Skinnydipping at Soho House

Soho House, the New York private member's club, dispensed with the rooftop tent this winter. So the terrace is fringed by the remnants of the latest blizzard, and blissfully free of the braying of British bankers. Though it's icy out, the rooftop pool is heated. And the door to the roof is usually open. So collect up as many paper towels as you can from the bathrooms downstairs, sneak upstairs, and jump in the steaming pool. There's no better way to see the downtown skyline. An added bonus: showing guests in the Gansevoort hotel, across the street, that you're having much more fun than they. As for getting into Soho House in the first place: I'd suggest a request on the message boards at A Small World, the Eurotrash version of Friendster.

Soho House New York [official site]
The Accompanied Library [New York Magazine's Best of New York 2005]
Soho House and Gawker [Google]