Traveler Debuts New Hotel Gansevoort Roof

The Condé Nast Traveler Hot List party had an ideal venue, both for the event's perfect spring evening and the assembled crowd of media types eager for a glimpse at a new hotspot. The rooftop of the Hotel Gansevoort gave guests 360-degree views of the city on a clear, sunny evening, plus the bragging rights that come from seeing something first. To keep the buzz about the event, Traveler director of special projects Mark Testa convinced the hotel not to have another party before this one, and he got the venue to speed up production of a cover for the pool—on the day before the event, they used a crane to get the cover and a tent to the roof. (The party has a history of using brand-new hotels, including the Maritime last year, the W in Times Square in 2002, and the Chambers in 2001.)
The party also offered a roulette table, blowups of images from the magazine, treats from Ono, the hotel's not-yet-open restaurant, and a five-song acoustic performance from India Arie. (Her connection to the magazine? Well, her first name is also a country, and you can travel there.) There was also some bad traffic flow and glaring lighting in a smoking lounge in one area of the terrace, but it didn't keep anyone from checking out the view of the neighborhood, including the nearby Soho House's rooftop pool (on top of a shorter building, by the way) and some jealousy-inducing apartments likely to have new blinds as the venue becomes more popular.

—Chad Kaydo

Read our Discovery about the Hotel Gansevoort...

Read our coverage of last year's Condé Nast Traveler Hot List party...

Read our coverage of the 2002 Hot List party...

Read our coverage of the 2001 Hot List party...