The World’s Top Ten Party Hotels – PART 8

A renaissance continues to rock LA’s formerly business-only Downtown neighbourhood.

The past decade has brought slick residential condos, a concert hall, plenty of art galleries, and stylish bars, restaurants, and party hotels (the rooftop at The Standard Downtown remains a trendy drink spot) and, now, the transformation – from a no-fly zone to a stylish city enclave – is nearly complete with the unveiling of the enormous, 2.5-billion-dollar L.A. LIVE, a sports, entertainment, and hotel complex next to the STAPLES Center and Nokia Theatre.

Considered the cornerstone of Downtown’s new entertainment endeavour, the Ritz-Carlton at L.A. LIVE, opened in April 2010, is stacked on top of the also new JW Marriot and the Ritz-Carlton Residences on the upper floors of a 54-story, LEED-certified tower, and features a sleek, contemporary aesthetic (a fresh look for a Ritz) and a full-service spa.

Just minutes away from the hotel, guests can take advantage of L.A. LIVE’s offerings — bowl at Lucky Strike Lanes, dine at restaurants like Katsuya or Rosa Mexicana, catch a Lakers game, rage at a Lady Gaga concert (she has shows scheduled at the STAPLES Center in March), perhaps even attend the Grammys — then head for some pre- or post-event partying to the Ritz’s Club Lounge on the 23rd floor for cocktails and sweeping city views; the rooftop pool lounge, Ion, on the 26th floor; or WP24, Wolfgang Puck’s onsite Asian restaurant.

The hotel’s I Love L.A. LIVE package, priced from $309/night, includes a guest room, 10 percent off dining, valet parking, and any two L.A. LIVE add-ons like Bowling with shoe rental at Lucky Strike Bowling, movie tickets at Regal Cinemas, ESPN Zone Game Cards, and Grammy Museum tickets. Standard rack rates go for $309/night.

The World’s Top Ten Party Hotels – PART 7

If you want to party in Paris with the in-crowd, the Murano Resort is the place. Situated on the border of the trendy Marais neighborhood, the Murano’s 43 rooms and nine suites (two with private outdoor heated pools) feature cutting-edge technology; each opens using fingerprint ID and can essentially transform into a personal disco, thanks to in-room stereos and a high-tech system for playing with the room lights’ colours and levels.

Down in the bar lounge — actually two party venues separated by a glass wall with a DJ booth in the middle — you’ll find 180 types of vodka on offer. Paris’s young and fabulous gather here for nightly DJ sessions with special guests hitting the turntables on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Take a breather away from the techno-fuelled turntables at the ground-floor Martini Terrace lounge (open-air in summer, covered in winter), serving up Italian fare with smooth martinis until 2am. Even Murano’s dining options cater to the party set: The Murano Restaurant has its own DJ and serves breakfast until noon (perfect for the hangover-prone). Plus, all rooms have an espresso machine for an immediate caffeine fix. Stay over on a Saturday and indulge in all-day Sunday brunch, available from 11.30am to 5pm. For a full-on weekender, this party hotel offers the Rock n’Luxe package (from €600/night) for two nights in an M room, champagne upon arrival, round-trip airport transfers, unlimited mini-bar access, breakfast daily, and late checkout. Rates start at €350/night.

The World’s Top Ten Party Hotels – PART 6

Checking out your room at the Metropolitan London — with its minimalist sophistication, COMO Shambhala bath products, Egyptian cotton sheets, and yoga mat, and sweeping views of Hyde Park from some — you may not feel like you’ve just checked into the biggest party hotel in London, but you have.

After lunch or dinner at the hotel’s Michelin-starred Nobu outpost, head over to the Met Bar. The party starts during Afternoon De-Light (Monday–Saturday, 3pm to 6pm), an alternatively alcoholic take on English teatime where alcohol-optional mar-tea-nis are served alongside healthier versions of traditional scones and sandwiches.

Things really heat up at night when the bar hosts the latest London DJs, music acts, and entertainers; past performers include bands Oasis and Kings of Leon. The regular monthly schedule features themed events like “Rockaoke” (karaoke with a live band) and an electronica club night. The exclusive Met Bar is open to hotel guests and Met members only (aside from a small, impossible to penetrate, guest list) which makes booking a room here all the more appealing.

True revellers will want to book the hotel’s Party Like a Rock Star – Sleep Like a Baby package (from £309/night; subject to availability), which includes such essential amenities as Purple Haze shots (champagne-topped passionfruit vodka concoctions) on arrival, VIP access to several London nightclubs, and a “Party Box” with an inflatable guitar and hangover-hiding eye mask. Published rates start at £390/night.

PART FIVE:

Re-emerging from the glamour of its grand opening in 1954, the recently revamped Fontainebleau represents the next generation of Miami Beach iconicity, infused with the sexy, ultramodern spirit of the eccentric original.

A $1 billion renovation completed in 2008 has given the venue a brand new lease of life. Its celebrity pedigree can’t be beaten (old-school icons like Elvis and the Rat Pack used to prowl the halls) and now the Fontainebleau’s hot-spot LIV nightclub, considered one of the world’s best clubs by many, attracts A-listers like Jennifer Lopez, LeBron James, and Lady Gaga who performed at LIV’s New Year’s Eve party last year.

The 30,000-square-foot DJ-catered venue features eclectic entertainment and a voyeuristic design (you can see the entire venue from nearly every corner of the space) and is reason alone for the Fontainebleau’s major “party hotel” status.

And for those who crave a more mellow night, the Fontainebleau offers the more subdued, but no less glamorous, Bleau Bar in the hotel lobby and Glow Bar, a sophisticated pool lounge, open to hotel guests only, daily until sunset.

The guest rooms and suites, 1,504 in total, come with ocean views, blue accents, and personal 20-inch iMacs. After a long night out, hotel guests can nurse their hangovers with food from one of Fontainebleau’s 11 restaurants and lounges, including three haute eateries: Hakkasan, Scarpetta, and Gotham Steak. Room rates start from $189/night.

PART FOUR:

Everywhere you look at Fasano Rio de Janeiro, it’s a feast for the eyes. The hotel nods to the Rio of yesteryear with details such as 1960s-style furniture and vintage uniforms. A visual treat awaits on Fasano Rio de Janeiro’s rooftop deck, whose pool overlooks the delicious curve of Ipanema Beach.

The 3-year-old Fasano — a from-scratch concept of celebrated hotel design architect Philippe Starck — has made the fashionable Ipanema beachfront of Rio de Janeiro an even more desirable place-to-be–seen.

The Fasano’s charisma stems from its storied public spaces — lounge/bar Baretto-Londra (an edgy yet elegant homage to London, owner Rogério Fasano’s favourite city); see-and-be-seen Mediterranean-inspired seafood restaurant Fasano Al Mare (helmed by the former chef of a three-star Michelin Florentine eatery); and a rooftop swimming pool, steam room, and January 2010-debuted spa.

Together, they serve as a superlative microcosm of the Brazilian party capital’s legendary and seductive revelry. Party hotel den Baretto-Londra’s leather-clad aesthetic and exposed red-brick walls provide a glam-packed haven for chic Cariocas (Rio residents) and jet-setters, where classic rock tunes, weekend DJs, and the occasional live show supply the beats.

It’s the exclusive, guests-only rooftop scene that is Fasano’s coup de grace, though, where free-flowing bar service and a sexy infinity pool overlooking Rio’s iconic beachfront landscape define the city’s most coveted perch for sunsets and stargazing — of both kinds (P. Diddy, Madonna, and Beyoncé count among past patrons).