PHD Rooftop Lounge

I’ve been to the PHD roof several times. Nice place to go if you are with a promoter or someone who has a table. Also check out the pool on the second floor — cool scene, especially in the summer.

The view from the deck is amazing! The actual space is pretty cool, and not too big, which is nice. Yes the drinks are expensive… $ 16 Prosecco, but no surprises there. The DJ played some good hip-​hop songs, with some electronic mixed in. I definitely would have danced if the rest of my group was wanting to. Some people were dressed up (including myself), although there was some casual attire thrown in there as well. I would happily come back to enjoy the view the next time I’m in town. (My group arrived on the early side, around 9 and it was pretty busy. The crowd thinned out around 11.)

Horrible workers, I’m 5 feet and this huge black security guard pushed me, some kind of complex I’m sure. Also a pain getting in be prepared to wait in line and pay way to much for drinks. Once you get over the rude people the music is good. However Don’t think it’s worth it.

Hi. This place is so racist. My friend went to ask about cover and wait time. They said «no worries. Just stand in line. It’ll be quick with just you three girls.»
So we get out of Tao line to come to this place. As soon as we get in, they tell us «spend $ 200 at bar.» Like, bro. One, we are 3 girls. Two, ARE YOU CRAZY. Three, y’all suck.
Go somewhere else. Anywhere else. Have a club party at your apartment/​hotel room by yourself or with your friends. This place is NOT worth it.

A friend wanted to come here for her bday. we knew its a hassle to get in with guys but we wanted to give it a shot. 4 guys 3 girls, and they asked the guys to paid $ 100 cover! so dumb. anyways the guys said ok coz it’s our friend’s bday and we got it. the place ended up being real crowded, dj kept changing the music style and there were too many drunk guys. very disappointing. the only good thing was the view!

Bunch of people without any actual degrees (let alone Ph.D.) being compete assholes. Music sucks and it’s not worth the hype. Trust me. Go somewhere better. Unless you are a tall white female, you will be subjected to racism and bigotry – by their uneducated fugly ass bouncers.

Okay so here’s the thing-​they make you wait to get in like you are going into the most incredible paradise you could ever imagine. It’s disorganized while waiting and people will be pushing and breathing down your neck. The crowd is not high brow at ALL. Once you get in you are faced with a lame crowd and lame music, Justin Beiber? Justin Timberlake? Blurred lines? I mean it’s 2016 and robin thicke? Really? I expected much more from the décor and the view and it was a let down. It was dingy and smelly and they desperately need to clean their windows. You can just see all the grime on the Windows. This is no top of the standard. I’d say skip it if you are a elegant germaphobe with great taste in music!

Wow… couldn’t say I was more unimpressed than I am with this rooftop bar and the service here. The drinks are EXTREMELY overpriced ($ 19+ per cocktail), watered down and small pours. My martini glass was teeny and filled a little more than half-​way. When I asked the bar tender about adding more to my glass, she said that’s the normal pour. What?! Of all the bars I have been to in NYC, this is the worst. The only nice perk about this bar is the view… otherwise, stay away.

I wish there was on option to give negative stars because I would. Unilocal deleted my other post so I will be a little more filtered this time.
This place is awful. Crowd is disgusting and the ugliest, drinks are overpriced. It should not be considered a rooftop lounge, it is more of a big room filled with VIP tables that if you do not have one you may as well not even come. There is a very small patio which is the only outdoor area that people go to smoke ciggs.
Bouncers are awful, really think who they are when in reality, they are bouncers.
Drinks are overpriced. Staff are mean. Honestly would rather go to a dump in Harlem then ever go back to this place. No true New Yorkers come here, it is more of a «people come from other countries and think this place is cool so they come here» type of place.
The dance floor is non existent, it is about 10 foot by 10 foot. The bathroom lines are always out the door and around the corner it is absurd.
NEVER GO HERE, THIS PLACE SUCKS.

I was honestly expecting a lot more from this place based on the reputation. It wasn’t all that difficult to get into, but that may have been because me and my buddy paid about $ 350 for a bar minimum. Drinks are pretty expensive here and the good music doesn’t make up for the fact that this place doesn’t feel like a high end club. I think the Press Lounge is way more upscale and has a better view of the city.
Staff was pretty nice, didn’t really have an issue with them. I wouldn’t say the crowd is amazing, they were older than I expected… overall the impression I got from this place was average. Not sure I would come back. It’s not bad it just doesn’t live up to the hype. You can have more fun for less money elsewhere.

Love the view and the drinks. Everyone is super chill. This is a place I like to go after a stressful week.

It was much easier to get into PHD Lounge than I thought. That being said, I don’t know that I would willingly come back unless I wanted to impress friends visiting the city with the gorgeous view that you see from the rooftop. Drinks are ridiculously expensive. $ 20 for a whiskey sour. Unless you have a reservation or you’re getting bottle service, you will be kindly escorted out of the sofa areas. They ask you to close your tab after each drink order so that you can efficiently escorted away at any moment’s notice when actual high rollers come around, and apparently there are a lot of high rollers who come by looking to get acquainted with some of the clientele. It can get pretty darn loud and crowded.
My favorite rooftop lounge is still Press Lounge.

