The Shoreham

Most people don't think of midtown Manhattan as a place to chill out—but don't tell the Shoreham, a 177-room hotel that resembles a chic spa retreat. The ground floor bar (whose menu includes a Cosmollini, a South Beachtini, and other flavored-vodka-and-fruit-juice concoctions) bursts with tropical colors—lime-green vinyl-upholstered seats, rippling swatches of teal silk encased in glass—and a flute of champagne is offered to guests at check-in. Whitewashed rooms, separated from Italian-marble bathrooms by milk-glass doors, have suede wall panels, illuminated headboards, and cushy pillow-top mattresses. The swanky Atrium Loft contains what the front desk claims is (at 40 square feet, with room for six) the largest hotel hot tub in the city.