W Dallas Victory Hotel

Description:

• This splashy property, part of the ever-expanding W chain, rises with transparent, glass-happy hubris, facing the Big D skyline, and it's received oodles of attention from local scenesters who dash to the new big thing. Principal among its attractions are the trendy Ghostbar and local incarnation of Craft, a NYC restaurant that's taken up residence in the W. The hotel, near downtown and the chic shopping and restaurant destinations of Uptown, is a striking 15-story tower (including pricey residential condos) with a 16th-floor infinity pool. Inside it's stylishly minimalist, if noticeably self-conscious. Rooms have plenty of rich, spare style, with colored tile bathrooms, swank furnishings and fabrics, and large windows. Accommodations aren't merely doubles or deluxes; they're called "spectacular rooms," "wonderful rooms," "fabulous rooms," "mega rooms," and, not to be outdone by adjectives, "wow suites" and "extreme wow suites." That may strike some as just a little too precious; for much less dough, I'd haul my bags over to the Palomar if it's contemporary stylings at a reasonable price you want. But scenesters with toy dogs in tow (yes, pets are welcome) will undoubtedly be happy here; the trendy Ghostbar even comes with its own helipad, and there's a 10,000-square-foot Bliss Spa for all the required pampering.

• © Frommer's 2013

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Recommended 2010