First of all, anyone who said this place was extremely exclusive and always had a good looking crowd was seriously delusional. I was dragged here by a friend for a bachelorette party since she knows the promoter whose birthday happened to be last night.
The club PHD is located at the top of the dream hotel which has a pretty nice lobby with bar set up for people to socialize/​pregame downstairs before extending their nights upstairs. Thanks for our friend’s promoter friend, we got a huge table right next to the DJ with a great diversity of drinks. I am definitely not complaining about that part lol
When it comes to the music of PHD, I’m not a huge fan. If you are seeking for top 40&good hip hop music to dance to in a club, you’re looking at the wrong place. The view of the city from PHD is OKAY (I’ve seen better, and you’ll know what I’m talking about if you’ve been to the Boom Boom room on top of the Standard Hotel).
The crowd was a mix of really young college kids and look-​like investment bankers in their 40s. It was so crowed last night especially when everyone was trying to squeeze themselves to our table. I had a decent time with my friends because they were ridiculously entertaining but the club itself was very mediocre.

Very crowded, very loud, very young crowd, very long lines to get in. I left this lifestyle a looooong time ago why do I bother coming here? I was dragged here.
The long legs and short skirts earn at least two stars, everything else is a wash

PhD started a new policy where when you come with a group you have to meet a $ 600 bar quota — which I thought was ridiculous. But I suppose there area a great deal of people who are willing to. We were going to make a reservation in advance, but we ended up showing up there (nine of us – 6 girls and 3 guys, all well-​dressed), and they told us that we couldn’t go up unless we were wiling to pay that much. We were not, so we went on our way.

First of, the view of Empire State Building is there! Right there!
It was surprisingly not as crowded as I thought for a Friday night. Drinks are a little on the expensive side but worth it– I had the Frisky drink with gin and watermelon, real tasty.
The servers were super nice, and after a random drunk guy trying to talk to us, she came to make sure we were ok and told us we can get security to help any time.
One bad part of the experience: the music. It was just weird… They have a DJ on the lobby floor but not one here on the Rooftop?

Came here with 2 girlfriends on a Saturday night (at around 12:30, 1AM), after we checked out the Press Lounge and decided to change up the venue. There were a lot of people crowding the entrance to go up — we were pretty lost but somehow managed to get to/​get pushed to the front of the line. Once there, we were asked how many people we were (3 girls) and let in without much wait, and no cover charge.
Not knowing much about the space, we came expecting more of a lounge where you can sit and grab a few drinks. Of course, we soon realized this was more of a club, with a sizable dance floor. I thoroughly enjoyed the music — a mix of mostly mainstream EDM and hip hop. I’m not huge on dancing but a lot of the songs played were ones I could sing to, which was fun. The DJ seemed really into what he was playing, and everyone enjoying themselves.
The rooftop view of the city is not bad — it is mostly indoors with a little bit of outdoor space (mainly for those who needed a smoke). For the best view and décor, the Skylark is still my favourite so far.
The one big thing I think PHD should improve on is how disorganized the line up was. To be honest, it was less of a line, and more just a crowd/​mob of people in front of the entrance. There was no order in the way people were let in — there were some aggressive girls who pushed their way to the front and still let in before others who were there before them.
Other things I wouldn’t raving about, but are pretty typical of the night scene in NYC — (1) bouncers who aren’t very nice/​polite; (2) pricey drinks; (3) limited seating area (mostly just tables for those who bought bottles).

Racist bouncers especially racist against their own kind.
I came with 2 friends from out of town, one is hispanic, one is black and she had natural hair. Just because she wore her hair natural and we weren’t white, they refused to look at us. They spoke to us from far without making eye contact and said «$ 250 for you girls».
We could easily afford that but decided to leave just because of their attitudes. There was a very well dressed couple in front of us and they were told to buy bottles, because they were slightly older (mid 30s). They decided to go to Tao.
Well, we went elsewhere and had a great time!

I was here on ⁷⁄₂₈ for the Time Out Magazine event.
We arrived around 6 something don’t recall exact time, we walked around & checked out the views & space we decided to hang around the first bar area when u walk in.
Nice space two bars front & back, seating by the second bar area & limited seating outside all of which of course got full pretty quickly.
Stella was the event sponsor so beer & cider were included with our ticket price, full bar is available if u wanted other drinks this was not included with our tickets we stuck to Stella Beer can’t go wrong great beer.
Not much more to be said here, good mixed crowd u can easily tell apart who’s here after work & who is not.
Great music playing, service at the bars was good I give the event itself 3 stars since everything was good Same goes for the place because of the lovely city views not a bad way to spend a few hours during a nice day.

5 stars because who EVER gets into PHD for free with a party of one guy and one girl :) I was so shocked! After hearing many stories about guys needing to pay $ 300 to get in, I was honestly prepared to fork over some money. But nope, it was f-​r-​e-​e ahahha but in all honesty, I think we were just really lucky to go at a time where they were still filling up the club and the bouncers were feeling nice. Thank you!
My experience here was comparable to Press Lounge in Midtown (read my review) and I really enjoyed my time. Given there was no bar tab to fulfill, it was really nice just grabbing a drink and watching the skyline. PHD is half lounge and half club so you can do both. Unlike Press, the tables aren’t first come first serve so there’s not much sitting room but it’s ok. Everything else is good :) Decoration, drinks, and best of all, no mean bouncers!