Revolving Restaurants

[Singapore]

When I was about 10 we went to one in Atlanta. I want to say it's at the Peachtree Plaza.

Probably was the Westin Peachtree Plaza. I only go there for the bar.

The other rotating restaurant in Atlanta that I know of is the Hyatt, problem is it's now surrounded by hotels and office buildings, so you only see the cityscape about 1/2 of the time. Rest of the time you're staring at someone's hotel room or office.

[fifi]

We have a rotating restaurant on top of the Hyatt in downtown Houston. Predictably, the food is good but not spectacular. Amazingly, the view has survived the sprouting skyscrapers around it and you can get some really good views of tree infested vistas and the lights of the ship channel.

My most memorable memory of this restaurant is the "Great Lobster Caper". A dear friend of mine picked me up from work in his big, honkin' BMW. Istak Perleman was on the stereo... uh oh... trouble. We went to the Hyatt. After a few drinks and snacks, we had to go to the restroom. The restrooms were down a stairway in the core of the building, and the route passed by the live lobster tank. Well, this fool grabbed a lobster! We went down the stairs, he went into the men's room, came out of the men's room and passed the lobster to me since an emplyee was entering the men's room. I went into the ladie's room and deposited it into one of the toilets. We went back to our table. As our table went rotating past the entrance to the stairs to the restrooms, we heard these screams emanating from up those stairs. Since his suit coat had a conspicuous wet mark, we thought it best to leave, he with my wrap over his damp arm. We kept trying, not too successfully, to keep from giggling, but got out without being busted. I can't go to that restaurant today without remembering the "Night of the Lobster".

[phaelon56]

My hometown of Syracuse NY has the legendary revolving restaurant that never revolved. We never got an explanation of whether the mechanical components failed to function or whether they nixed the revolving feature due to budget. The Holiday Inn on Almond street near downtown Syracuse was opened in the mid 60's and had the "Top of The Inn" restaurant advertised as revolving but it never did. They also had cocktail waitresses dressed as "foxes" (an homage to Hef's "Buny" concept). Needless to say - it was not a success.

How appropriate that this appeared in Dave Barry's most recent column....

Just when you think all the great ideas have been thought of, scientists dream up a concept so radical, and so innovative, that you wonder if they've been smoking reefers the size of Yule logs.

Such is the case with a group of scientists from the National Research Laboratory in Los Alamos, N.M. (''Los Alamos'' is Spanish for ''More than One Alamo''). According to an Associated Press story that I am not making up, these scientists are proposing to build an elevator that would be 62,000 miles high. That's right: 62,000 MILES, which is 32 million stories. At the top would be a revolving restaurant serving what the scientists promise will be ''really mediocre food.''

Edited November 11, 2003 by phaelon56 (log)

[Al_Dente]

I must have some form of dyslexia, as whenever I see the word "revolving" I read it as "revolting"-- which I guess is appropriate given that these restaurants typically have horrible food.

The entrance to my office building has a sign that says "please use revolving door". I can't help but think to myself, "My GOD, that door IS revolting!"

[Cusina]

I'll add to the tally (is anyone keeping score of this?) that there is one on top of the Hyatt in Milwaukee. Stunning views of, well, Milwaukee. Kind of pales in comparison to Mt. Ranier but, hey.

I remember being fascinated as a kid when we ate there, but it must not have been very good. We never returned (get it?? re- turned... oh nevermind).

[Hobbes]

I think it is in the Days Inn or Holiday Inn in Chicago with a great view of Lake Michigan.  We went for Sunday brunch and the food was pretty good but it was hard to make it back to your table after loading up on eats.  Note to self: bring a vase with flowers or something to hail you in after loading up.  It's hard to enjoy your meal when other patrons are asking to actually sit at their table - how can they tell??  The view was awesome and food was good - but I love buffet and brunch all in one!!

The Days Inn (where guests for Jenny Jones used to stay) is now the chic W.

link to restaurant

It says it still rotates, anyone been there?

Talking about having difficulty finding your seat in a revolving restaurant. I was told by the sous chef at the W Hotel Lakeshore (formally the Days Inn) that during service the restaurant does not revolve because the servers had a hard time locating their tables. I believe that this revolving observation room is used during large banquets and other special functions. I was also told that this is the only hotel in downtown Chicago that has 360 views of the city and the lake.

The most memorable revolving restaurant I have been to was at 2970 m above sea level at the The Schilthorn Piz Gloria . This restaurant is a top the mount Schilthorn in the Bernese Oberland area of Switzerland. The food at the restaurant was forgettable but the views were outstanding, even breathtaking. On second thought thier goulash was not too bad. I was there 2 times during the summer but plan to go back asap in the winter so I can ski. I took a day where I hiked up the mountain to the observation center/restaurant and then hiked down again. This was an amazing trip.

Hobbes