Two more year-round outdoor drinking spots in NYC

A few weeks back we looked into where you can enjoy an al fresco winter drink in New York, and it looks like the hotel gods must be reading Oyster, because this month we've got not one, but two brand new, all-season bars debuting at NYC hotels.


First up is the Strand Hotel, which opened in midtown last month and just debuted a hell of an amenity: set on the roof is the Top of The Strand bar, featuring up-close views of the Empire State Building. But even more impressive is the retractable glass roof that makes for prime outdoor drinking in the summertime and preserves those views for almost-outdoor drinking in the winter. 33 W. 37th St.


But TotS doesn't have the only new retractable roof in down. Over in Midtown East, the Kimberly Hotel recently soft opened its own rooftop bar, Upstairs, a lounge-y drinking space that come complete with panoramic skyline views, heated floors and yep, retractable glass panels that allow the bar to stay open all winter. 145 E. 50th St.


Retractable roofs ---the hot new hotel amenity for 2010? We're calling it now.


--Brendan Spiegel of Endless Simmer.