May 26: "W"...OW Again!

Ok, so where was I? Oh yes, the new W Hotel on the Fort Lauderdale beach. In the previous blog, I was telling you about my first visit to that new property. On Sunday, Gwendolyn and I dropped by to scope it out and enjoy a nice cocktail on a rainy afternoon. It was a delightful experience, mostly because the place vibrates with a very trendy atmosphere. Trendy in a good way, to my taste anyhow. I didn't feel like the W was trying too hard, as I often do with so, so hip spots. This seemed fun and edgy minus the overly self-conscious South Beach attitude.

All right, so back to our visit - which brought us next to the swimming pool. This is definitely a pool you've got to see for yourself. From the third floor lobby and bar area, you walk up a short flight of steps through what they call the "human aquarium." They're not kidding. You get to watch all the humans paddling around like fish because the sides are clear. So you're basically walking up through the center of the swimming pool. Very cool.

The lobby bar is wide open and spacious, with huge four-table booths and couch-beds for groups and a great wraparound patio with a fire pit. And the ocean views are ideal. We plunked down at the long bar and ordered something different for us both. Absinthe. I've spent a fair amount of time in Europe, including France, but never really thought about trying this drink before. We ordered it on the rocks - no sugar, no water, no mixer, no nothing. Turns out it's strong stuff, I can tell you. So we're sitting there, chatting with the lovely female bartenders and sipping pale-green absinthe and looking out at the heavy clouds hanging over the sea. And catching a good buzz from it all. The chill music in the background was loud enough to enjoy but not so loud that we couldn't talk comfortably, thumping away with a strong bassline under upbeat tunes. Not a bad place to hang on a weekend afternoon or almost any time, really. Clearly lots of others agreed with us, mostly young and mostly attractive people who kept the bartenders hopping. I can't wait to go back, honestly, though I suppose that's hardly surprising. After all, everyone knows that absinthe makes the heart grow fonder. (Sorry ... couldn't resist that one.)