BlackBook

With the opening of Yotel, the sexing up of the Paramount Bar, and a new hotel on the way from Amsterdam's design-focused citizenM in 2012, Times Square is brazenly shaking off its populist image. Next up is the cheekily risque Sanctuary Hotel New York, fittingly tucked down a relatively serene stretch of W. 47th Street.

For those visiting China's marquee cities, the lodging options are often limited to the glaringly glitzy or blandly business-like. Shanghai has seen a few, shall we say, more sleek newcomers (The Indigo), but Andaz' first Asian entry could hardly be more exigent.

Disappointed that nightlife just hasn't seemed, well, as trashy as it used to be? LA's Salvage Bar & Lounge was literally built from a pile of rubble -- though it was, as you might have guessed, as much an ecological concept as an aesthetic one. Soon to open on the ground floor of the landmark 1926 building that now houses the stylish Roosevelt Residences, designer and co-proprietor Solomon Mansoor envisioned the entire interior in the rather elegant debris left behind in the wake of the renovation.

● Dohyo Restaurant and Bar (Midtown West) - Japanese-Mexican small plates in the new Yotel hotel.

● 18 Bay (Shelter Island) - Chill spot for slow food.

● South Pointe (Southampton) - Former RdV East space stakes claim as no.1 Hamptons summer destination. ● SL East (East Hampton) - Just like NYC's SL, but east-ier. ● Tutto Il Giorno Southampton (Southampton) - Roomier outpost of cramped Sag Harbor hotspot.

● The Elm (Southampton) - Multi-faceted, multi-level extravaganza from club promoter super team. ● Southampton Social Club (Southampton) - Beach club with speakeasy's soul.

● Nobu at Capri (Southampton) - Summer home for the famed Japanese eatery. ● The Pomme Cafe (Sag Harbor) - French bistro from Astoria out east.

● Cynthia Rowley at Capri (Southampton) - Beach chic shop.

● Hotel Williamsburg (Williamsburg) - Boutique hotel at The Residences at The Williamsburg means “Williamsburg luxury” is no longer an oxymoron. ● TRYP New York City - Times Square South (Garment District) - TRYP out at boutique hotel chain beloved by Euros and South Americans.