Article: Kane County splendor // Grande dame of a hotel stands proud in St. Charles

The Hotel Baker was once known as the ``Best Little Hotel in the World.'' And she is coming back in a big way. The elegant hotel along the west bank of the Fox River in downtown St. Charles commemorates its 70th birthday this year.

The grand old lady had been retired since 1969 - in fact had been used as a senior retirement center. In 1996 St. Charles businessmen Craig Frank and Neil Johnson bought the hotel and began a two-year, $9 million renovation of the property, which is on the National Historic Register.

The hotel reopened to the public last November.

She features an Art Deco-tinged Charlemagne Lounge, a restaurant and a 200-seat oval ballroom with a dance floor encircled by a ...

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