Luxury
hotels draw travelers looking for high-end pampering or a unique escape
that includes not only posh accommodations, stunning pool or elegant grounds,
but an impressive lobby and lobby bar as well.

Lobby bars not only provide respite after a busy day of
travel or local exploration, but they are places to chill, relax or socialize
with a cocktail in hand. A hotel bar may be just a place to get a drink at some
destinations, but others offer a myriad of amazing historic, cultural,
artistic and creative experiences that accompany that libation. Here are some
top extravagant hotel lobby bar choices. 

The Carousel Bar & Lounge, Hotel Monteleone, New Orleans

New Orleans’ Hotel Monteleone is renowned for its famous
rotating Carousel Bar. Installed in the 1940s, it features a large, circular
counter that slowly revolves, giving patrons a constant changing view of the
surroundings. The bar turns on 2,000 large steel rollers pulled by a chain and
powered from a one-quarter horsepower motor at a constant rate of one
revolution every 15 minutes.

The bar features 25 seats adorned with luxurious, vibrant
upholstery, giving it an elegant, throwback feel. Patrons can enjoy a wide
selection of cocktails, including classic New Orleans drinks like the Sazerac
and the Vieux Carré (old square).

Peacock Alley, Waldorf Astoria New York

Following a meticulous restoration, Peacock Alley remains
the heart of the luxury hotel where guests will find the historic Waldorf
Astoria Clock and Cole Porter Piano. Restored to its former glory and
positioned in the center of Peacock Alley, the Waldorf Astoria Clock was
crafted in London for the 1893 World’s Fair.

Cole Porter was a longtime resident of the hotel and his
Steinway piano, gifted to him by hotel staff, has been carefully restored and
relocated to its permanent home in Peacock Alley.  Signature drinks include the Waldorf Cocktail
and 50th St Martini.

SkyHigh Lounge at Four Seasons Philadelphia

Located atop of Philadelphia’s tallest and newest
skyscraper, the Four Seasons Hotel’s accommodations span the 48^th to
60^th floors of the Comcast Technology Center in the heart of
bustling downtown Center City.

The Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s signature restaurant
Jean-George and the lounge sit on the 59^th and 60^th
floors, offering guests sweeping, breathtaking, unobstructed 360-degree views
of the city from every angle.

Palmer House, a Hilton Hotel, Chicago

The Lobby Bar at Lockwood is the perfect place to sip
curated cocktails and enjoy shared plates. Guests raising a glass at Palmer
House can toast under a canvas of 21 Greek mythological frescos lit by the warm
glow of Louis Comfort Tiffany Winged Angel candelabras. The awe-inspiring
living, breathing piece of history was fully restored to its original beauty
with careful attention to the intricate details, down to the most important
matters, a perfectly prepared cocktail.

The Wright Bar, Arizona Biltmore

Opened in 1929, the Arizona Biltmore has seen an impressive
list of historical figures and celebrities staying in its confines, ranging
from presidents to musicians.

Centrally located in the lobby, the elegant Wright Bar is
the home of the famous Tequila Sunrise. Concocted in the 1930s by bartender
Gene Sulit, the drink has remained a favorite cocktail of many, along with
entertainers who performed like Frank Sinatra and an impromptu performance by
none other than The Piano Man, Billy Joel in the bar.

Palma at Santa Monica Proper

Relaxed elegance meets thoughtful nourishment at this
stunning bar located on the ground floor of the Southern California venue.
Guests are greeted with an impressive art-filled lobby, then head to the
welcoming sculptural bar for small plates, cold-pressed juices, small-batch
spirits and crafted cocktails.

The beauty of the bar lies in the palm trees that surround a
magnificently crafted monolithic bar along with carved out niches for comfort
and relaxation. There’s nothing like taking in those California-cool vibes with
a SoCal cocktail in hand.

Trifecta at Four Seasons, Boston  

Inspired by the New England coast, this vibrant restaurant
and Back Bay cocktail bar are a delightful nod to Boston’s vibrant culture and
character. A curated collection of cocktails pay homage to the city’s most
celebrated neighborhoods and legendary baseball park.

Some of these creative concoctions include The Green
Monster, Boston (Un) Common, Joy Street, Ciao Bella! and New Berry Street.
Tools of the Trade is a classic twist on a Manhattan with of course…that famous
accompanying smoke.

The Lobby Bar, The Lincoln, Maine  

This design-centric hotel located in downtown Biddeford is
set in a luxuriously reimagined mill that was once the beating heart of Maine’s
booming textile industry. The star of the show is the unique lobby that greets
each patron with an amazing bar.

The Lobby Bar features a grand ‘40s and ‘50s nightclub vibe
with opulent cocktails such as the Lincoln’s twist of a French 75, a classic
libation enhanced with Peach Combier, and other curated beverages.

The lobby’s eccentric design draws the eye in every
direction, mixing colors, patterns, materials, and original artwork from a
talented local artist. Throughout their stay, guests can enjoy plush velvet
seating flanked by exposed brick walls, a hint at the hotel’s historic roots.  

