The last time I wrote about Se Hotel San Diego, an arty, new upscale downtown property, it got thousands of page views. Was that because of intense interest in vogue hotels? Or was it due to a mention of hotel guest/rock drummer Tommy Lee, who had just been linked to a helicopter pilot whose mid-air porn video had just been released? We'll see.
Se Hotel has been open for a few months now and continues to evolve. Its Suite & Tender restaurant (a beautiful steakhouse with a "Simpsons"-esque name) is now open daily for lunch. Create your own salad, try the vegetable gnocchi and finish your meal with homemade rocky road ice cream.
Also now open is an infinity-edge pool lounge that could compete with anything the Las Vegas Strip has to offer. The fourth-floor, outdoor lounge area (on the roof of the House of Blues) has a variety of VIP and cabana areas. Depending on the night and the size of the crowd, you might be able to snag a cabana for free -- or you might have to fork over a couple hundred bucks for the prime real estate. There is, however, no bottle service, per Se. Grab a cabana on a busy night, and meet your "minimum" tab with orders of a variety of cocktails and/or small-bites of food.
It's also serviced by "creative director" Anissa Manfredi. She's the one who lines up entertainment, be it tango dancers, geisha performers or acrobats that hover over the pool a la Cirque de Soleil. A spectacle in the making?
Tommy Lee or not, the Se pool lounge is capable of making a splash.
Ron Donoho, formerly executive editor of "San Diego Magazine," is a regular contributor to NBCSandiego.com who covers local news, sports, culture and happy hours.
