Stay (CLOSED)

Vikram Chatwal now has a portfolio of five New York City hotels (the others are Dream Downtown, Dream, Night and Time). Stay, which opened in autumn 2008, is the most accessible, but it has several of his signature theatrical lobby flourishes: a huge, tubular tropical fishtank, trippy lighting and snowy seating. In contrast, rooms are sleek but nondescript, decorated in dark wood with copper accents; the Bose Wave radio/iPod docks are a nice detail. Also fitting in with the group’s formula, Stay has a striking bar/restaurant/nightclub, the Aspen Social Club, which replicates a slightly surreal log hunting lodge with aged leather seating and an eye-popping, antler-themed light installation in the dining area.