The Bar, Auberge du Soleil, Napa

Imagine enjoying a glass of Napa wine or a cocktail while
taking in the sweeping vineyards and olive trees from a sun-drenched terrace.
Somehow that libation tastes all the better in these unforgettable picturesque
surroundings.

The views are stunning and so easy to just relax and
rejuvenate at this luxurious yet laid-back wine country favorite serving drinks
and small plates.

The St. Regis Bar Bal Harbour Miami  

Rising 27 stories over fashionable Collins Avenue and a
stunning white sand beach, this luxury hotel in Miami Beach represents a
wonderful combination of art, fashion and design.

The St. Regis bar invites guests to unwind and relax
offering an exclusive collection of the world’s finest champagnes, select
vintages and hand-crafted cocktails in a tropical, timeless and modern setting.

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It’s the end of an error.

New York City’s last-standing — and most notorious — migrant hotel will soon stop housing illegal border crossers, The Post has learned.

The once-four-star Row NYC hotel on Eighth Avenue in Midtown was repurposed in October 2022, so its 1,331 rooms could be used as a shelter while the Big Apple dealt with the crippling migrant crisis, but Mayor Eric Adams confirmed the city’s $5.13 million-a-month contract with the hotel won’t be renewed in April.

The deal has allowed the hotel — which is owned by Boston-based real estate titan Rockpoint Group — to already rake in more than $170 million.

It’s unclear what the future holds for the establishment, which once charged $414 to $435 per weeknight for standard rooms before becoming a shelter. Reps for the company did not return messages.

“We are proud to share that we will be closing another site — the Row Hotel, the last hotel in the city’s emergency shelter system — marking yet another major milestone in our administration’s recovery from this international humanitarian crisis,” Adams told The Post Friday.

The Row, which boasts on its website that it is “more New York than New York,” was the first hotel to be enlisted by the city to take in migrants after Adams declared the city’s existing homeless shelter system had reached a “breaking point.”

Since then, it’s been magnet for stabbings and other crimes, with rowdy Tren de Aragua-linked gangbangers among its tenants, including one 25-year-old Venezuelan migrant who allegedly broke into a Manhattan prosecutor’s apartment, robbed her at gunpoint and pleasured himself in front of her.

Other thugs staying there also attacked cops on numerous occasions, including a July 2024 incident where one officer was bitten and another had a moped hurled at them.

Workers there have also complained the hotel has become a wild “free-for-all” of sex, drugs and violence after the city began housing migrants there.

The Midtown South Precinct, that includes Row NYC and the Times Square area, has long had among the highest crime rates in the city. Although the precinct saw a nearly 10% decline in crime this year compared to 2024, burglaries are up nearly 16% and felony assaults 2%, NYPD data as of Aug. 3 show

The migrant crisis has cost city taxpayers more than $8 billion since spring 2022 to provide food, shelter and other services to over 238,000 migrants who flooded into the country because of former President Joe Biden’s lax border policies.

Local residents and workers in the Times Square business district hailed the news Saturday that the migrants would soon be leaving Row NYC.

“Hallelujah. I’m happy that it’s happening,” said a resident of The Camelot rental apartment complex across the street.  “We pay a lot of money to live here, and it doesn’t seem fair.”

“There are people sitting here all day, littering, leaving food waste, water bottles…,” the resident said.  “A lot of them have children, and there are women sitting around here smoking weed all day, the children are just playing on the street, on the bike lanes.

“It’s killed a lot of the business in this neighborhood. I would much rather see the Row filled with tourists who are supporting business rather than migrants who are draining it.”

Others who work for local businesses blamed the migrants’ arrival on declining profits, with one security guard saying he started wearing a wedding ring to fend off migrant hookers living at the hotel because they’ve propositioned him twice.

At its peak, NYC used 220 hotels and other contracted sites to house the newcomers.

As of June 25, 2024, the city was operating 193 migrant shelters of which 153, or nearly 80%, were former hotels and other lodging establishments like The Roosevelt in Midtown that were being subsidized by taxpayer dollars, according to an internal list active shelters then reviewed by The Post.

Others included houses of worship, recreation centers, and controversial pop-up “tent city” complexes, including one erected to house 3,000 migrants on Randall’s Island; nearly 2,000 at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn; and another 1,000 outside Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens.

However, the city is now down to just four contracted shelters, with the Row NYC being the last remaining lodging establishment.

The Department of Homeless Services has slowly absorbed remaining migrants into the city-run shelter system, which as of last week was caring for 92,000 residents, including 35,400 migrants.

“Three years ago, thousands of migrants and asylum seekers began streaming into our city every week — and the Adams administration stepped up,” the mayor said Friday.  

“We opened hundreds of emergency migrant shelters to ensure no family slept on the street. Since then, we have successfully helped more than 200,000 migrants leave our shelter system and take the next step toward self-sufficiency, the migrant population in our care continues to decline, and we have closed 64 emergency migrant sites, including all of our tent-based facilities.”

“We have skillfully and humanely managed a national humanitarian crisis — and have done what no other city could do,” he added.

Additional reporting by Khristina Narizhnaya