…do they ever run out of ice?

This bar is in an ice hotel in Quebec, Canada. The place was amazing!

The Hotel Congress, built in 1919, is an historic landmark located in the heart of downtown Tucson, Arizona. The hotel has a colourful history that includes being the location on January 22, 1934 where the infamous American gangster John Dillinger was finally captured after a series of bank robberies committed by the “Dillinger Gang”.

The second floor lounge at the Congress Hotel is also known as a place where love-related wishes come true! Check out some examples from guests of the hotel:

Wish #1

My room was cool, but the 2nd floor lounge, site of the famous lover’s wishing shrine was hot! I made a wish as a joke the first night and was shocked when it came true immediately. The 2nd and 3rd wishes I made also came true. For the money, it is the greatest attraction in Tucson! No room price is too high to get this kind of ammenity…[TripAdvisor]

Wish #2

I heard about the famous lovers’ wishing shrine in the 2nd floor lounge at historic Hotel Congress. Rumour has it that wishes made there relating to love come true and I had to find out for myself. It’s TRUE!!! Aside from that, the hotel itself is a cool, hipster, artsy place. It has a groovy nightclub downstairs, pseudo French Cup Cafe and Tap Room. I had a great time there and fell in love too…[Yahoo!]

HotelsByCity [Tuscan Travel Guide] [Hotels in Tuscon Arizona]

Boutique hotels around the world are positioning themselves as “lifestyle” hotels. The concept of lifestyle branding suggests that a hotel can embody the values and aspirations of a group or culture. A successful lifestyle brand speaks to the “core identity” of its customers, each of whom have their own sense of self based on their background. The lifestyle hotel provides a powerful supplement to this core identity by allowing the individual to publicly associate themselves with the hotel’s identity.

New York City’s Hudson Hotel on 58th Street is self styled as the embodiment of the lifestyle hotel.

“Urban adventure, daredevil design, and true affordability meet in Hudson, the ultimate lifestyle hotel for the 21st century…Hudson is a brilliant reflection of the boldness and diversity of the city – the quintessential New York hotel…Hudson is the next generation of Cheap Chic – stylish, democratic, affordable, young at heart and utterly cool…[Hotel Site]“

Although we’re not sure exactly which lifestyle element the Hudson Hotel lounge, featured above, is trying to appeal to - it does capture the essence of eclectic-cool-weird-chic.

HotelsByCity [Hotels in New York City] [New York City Travel Guide]

Enjoy this outdated (we hope) hotel lounge signage from the Bristol Hotel in Melbourne-West, Australia. Not an uncommon sight in past eras all over the world, we’re not sure whether signs like it came in response to demand from gentlemen bar patrons, or from the ladies!

HotelsByCity [Melbourne Travel Guide] [Hotels in Melbourne, Australia]

Normally when we talk about hotel bars here at HotelDrink.com, we mean the “entire” lounge. Service, cocktails, design and decor - the whole thing. Not today.

All over the world, hotel bartenders are known for their charisma, mixology talent and their ability to “connect” with guests and customers. Customers often go out of their way to visit a bar where they know they will be entertained by the bartender. As of today, customers will be travelling to be entertained by the bar itself!

Check out this incredible video of a hotel bar design of the future. Actually, make that the present, since this is the real thing.

Thanks to Chad for sending this my way. Chad is one of our HotelsByCity resident bloggers, and he authors the excellent hotel blog here at HotelsByCity.net. Chad is keen to install one these beauties in his basement. I hope I’m invited to the launch party!

[i-Bar.ch]

Me in the All Nations Hotel in Barrytown, otherwise known as dirty old Baz Vegas, with one of the bar’s regulars.

[Hotel Site]
New Zealand Hotels [HotelsByCity]

The hotel is definitely in an non-touristy part of Paris. The neighborhood is poor, with obvious problems of unemployment and grafitti. On the other hand, it had fascinating cultural diversity, with many residents wearing the clothing and speaking the languages of Northern and Sub-Saharan Africa, and South and East Asia. It is near (but not in) the up and coming St. Martin Canal area, which appears to be a magnet for young Parisians, and features many hip restaurants and bars. Of note, the hotel is very convenient to Charles de Gaulle airport by taxi or RER, and might be an interesting alternative to an airport hotel for those with early morning or late night flights.

[Kube Hotel Site]
Paris Travel Guide [HotelsByCity]

Not quite a hotel bar but Encounter at LAX is a JetSet bar to die for.

The intergalactic-themed interior of the Encounter captures the optimism of a futuristic L.A., as symbolized by the landmark building’s exterior.

An interesting and worthy lounge for a cocktail, where the bar stools appear to float in air, and combined with customized lava lights provide a flowing, levitating environment all ’round.

Thanks to Gibson for sending this in.

Lounge HQ [Encounter]

I never figured out what this was about. The bar at the hotel I stayed at put this bath tub and mannequin out every day on the sidewalk to attract customers I guess, and every night would bring him back in.

Not sure what they were trying to appeal to, but judging by the business they were getting it didn’t work.

Never heard of drink specials in Warsaw, Poland?