Plan Your Own Hangover Vacation
In celebration of the "Hangover Part II" release, we're confident there will be plenty of hangovers to have this Memorial Day Weekend. That's why we're helping you plan your own hangover vacation: party hotels where you'll have nights to remember (or forget).
First up…
1. MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas
MGM Grand is the second largest hotel in the world (and it only lost the first spot recently), so it stands to reason that this hotel would be a perfect place to unleash one's party animal side in the biggest casino in town -- right alongside the lions. Studio 54 is a 22,000-square-foot nightclub with four dance floors and go-go dancers that purports to be a wilder version of the New York City original. The six other bars and lounges include Tabu Ultra Lounge, Centrifuge, and Rouge. The Wet Republic pool scene can get out of control with live DJs, swimsuit competitions, and the like.
2. The Standard Hollywood, Los Angeles
DJs spin in the lobby and at the Purple Lounge, and spontaneous pool parties erupt nightly behind this retro-future hotel (hanging bubble chairs in the lobby, bean bags in the rooms) from Andre Balazs. Poolside wait service runs until midnight, turning the blue-Astroturf-covered deck into a popular hangout for guests and young Hollywood scenesters. The diner-style restaurant stays open 24 hours, perfect for soaking up the alcohol with some mac and cheese or fries.
3. The Delano Hotel, Miami
The Delano is one of the coolest and most popular spots on South Beach, drawing a wide range of clientele. The party begins in the the lobby's crowded and red-lit Rose Bar, and then the crowds continue out the back and around the pool, and also underground to Lenny Kravitz's Florida Room nightclub, where Miami club promoter Tommy Pooch hosts a weekly party every Saturday night. There are live DJs, $17 mojitos, and tight security -- a well-known, see-and-be-seen party scene.
4. 60 Thompson, New York City
A60 is one of the city's most exclusive rooftop bars -- its open only to card-carrying members (read: celebrities, fashion types, and other bold-named scenesters) and hotel guests. Unlike some supposedly members-only clubs, it actually isn't that easy to get in without a connection, and those lucky few who do can enjoy the city views in a low-key, surprisingly unpretentious atmosphere. Thom Bar, which has a minimalist, dark-wood interior and and attractive, black-clad staff, also draws a happening scene and stays open until 2 a.m.
5. Clift, San Fransisco
Where most of downtown's hotel bars tend to be subdued and subtle, the Clift's Redwood Room feels like a night club, complete with $20 cocktails, modern art, Philippe Starck-designed furniture, and a large enough crowd of late-night revelers that even standing space becomes high-value real estate as the night goes on. Legend has it the bar was carved from a single redwood tree -- hence the name: Redwood Room.
6. W Boston
The W's stylish lobby area, the Living Room, is quiet by day, and a happening bar by night -- a hallmark of the W brand. The cool, modern space has sleek booths, oversize suede chairs, metal curtains, and trickling water panels. But this being Boston, there's also a crackling fire that the the young, attractive crowd gathers around to sip their pineapple martinis.
7. Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas
Hard Rock is one of the most unapologetically hedonistic hotels in Las Vegas, which is a hard trophy to come by in this town. On Sunday, the Beach Club Pool hosts Rehab -- a pool party so raucous, they turned it into its own reality TV show. The hotel's nightclub, Vanity, just opened on New Year's Eve 2010 and promises to have the same celebrity cachet as its predecessor, Body English. And true to its Hard Rock name, big-name bands regularly play the recently renovated Joint, a 4,000-seat venue attached to the hotel.
8. Wynn Las Vegas
The Wynn is home to two of the Strip's most popular nightclubs -- one intimate, the other a full-on party. Tryst is a 12,000-square-foot club with a 90-foot waterfall, go-go dancers on tables, waitresses with prepared shots (tequila and lemon drops), and a very danceable club mix draw scantily clad twentysomethings. The lounge, where there are sitting areas for bottle service, looks out on the surreal Lake of Dreams. Those who don't have the style or the famous face to get past the Tryst bouncers can instead party at Blush, a smaller, more intimate nightclub with an onyx dance floor that lights up. Next door, the Encore hotel has another esteemed nightclub, XS.
9. Hotel Gansevoort, New York City
Five years after it opened, the Gansevoort's rooftop lounge, Plunge, continues to pull in a nightly parade of short-skirted and high-heeled twenty- and thirty-something women and their male counterparts. The skyline views are superb.
10. Fontainebleau Resort, Miami
Built in 1954, it was the hangout of the rat pack in its heyday, but it had fallen from the headlines until its $1 billion facelift in 2008. Every restaurant has its own bar, the most popular being Bleau Bar, which features a panoramic view of the pools by day. In the evening, head to LIV, which many consider to be the only real nightclub in this area of Miami Beach. True, celebs ranging from Maria Sharapova to P-Diddy have dropped by to party, but the stars usually only come out for closed door events, like Ocean Drive magazine's anniversary party. On regular nights, it's like any other club with neon lights flashing over a crowd of striped shirts cozying up to high-heeled blondes.
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