Jean-Georges Sky High Lounge

I love hotel bars. Usually, they’re dark with a comfortable, loungy feel to them and solid old-school cocktails. A favorite of mine is Aqimero at the Ritz-Carlton. The drinks are pricey, about $18 for a Basil-Hayden’s Manhattan, but well crafted. The marble architecture of the main lobby, which used to be a bank, is a sight to be seen—especially during the Holiday Season.

I recently visited the Jean-Georges Sky High lounge on the 60th floor of the new Four Seasons atop the new Comcast Center. It was a visit I was looking forward to as it seemed like the ideal location similar to the sky-high hotel bars in Tokyo, as seen in the Billy Murray film Lost in Translation. I was lucky enough to have visited the bar atop the Park Hyatt Tokyo and loved the experience so I couldn’t wait to visit the JG Sky High lounge.

A breathtaking elevator ride, exposed to the city, takes you 60 floors above the earth to the JG Sky High. This is a shot as we finished our ascent.

Once you’re inside the lounge, you can’t help but notice the windows overlooking the city and the mirrored ceiling which looks down upon the streets below.

The bar itself was underwhelming. A square bar surrounds a refrigerator and shelving island decorated with some generic lighting.

I was a little disappointed with the staff. We were there on a moderately busy Saturday night. They avoid over-crowding by having people waiting downstairs for space to open up. We had a female bartender who was amazing and a male bartender who seemed overwhelmed and made ordinary cocktails more deserving of a neighborhood restaurant.

Seating wasn’t as comfortable as other nearby hotel bars such as at the Ritz-Carlton, Sofitel, or Loews Bank and Bourbon. The real draw here is definitely the view.

It’s kind of surreal looking down at buildings we’ve seen towering over the Philly skyline.

There are better hotel bars in the area, but none with a view as beautiful as the JG Sky High lounge. I definitely recommend going once to experience them.