Hi...I will be visiting Manhattan in the fall for a much-anticipated shopping trip, but I am also hoping to hit a few cool nightspots.

I am looking for a few nice, swanky lounges where my friends and I can get a nice martini and relax. I want an upscale environment - minus the upscale attitude. I want to be able to relax and enjoy my evening, not worry about paying outrageous cover charges and passing the inspection to get in the door.

Any ideas of a laid back, but classy, place I can check out would be welcomed. Hotel bars are ok by me too.

You can check out sheckys.com, and also Time Out NY.

Asia de Cuba is pretty swanky, as are many of the hotel bars such as the one in the Tribeca Grand Hotel. I was just at a nice champagne bar in the Flat Iron district called Flute. You can pretty much walk around that area (the 19th St. up to about 23rd St., and around Madison Avenue up to Fifth) and you'll have tons of options.

Enjoy!

Help me out here someone, but I think the living room setting at the place in Grand Central Station called "the __________ apartment" or something like that really fits your request.
Or are you looking for entertainment as well? I also love The Monkey Bar.

The Campbell Apartments. However, last time I was in GCS, about 4 weeks ago, it looked like it was closed for some renovation work.

All of the W Hotels in the city usually have action packed bars. I was at the Times Square W bar a few weeks ago and it definately is a good place for a cocktail.

Are we FINALLY talking monkey again at Fodors?

LOL

Elizabeth27, you're speaking my language. Cool nightspots generally exclude poser hotel offerings such as the SoHo & Tribeca Grands and W locations (with a few exceptions, of course).

The best martinis can be found at the Russian lounge PRAVDA, on Lafayette just south of Houston. It's a cool subterranean lair that's tough to spot -- look for the bouncer in the shadows.

For a sweet SoHo lounge atmosphere, check out MERCBAR on Mercer Street.

SUBA on Ludlow Street is tres cool, and you can eat dinner there as well.

More crowded, touristy, and slightly past its prime, BAR 89, 89 Mercer Street, is worth a visit for its bathrooms (and fantastic martinis and cosmos). Bar 89 was THE place in 1998-99, but it's still on my list (although, come to think of it, I haven't been since '01 probably).

For locations/reviews, see www.sheckys.com.

Enjoy NYC!

Over Labor Day weekend I was at the Ava Penthouse Lounge in the Majestic Hotel at 210 W. 55th St. That's at Broadway and 55th.

No cover, gorgeous bar and a very friendly bartender. Then the cool thing is there's an outdoor, roof top area with a beautiful view down the "canyon" to Times Square.

I picked that recommendation up from this board. Thanks fodorites!

Temple Bar on Lafayette, Grace in Tribeca (Franklin St?), Angels Share on Stuyvesant (if you have 4 people or less in your group).