Profile

The lounge on the ground floor of the W Hotel is a high-end hot spot that manages to stay down-to-earth. In their effort to see and be seen, the 30-somethings who dress to the nines for after-work cocktails or weekend-nights on the town can sometimes clog the entryway, but the casually dressed hotel guests lounging around plush velvet couches and over-stuffed sofas offer a reality check. The cavernous room is designed by renowned architect David Rockwell: Green topiary walls frame the 16-foot arched windows that look onto the north end of Union Square while across the room wavy wood panels conceal cold metallic walls. The cocktail menu changes with the season—fresh peach Bellinis in summer, apple-cider martinis in autumn, and classic Manhattans in winter—while Todd English's Olives offers sustenance be it tuna tartar, beef skewers or plain ol' french fries. — Yael Kohen