W Hotel Opens in DC
This is my first initial review of the brand new W Hotel in downtown DC.Based on my three years of living in DC, hotels have never really been a nightlife destination. Some are graced with amazing restaurants, but rarely did my nocturnal agenda include a stop at a hotel bar. But all of that has changed recently. Hotel's in DC are getting into the nightlife act. The Beacon Hotel hosts a pretty sweet Sunday afternoon party on their roof known as The Coolout. The Capitol Skyline Hotel is using a beautiful redesign and swanky pool to host parties Friday, Saturday and Sunday. And now the premier upscale and trendy W Hotel has opened their doors just yards from the White House.
While living in San Francisco, I had the opportunity to
spend many evenings at the W Hotel in downtown SF. Their lounge, XYZ, was always a hot destination among locals in the city and so I was excited to think we'd have something like that arriving in the District. Enter POV.
POV - which I'm sure stands for Point of View because of the location - is a rooftop ultra lounge and terrace with some of the cities best views of the Washington Monument and other DC landmarks. It's quite literally 100 yards from the east wing of the White House. Word on the street was that POV would be providing drinks influenced by owner Sasha Petraske, who's made a name for himself in NYC mixing wonderfully-unique concoctions for A-list crowds. One
NYC publication suggests, "he is responsible for the recent cocktail renaissance this city has experienced." Sounds good eh!
We decided to book a table on the rooftop terrace Friday night, just 3 days after their official opening. We arrived to the Hotel walking down 15th Street and were greeted with velvet ropes and a line typical of any hot nightclub. Large doormen in suits with clipboards were there to make sure those on the list were granted entry and those not so connected stood in line. You know this is a classic trick of any club to give the impression of exclusiveness, because the places are never full inside. In fairness to the W Hotel, it was clearly the place to be among the DC nightlife mavens.
We walked into a beautiful lobby that was a mix between classic renaissance design and Alice in Wonderland funkiness. White ornate walls with grand arches surrounded a lobby bar with shiny red patent leather sofas and black and white chairs with exaggerated backs. Crystal chandeliers with purple lighting gave the entire room a sleek atmosphere you'd expect from the W Hotel. We were then greeted by more bouncers and a girl with another list who then allowed us to take the elevator up to POV.
This is where things got a little unorganized, which we have to remember is expected of any new venue on their first big Friday night. Coming off the elevator we were greeted by another hostess, this time with an electronic reservation system typical of any restaurant. But we then stood for 15 minutes waiting for them to "clear" our table because random guests were apparently planting their butts in seats marked reserved. So while we stood and waited, we peeked inside the ultra lounge side of POV. This room impressed me the most of everything I saw at the W. It was about as sleek as you can get with shiny black floors and black walls, all accented with red trim and red ambient lighting behind the bar. But it was the view out of the large windows that left me breathless. There...right behind the DJ spinning deep house, was the Washington Monument in all her glory. It was a scene I could never get tired of seeing and recommend everyone visit this lounge for a chance to see this inspiring city-scape.
We were finally moved to our table on the terrace where we found ourselves lounging in plush couches and enjoying cocktails just yards from the most famous house in the world. The setting is untouchable in DC as far as I'm concerned. It's a rooftop terrace with some of the best views in the city. The music is decent. The crowd is attractive and well dressed. The drinks however left a lot to be desired. I don't know if Sasha Petraske has anything to do with what is mixed on the terrace, but my "pina colada" cocktail was pretty damn lame. It arrived in a goblet that was about 3 quarters full. The drink itself had hints of pineapple and hints of rum, but the excessive ice just watered it down. Francis enjoyed a mojito that had definite hints of mint flavor but lacked the smoothness and refreshing flavor I've found at other bars. And at $15 per drink, I walked away feeling scammed more than impressed.
We ordered a warm chocolate cake with vanilla bean ice creme dessert to see if their happy endings were truly happy. I think they got this one right except when the waitress told me it was a Jean-Georges exclusive. I honestly don't care who created the idea of a molten chocolate cake...I just want it to taste good. And this one definitely hit the mark.
Overall I have mixed feelings about POV and the rooftop. I loved the setting, the atmosphere, the design and of course the view. I will most certainly go back. But I get the impression they are having a bit of an identity crisis right now. On one hand you feel like you're going into an exclusive club with a strict guestlist. On the other hand it's a restaurant where we made actual reservations to have a table. Clearly half the people on the terrace had not reserved a table, so there needs to be some direction on how to deal with those just coming for drinks and those actually sitting down to have dinner and/or desserts. I think with a few weeks under their belt things will smooth out and they'll get everything under control. The staff (or as they call them, "talent") was a bit overwhelmed with who was coming and who was going, who had reservations and who was just on "the list." This isn't new territory for the W, so I'm anxious to go back once they've got this baby operating as a well oiled machine.
Labels: Clubs, DJ, Entertainment, House, Music, Nightlife
Beers for Siers 3 - Part One
This is the first posting in a three part series from the 3rd Annual Beers for Siers pub crawl in NYC.On Friday, July 25th, I jumped on a Bolt bus with my friend Dervon to head up to NYC for my good friend Adam Siers' annual birthday weekend pub-crawl. I've been back on the east coast for close to two years now and figured it was time I head up to visit Siers.
So when we got into town, we figured we'd take Friday night as a chance to hit up some NYC clubs and get our groove on. Naturally, I went online and found a few places that fit our interest and a few with some well-known DJs spinning. So we showered up and grabbed a cab from mid-town down to SoHo for our first stop, Sullivan Room.
