The ubiquitous hotel lobby bar can conjure many visions. There are the seedy, lonely haunts in the middle of nowhere; the sanitized, corporate creations for post-conference revelry; the soulless watering holes built solely for tourists. But in New York, for the most part, the hotel bar takes on new meaning. For one, you certainly don't have to book a room to wander in. The luxurious locales are destinations in themselves, effortlessly embedded into the nightlife landscape with an air of cosmopolitan glamour that's iconic to the city. In fact, when you're sitting back at one of these chic hot spots, you may not even realize you're in a hotel at all. No wonder they're always frequented by actual New Yorkers.