Über hotelier Ian Schrager's Gramercy Park Hotel continues to delight New York's most jaded trendinistas at the approach of its first anniversery. Recently, the Private Roof Club and Garden opened 16 stories above the city. The indoor/outdoor space, with a retractable roof, is described as “combining all the charm of London's private gentlemen's clubs and the Bohemian bustle of a Viennese coffee house.”

“We wanted to create a new kind of public space,” says Schrager, “a private lobby in the sky as a counterpoint to the public lobby on the ground, where guests can gather, entertain and enjoy the hotel in a more discreet setting. It is a further refinement and evolution of my ‘lobby socializing' idea and is something no other hotel has.”

Available to hotel guests and invited members, the Roof Club uses artist Julian Schnabel's vivid color palette and displays the work of 20th century masterpieces from renowned artists Andy Warhol and Damien Hirst.