Here's the cool thing about Sullivan Room. It was hidden off Bleeker Street on a side road in the neighborhood. To find it, you had to know where it was. There was no sign or anything else to let you know it was there, aside from the two very large men standing at a door. We walked up and they said we were in the right place. Ruben T was spinning on the decks, so I was excited to get into one of the cities true underground house music rooms. And let me tell you, it was underground. It was in the basement of a non-descript building. The room was dark, red and had one of the sweetest sound systems you could ever imagine. When Ruben T blended into his hard pulsing house beats, you felt it through every bone in your body. We were quite literally at the center of the NYC house music world.
Here's the strange thing about Sullivan Room...it reminded me of the Jam Cellar. Now let me explain. Most of you know of my passion for dancing. Well the Jam Cellar is regarded as one of the greatest swing dance venues in the world. It's small, intimate, and most people know each other. And it's full of some of the best dancers in the world, which makes it a tad bit intimidating for newbie’s. Well Sullivan Room clearly was the spot for house music dancers. People walked in around 12:30, dressed purely to dance and nothing else. They stretched, hugged others they knew and began practicing their craft on the dance floor. I swear it was no different than anything we see at a swing dance, except it was house music. And oh my, these people could dance. They moved their bodies unlike any club dancer I have ever seen. Sure, there were a few rave-kid types doing their glow-stick impersonations...but this was venue and the music was for hardcore house-heads. It was one of the more unique things I've ever seen.
So we finished our drinks there and decided it was time to open things up a bit. We wanted big. We wanted flashy. We wanted glitz and glamour. We wanted to experience a true mega-club in the greatest city on earth. So we got into a cab and set out to find Mansion, a club with a sister venue in Miami known for it's over-the-top club experiences. We got into the neighborhood where Mansion was, but we never made it there. We got sidetracked by a venue called Marquee.
Now there is no saying that Marquee was better than Mansion. We'll never know at this point. But the line to get into Marquee definitely had us curious at what all the fuss was about. So leave it to Dervon to work her magic. Two minutes talking with the bouncer and here we are being escorted past the line into the venue. I'm thinking her 2 inch shorts and 4 inch heals probably had something to do with it, but who's complaining.
So Marquee was exactly what we wanted. It was multiple rooms with house, trance, and hip-hop. Dervon got to do her booty dancing to hip hop, I got my trance fix and everyone was happy with quality beverages to go around. Night one in NYC was perfect except for one little flaw. Poor Dervon lost her little wallet at Marquee, where we assume it fell out of her pocket and was quickly swept up by the cleaning staff at the club. She tried over the next few days to get it back, but to no avail.
Aside from that little blemish, Friday in NYC was perfect! Even the tater tots at F.A.T.S. were amazing. Day two brings more...
Labels: Clubs, DJ, Nightlife, NYC, Urban, Vacation
Blast From The Past
The above image comes from
a new photo gallery I launched over the weekend. It's called Tampa nightlife assortment and is a combination of nightlife images from various venues in the Tampa Bay Area.
If you're wondering, no, I didn't make a return trip to Tampa to tear up the town and frequent past nightlife haunts. I'd love to do that sometime soon, but for now I'm just relying on memories.
The truth is, I've been moving coast to coast and back with hundreds of nightlife images from Tampa that I never posted anywhere. I felt it was time to take advantage of the cold winter days and finally get these archived on my site. They aren't the greatest of images, but they represent the beginning of a two-year run in Tampa that saw me produce on hot little nightlife column for
TBO.com.
The story goes like this...
When Dan and I arrived in Tampa, we were well aware of the nightlife options in Ybor City. We also had the pleasure of having some local DJ friends who told us about other venues in more hip neighborhoods worth visiting. But we both realized there was a void of information on all the nightlife venues themselves and your best options for figuring out where to go came from the beer girls standing on the streets. Not to mention, if a world-class DJ was spinning locally, only those tied to trance/house music message boards got the word.
So I started writing. I started doing research on these venues and the performers they were bringing in. I quickly found a solid rotation of clubs that threw big parties every week and fortunately got my name on the right lists to hear of other big parties not well known to the general public. I got invited to NFL parties. I got invited to Derrick Jeter's big bash at Hard Rock. And when a new venue opened their doors, I was on the guest list as one of the first to see the new digs.
It was fun. It was a life I could've only dreamed of a few years earlier living in Greensboro, NC. So I quickly realized I needed to do two things while covering all these great parties. One was to bring a camera to document the chaos. Two was market my column and get readers. We all know guys love looking at pretty girls. The internet has made that a billion dollar industry. So I pocketed my wife's little 3 mega-pixel camera and started to shoot whenever I went out. Some of the images in the gallery I've linked to above reflect that little D-Snap camera. They're small, grainy, and could be confused for a cellphone picture these days. But this is where it all began.
After several months and her desire to reclaim her camera, my wife got me a nicer point-n-click to use on my nights out. What was happening at the time, and I didn't even realize it, was I started to develop a passion for photography. Of course I took standard shots of girls and people having a good time. That was all about marketing my column so these kids would go looking for their picture and find details on the next big party. But I found myself fascinated with what the camera could do with the lights, smoke and elements of a nightlife. I started seeing things I never noticed with the naked eye, like how light can cast a DJ in a wild silhouette or how movement is captured with a longer exposure.
All of this sounds elementary today with my Nikon semi-pro camera, multiple lenses and tripods. But the Tampa nightlife assortment gallery tells a story. And it also brings me back to some of the most enjoyable moments in my life. Progress is wonderful, and no doubt I've done what I could to take my photography to the next level. But we shall never forget our roots!
Labels: Clubs, DJ, Music, Nightlife, Tampa, Ybor
This is my first initial review of the brand new W Hotel in downtown DC.
