Email
Print
Feed
Hot Spots |
Tweet |
By Ron Donoho
The buzz began even before the doors first opened for business. W Hotels winked at San Diego. And all of San Diego came running. There’s not a hotter weekend nightspot right now than the lobby and rooftop bars inside this new “style” hotel on the border of downtown’s Little Italy.Come early. The queuing starts before 9 some weekend nights.
Confession: During the hotel’s second week of operation, a cohort and I found a way to bypass the line. We’d stroll into the hotel’s restaurant patio from the west end, chatting loudly on cell phones. It worked three times—until management installed large potted plants at our secret entrance.
Besides getting your name on the coveted guest list, there is another way to gain entry without the degradation of standing in line: Make reservations at the hotel’s chic restaurant, Rice (reviewed in this issue’s Dining Critiqued column). Legitimate diners get to make the scene after dessert.
Is all this effort worth it?
Apparently. Bare-midriff women and casually dapper men will wait an hour some nights to see and be seen here.
The W’s ground-floor bar is an interesting concept. If you’re staying in one of the hotel’s 261 rooms or suites, you obviously don’t have to stand in line to gain entrance. But if you’re just checking in during the late evening on a weekend, be prepared to hoist your baggage through a throng of cocktail-sipping partyers.
It’s a lobby—but it’s also a bar. Called the Living Room, the space nightly fills with guys in black turtlenecks, guys in untucked black button-downs and guys in black muscle T-shirts underneath black sports coats. Female patrons seem to favor black, too, but splashes of color do show up in halter tops and spaghetti-strap dresses. It’s a flesh feast some nights—hmmm, could that be part of the reason there’s a line outside that wraps halfway around the building?
On especially busy nights, another line forms inside—to gain access to the outdoor, upstairs Beach bar.
Is more line-standing worth the effort?
Apparently.
The Beach floor is covered with real sand—real fun for stiletto-wearing gals. The sand is heated, but any warmth generated from underfoot is a moot point. The rooftop space holds beach chairs, tables, three rentable cabañas and a working fire pit.
A cool night breeze can send the half-dressed female patrons down to the Living Room. But the ambience at the Beach is unique and energized. On a warm, clear night, when the fire burns bright and the moon shines its light, the cool, charged scene is pure dynamite. A weekend night here is now a must-see; poetic inspiration, though, not a guarantee.
(W Hotel is at 555 West B Street, downtown, 619-231-8220.)
More Great Hot Spots
Aubergine Grill
On Friday and Saturday nights, this Gaslamp restaurant comes alive and converts to a multi-roomed club. Go-go dancers fill the large dance-floor room; there’s a VIP room and a cool Red Room lounge. 500 Fourth Avenue, 619-232-8100.
Axis
Just seven months old, Axis is a restaurant and a hip martini bar. It’s not really a place to dance, but a deejay plays lounge-style music on Saturday nights. 2010 Jimmy Durante Boulevard, Del Mar, 858-755-2077.
Candelas
Largely lit by candles—hence the name—this low-key addition to the lower Gaslamp is drawing capacity crowds. Deejays play Thursday-Sunday. A new VIP lounge was recently added. 416 Third Avenue, 619-702-4455.
Club Montage
This three-story party arena is a usually packed house with four massive bars. A parade of deejays oversees a high-energy dance floor. Some nights are gay; some mixed. 2028 Hancock Street, 619-294-9591.
Deco’s
As the name suggests, the décor is steeped in Art Deco. This Gaslamp newcomer is a restaurant by day, a dance club by weekend night. Check out the rentable beds (for conversation only) in the back room. 731 Fifth Avenue, 619-696-3326.
Jimmy Love’s
This Gaslamp stalwart hops to jazz or cover bands nightly.
A newly installed downstairs lounge is a quiet alternative to the dance beats upstairs. 755 Fifth Avenue, 619-595-0123.
On Broadway
The king of all San Diego nightlife, this ever-expanding, two-story bar-opolis just outside the Gaslamp has four dance floors (at last count) and usually a line snaked around the building. 615 Broadway, 619-231-0011.
Red Circle
This fairly recent addition to the Gaslamp club scene is an elegant place to sip a martini. The main bar is piled high with vodkas from around the world. There’s a small dance floor in the back. 420 E Street, 619-234-9211.
Side Bar
Opening around the same time the Super Bowl rocked our world, this avant-garde, L-shaped bar is next to the site of the Frightmare on Market haunted house. 536 Market Street, 619-696-0946.
Thin/Onyx Room
The steps to the below-ground Onyx Room descend to a proven leader in Gaslamp dance club chic. Now, the street-level Thin adds a new dance dimension to the expanded scene. 825 Fifth Avenue, 619-235-6699.
Do you like what you read? Subscribe to San Diego Magazine »
