ever taking us away from enjoying the moment. He truly understands that the couple should not have to worry about logistics on the day of the wedding. He thinks of things that you would never have thought of (like ushering you away from cocktail hour to get a couple minutes of silence and FOOD before you have to mingle again) but are incredibly helpful. The food was incredible and competitively priced for the area. It came out hot and all guests were served at the same time. We also opted for the top shelf open bar and did not regret it. The bartenders were efficient and the drinks were delicious. The late-night food station was a hit as well (though I didn't get the opportunity to enjoy it). Two years later, I still get compliments on how beautiful and fun our wedding was. Everything went off without a hitch. I cannot recommend the Knickerbocker more.

1/18/2019 • Kristen L

Best Time Ever! We had a NYE Wedding and the Knickerbocker & staff made it everything we dreamed of. The room is absolutely gorgeous and doesn't need a ton of work for decor. The hotel itself has so much history and rooms were great for us and the guests; the bridal suite is huge and offered a ton of space for 10+ people to get ready the morning of. Tiffany, our wedding coordinator, was attentive and helpful throughout the entire planning process, responsive with questions, and made us feel at ease on the day of. Louie, the maitre d’, was our go to guy during the reception; he and his staff supplied A+ service and were so helpful with the unique elements we added to the wedding - including a confetti cannon blast at midnight from the balcony. They went above and beyond hunting for a personal wine glass the mother of the bride lost through the shuffle of dinner. We were absolutely thrilled with the Knickerbocker and would recommend to anyone!

11/04/2018 • Kathleen E

We had a great experience with Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel. During the initial part of our wedding planning, there were a few hiccups because of some miscommunication between their side and us, but everything went on smoothly after things were sorted out. Tiffany, the hotel event coordinator, was amazing. She was prompt to respond to all our inquiries, very professional and helpful. She helped us tremendously before and during our wedding day. We didnt need to hire a day-of-wedding coordinator since Tiffany and her team provided that service to us. The huge crystal chandeliers and lit dance floor also made the ballroom extra beautiful. We didn't need to purchase a lot of decorations and flowers because the ballroom was already grandiose to start with. The food was very delicious and the service was excellent. We highly recommend this hotel to anyone who wants a classy, elegant and memorable wedding.

10/18/2017 • Hillary R

My husband and I fell in love with the Knickerbocker and their Crystal ballroom as soon as we saw it. I loved the feel of the boutique hotel and the history. We knew that was our venue at that moment for our wedding day! As a Bride you understand that not everything will go as expected on the day of. What you don’t expect to go wrong is your dinner service. Where do I begin? I’ll start off with, myself and my husband were not served first nor was our bridal party. I received the wrong entree and had to tell the servers what I ordered. It was brought to our attention by our bridal party that they were not served the correct entree during dinner service. They were supposed to receive steak and all of them received chicken because the servers said they ran out of steak. We brought this to the attention of our Coordinator at the Knickerbocker and he spoke to the banquet manager, yet their mistake wasn’t corrected nor addressed. A few days after our wedding we spoke to some of our guests, and the majority of them did not receive the entree they requested. They told us that they had to switch entrees at the table with other guests at their table because the servers gave them the wrong entree and would not provide them with what they ordered. In addition, they said the servers were not polite. This is not only embarrassing as a Bride and Groom, but for guests that have food allergies is unacceptable! I provided a key to the Coordinator a week in advance, in addition to individual guest names with entree choices. The banquet manager told me that the initials what I used for my key they interpret differently typically. For example, I used “F” for fish and “S” for steak. The banquet manager said that ‘F’ is used for filet and ‘S’ for salmon. Then what was the point in me providing a key if they weren’t going to use it?? I contacted the Coordinator at the hotel by phone and email a few days after our wedding and wanted this addressed immediately. We received no response back from anyone at the Knickerbocker! On top of that, the Coordinator and I made some adjustments to our agreement that was not communicated to accounting. Due to this, my card was charged for fees that the Knickerbocker did not inform me of beforehand. Overall, the communication at the Knickerbocker between the Coordinator and banquet manager was terrible. Someone dropped the ball, yet no one was willing to take the blame or address the issue to make my husband and I happy for their huge inconvenience to us and our guests. This is very disappointing. I wanted to post this to caution any future Bride and Groom that book the Knickerbocker for your wedding venue, so that this does not happen to them. Hoping I can save a major issue like this on your big day!

