18thand8th

Host Hotel for One Mighty Weekend

This place works well as the host hotel One Mighty Weekend--the circuit side of Gay Disney. It has two good pools and a hot tub surrounded by the hotel towers and a small lake. It's a great venue for the pool parties. The hotel has been upgraded a few notches since it switched from the Wyndham Palace to an LXR hotel a few years ago. It's a mainstream hotel the rest of the year, but far from mainstream during Gay Disney!

Where the men are men

While this isn't my scene, this bar certainly does the leather/levis scene right...and isn't too unfriendly to out-of-costume visitors. Above 2 floors of dark, maze-like bar, the roofdeck offers about the best outdoor space to be found in any NYC gay bar. Be slighltly cautious in the bathrooms...as you encounter unwanted (or perhaps wanted exposure to others' fetishes.

Sports fans in Chelsea?

I've got to give credit to the owners of Gym for opening a new bar in the heart of Chelsea while others have faded and for taking a chance on a sports theme in a less-than-butch market. So far, it seems to be working. As expected, the crowd is somewhat more masculine than most Chelsea bars...but is certainly no Eagle. The front patio offers a chance to mingle with passer-by's on 8th Ave.

Chelsea in Hell's Kitchen

Since its debut, Therapy rapidly become the place to see and be seen in Hell's Kitchen and helped solidify the neighborhood's status as the new gay ghetto. The crowd is well-dressed and generally well-behaved, for better or worse. While the bar tries a bit too hard to be fabulous, it is an attractive space and its 2 floors and deep layout offer lots of places to wander and meet people. The brick walls really amplify the sound, so if you don't like noisy places, avoid the crowded times.

small, relaxing neighborhood bar

Smaller and quieter than both Therapy and Barrage, this comfortable Hell's Kitchen neighborhood bar is better for meeting up with your friends than meeting new ones.

Decent neighborhood bar

While not a hotbead of excitement, Barrage is a relaxing neighborhood place to catch a drink, particularly if you're not in the mood for the nearby larger and more crowded Therapy. The red walls with vertical strings of oversized fake pearls are either fun/campy or just tacky, probably depending on how many drinks you've had.