Best Hotel Bars in New York City

With views like this and this, Salon de Ning would make our list of best bars if all it served were luke-warm cans of brew. But this being the Peninsula, the decor that evokes 1930s Shanghai is almost as intoxicating as the perfectly crafted $22 cocktails.

The Empire Hotel's top-floor bar overlooks Broadway and is capped by a huge neon sign that casts a sexy red glow on guests and visitors alike, here to drink in the views as well as the cocktails.

The Rose Bar, a velvet-heavy lounge filled with celebs and beautiful people, is still one of the coolest scenes in town -- a testament to the staying power of this super-trendy Ian Schrager-Julian Schnabel project. When our reporter stopped in for a drink, he ran into Sting. While we can't guarantee you'll bump into one of The Police, the Andy Warhols and Keith Harings will certainly bedeck the walls.

It's not your typical hotel bar; then again, this isn't your typical hotel. The Ace Hotel's lobby and lobby bar have become the place for New York's young, MacBook-toting tech set, and the organic comfort food, specialty cocktails, and high-end coffee the hip kids demand are on all available here. Grab a communal table, order an excellent lamb burger from the on-site restaurant, The Breslin, and strike up a conversation about Twitter with your table mates. You might just leave with a new round of venture capital funding.

It's the only swim-up bar in New York, and the dimly lit space would be one of the most sexy in the city even if most of the patrons weren't dripping wet. Pay with plastic -- or do what locals do and pack your cash in a Ziploc.