12/06/2016 • Kelly P

I cannot begin to say enough good things about my wedding at The Knickerbocker! I began the process back in January, and The Knickerbocker was the first of 12 venues that my husband and I saw. We had a meeting scheduled with Mark Johnson. Our first meeting with Mark was effortless. He was kind, very thorough, and interested in getting to know my husband and I. I did not feel like "just another couple" with him. As the months went on, Mark continued to be forthcoming with details and information, which I really appreciated. I did not feel like I had to hound him down; he was always two steps ahead of me. The few days before the wedding were so easy because of the staff at the hotel. According to our guests, the food was great, the dance floor was stellar, and the hotel blocks were very reasonable. They also said the dinner was staffed and timed perfectly. I would recommend The Knickerbocker to anyone who is planning a wedding and wants an unique 1920's style wedding!

5/27/2014 • Clare

We were very, very unhappy with the customer service at this venue when exploring it as an option for a wedding. Rude is a polite term for the attitude towards our party.

3/25/2014 • Kala C

The staff at the Knickerbocker are unbelievably accomodating - especially throughout the wedding weekend. From the moment our guests arrived they were waited on nonstop. The months and weeks leading up to the wedding were very stress-free due to the catering department's flexibility and organization. The ballroom is absolutely gorgeous! It's a must-see!

11/03/2013 • Carina S

I cannot say enough amazing things about the Knickerbocker and the wedding coordinator Victor Zarroli. They made our dream wedding come true and were extremely wonderful to work with. I knew that I wanted our wedding to be at the Knickerbocker, long before my husband ever even purposed. We attended a charity even in 2010 and fell in love with the Crystal Ballroom. Three years later when my husband popped the question, I knew that the Knickerbocker had to be our venue. After meeting Victor the wedding coordinator, there were no other options. Victor is fabulous and is attentive to al of your needs and answers any of your questions. The staff at the Knickerbocker go above and beyond to ensure that your big day is everything that you've wanted and that it is perfect. The food is outstanding and the service is exceptional. Your guests will love the light up dance floor and the white glove service that is provided to them. I couldn't have asked for anything more on our special day and highly recommend the Knickerbocker.

8/14/2013 • Jacqueline R

What I wanted: An architecturally interesting, historic, unique, chic & classy venue in downtown Chicago. I got this and more at the Knickerbocker Hotel! My husband and I looked at pretty much all the other comparable venues in Chicago and this was the ONE! Not going to lie, if we were millionaires my first pick would have been The Blackstone, but the much more "affordable" Knickerbocker won out. It was "love at first sight" when we entered the Crystal Ballroom for the first time. It is such an unforgettably beautiful room that we did not have to worry too much about decorations. Can't forget to mention the light-up dance floor here - the guests just loved it (especially the kids!!) I also found the "all inclusive" wedding package (includes the space, table/chairs/linens, food, drink, cake, champagne parade, etc) to be a wedding planning blessing. Since the Knickerbocker has only one ballroom, you don't have the share your big day with other wedding parties, which makes it that much more special! I also liked the separate cocktail hour spaces. Chef Valeria Benner was ABSOLUTELY amazing and we got a ton of compliments about the food; from several guests even heard that the "filet was cooked just perfect" (never heard this before at a wedding). The fact that our guests could also stay at the same place as the reception was a huge plus, and yet it didn't feel like your typical hotel wedding. As the bride and groom, we got the Bridal Suite comp'd for two nights(ahhh it was so amazing I didn't want to leave!). If you are having a large wedding (200+), don't hesitate to ask them to throw in some stuff... You never know unless you ask! :) Most importantly, Victor Zarroli, the Catering Manager, was with us from day one and made the planning both a breeze and a blast! He was sure to accommodate any requests and was just an absolute joy to work with! We were so happy when Aleen joined his team later in the year, because she proved to be a huge help and was such a pleasure to work with - great attitude, so patient & so sweet! She even helped us get our guest favors' for a great price with her connections! I could go on and on about this place, but in the end, all that really matters is that I would never even think about changing our wedding venue - it was absolutely perfect for what we wanted and just as important, our guests enjoyed themselves immensely! The service team, especially Victor, really came through on the wedding day and made me feel like a princess! I had no worries on my wedding day thanks to them!

10/18/2012 • Kimberly P

My husband and I didn't have a difficult deciding on our venue – the moment we walked into the Knickerbocker's Ballroom we knew. It's rich history and beautiful aesthetic is difficult to compete with! Chicago's only light up dance floor was the icing on the cake;). The Knickerbocker has by far one of the most beautiful Ballrooms - if not the most beautiful! It's nice that the hotel is a boutique hotel so my wedding was the only event going on at the hotel. (As opposed to the Drake where there could be 3 going on!) Overall, the hotel and service was great. The food was AMAZING and I love that they team with Sarah's Pastries and Candies for the cake. My only complaint is the Catering Manager situation... They had a high turnover in management while I was planning – so either make sure you're willing to be on top of what's going on or hire a coordinator. Luckily, the Catering Captain Luis (who has been there for over a decade) was amazing to work with and truly passionate about making it a successful day.

