Hotel Chantelle

The first thing to know about this hotel is that it's not one, unless massive restaurant/lounges also act as temporary lodging these days. This is the latest multi-purpose nightlife venue to open in the city (think Lavo, Abe & Arthur's). There's a room for cocktails that is up and running now, with a large restaurant in the works that will serve a twist on classic French cuisine. The soon-to-open club in the basement promises to draw in an exclusive crowd of nighttime travelers. How exclusive? Well, they're saying that you'll need a skeleton key to gain admittance to the downstairs space—we don't think you can make reservations for that sort of thing on Priceline. If you don't want to descend into the club, hang out in one of the maroon leather booths in the front room that's full of darkwood paneling and sexy low lighting. The vibe is very old New York...except you could actually sleep in hotels back then.

See more: Chinatown restaurants, Lower East Side restaurants, French restaurants