SkyLounge

Let’s get one thing straight – you’re not looking down over Manhattan, or even London, but there is an undeniable buzz about the top-floor cocktail lounge and bar at the Hilton’s DoubleTree hotel. The lift whisks you straight up to the 13th floor, where you’re checked over by a maitre’d, and then you’re ushered into a swish back-lit bar, where bright young things move and shake like there’s no tomorrow, downing smoked apple martinis. There are big views from floor-to-ceiling windows and the outdoor terrace, and usually a fairly mixed crowd – young and old – revelling in the sophisticated surroundings.