1/24/2012 • Lisa D

When I looked at pictures of the Knickerbocker Hotel I immediately thought...No. I do not like gold, the light up dance floor is cheesy, absolutely not. Then I went there and I am so glad that I did. The venue is absolutely breathtaking. Pictures do not so the Crystal Ballroom justice in the least. The gold, and there is a lot of it, is beautiful and captures the feeling of Old Chicago. The light up dance floor is so fun and large! We actually had our head table on part of the floor because it is just so very big that you need some of that room! The staff was amazing and they did everything to make sure we were taken care of, even after losing several members of their staff over the year we planned they still made sure we were taken care of first. They did a great job.

11/20/2011 • Lauren G

We literally looked at one place for our wedding which was the Knickerbocker and fell in love! Not only is the room/light up dance floor amazing but the day of the wedding everyone was amazing! We were worried about the food at the hotel only because many of the weddings we had been to in hotels before were well below what our expectations were but every last thing was delicious here. Everyone is still raving about how good the food was. I would 100% recommend this hotel anyone who is looking for a place in Chicago to get married!

11/07/2011 • Elise N

So this place is absolutely amazing and beautiful. However, the customer service made the whole experience a disaster. Fortunately nothing was seen by our guests so it was mainly just added stress for us but it was handled so poorly, I have a hard time recommending working with the Knickerbocker in the future. I agree with the first review about Mimi Lopez, she was AMAZING! Honestly, she was the reason we chose to have the wedding at the Knickerbocker. She sold us on the all inclusive package and the ease of having the ceremony and reception in one place for our out of town guests (which was the majority). However, 10 days before our wedding, Mimi left the Knickerbocker for another hotel and we got stuck with Kelly. She dropped so many balls on our wedding day and the day before and was so unavailable both days that it was so much more stressful than we were promised our wedding day would be during the sales process. When my mother or I or my husband talked to her about it, she just tried to placate us with nice things to say but no real acceptance of responsibility or a commitment to make it better. She actually made it sound like it was our fault...somehow. The details of all the things that went wrong are not important right now and granted, some of it may have been because of the transition between Mimi and Kelly, but honestly, there are better ways to handle things when they go wrong other than making the bride and groom feel like it was our fault for expecting the certain experience we were promised over the last 6 months of planning. Kelly came off to me and my family as extremely inexperienced, unprofessional and honestly made the whole experience worse. The things that went wrong would not have been so upsetting had they been handled with better customer service. Definitely not what we expected from a venue that does this all the time for a pretty large price tag. We definitely missed Mimi!

4/02/2011 • H C

My wedding reception will not happen for a few months yet, but my initial experience with the Millennium Knickerbocker has been outstanding. Contact Mimi Lopez. She knows what she is doing.

11/24/2010 • Rebecca B

The staff and services at the Knickerbocker are excellent. The planning process was relatively painless and the Knickerbocker was always able to respond to us promptly. They were the venue most willing to work with us in terms of pricing and package, which is why we ultimately chose them. Plus, they have a light up dance floor. Win win! They easily reworked menu items for us to remove the mushrooms (allergic!) and even gave the bride's father green beans instead of broccolini at the reception per her request! Since they work with a catering minimum and we were short ours, we were given several fantastic options to upgrade and one that we chose was the Champagne Parade - which was so very amazing! I highly recommend it. The evening went perfectly - the staff had everything under control. From our guests we heard nothing but compliments: the room is amazing, the food is amazing, the coffee is amazing, the white-gloved waiters were amazing. Our Banquet Captain Luis escorted us seamlessly through the introductions and cake cutting and even managed to find time to hop into our photobooth! He was always right there if we needed something - from a champagne top off to simply answering a question on the dinner schedule. The events manager Lauren noticed that our guests were getting antsy and had the bar re-open a half an hour early to get them through the traditional dances. The event itself is quite unique, with the guests escorted in and out of the ballroom in different ways, the cocktails being in a relatively open area and basically all of the trimmings the Knickerbocker offers really sets it apart. The room is stunning, so no need to spend tons and tons on flowers and arrangements. Oh! And the room we were given for the night was divine! The hotel only has one event space of this magnitude, so the whole staff is focused on you during your day - which was kind of awesome. After all of the horror stories I've heard during my planning, I expected SOMETHING to go wrong that day. If it did, it wasn't the Knickerbocker!