The Dream Downtown’s first selling point is its obviously spectacular location. Just around the corner from Chelsea Market, a block from the High Line, and a stone’s throw from the Meatpacking District and West Village, this hotel is literally everywhere you want to be. It also doesn’t hurt that it’s ’hood home of Chelsea is a mecca of world-class art galleries.
But the highest compliment to give the 12-story Dream Downtown is that to experience the city’s standard of cuisine and nightlife, guests needn’t leave the property. The hotel itself is a weekend affair, young and sceney, with a club atmosphere that resonates throughout the design and decor.
The lobby’s high-backed chairs and button-tufted banquette settees are scattered on a lushly carpeted floor before a well-stocked half-moon bar and wall of stacked Tecate and Modelo cans. The ceiling dazzles up-lookers who find themselves peering directly into the 50-foot heated glass-bottom pool of the hotel’s sand-filled “beach” courtyard. The velvet-roped PHD Rooftop Lounge in the north tower draws such big, exclusive crowds that not even hotel guests are guaranteed access. The space boasts gorgeous panoramic views of the skyline, an outdoor landscaped terrace and glass chandeliers, plus resident DJ Big Ben spins every Tuesday, with more music makers playing other nights.
Conversely, the mellower Cool Britannia and Gothic-inspired Electronic Room serves craft cocktails and spirits on the hotel’s lower level. If you’re feeling peckish, you have not one but three restaurant options on-site: For Japanese eats, descend the infinity-mirror staircase to the subterranean, speakeasy-esque Megu. Bodega Negra, owned by Tao Group, offers elevated Mexican fare and an impressive collection of mescal, and its café has a similar menu plus pastries baked in-house each morning.
If you’re drained of energy from hopping around the hotel’s various venues, kick off your shoes in your spacious room: a safe haven featuring 350-thread-count white Egyptian cotton bed linens, C.O. Bigelow skincare products, huge porthole windows welcoming tons of sunlight and, for some, Juliet balconies overlooking the pool area, with partial skyline views.
TIME OUT TIP: If you feel the need to intersperse all that eating and drinking with a little culture, head to Red Bull Studios, a contemporary art space that dedicates two floors to one dynamic exhibition at a time. Or if you want to continue the party, but the wait for PHD is too long, walk 10 minutes south to Cielo, the Meatpacking District’s club gem of electronic dance music.