CrosbyStreetHotel

Spring has sprung in the Big Apple and the biggest sign of the season is the new crowds on sidewalks and rooftops. Restaurants' cafe tables have come out of storage and the sidewalks are now packed, Parisian-style, with people-watchers, coffee-sippers and, of course, cocktailers. Whether you're looking for the streetside scene, the hidden garden or the top-of-the-world views from rooftops, there's a new hot spot in New York that fits the bill. Here's where to see and be-sipping this spring.

Nothing says luxury like seasonal champagne. After a successful run with Falltime last year in France, The House of Pommery has now brought Wintertime to America, a blanc de noirs champagne with special attention to the foods, lifestyles and activities of winter.

The champagne is straw gold in color, rich and full of red fruits and quince -- and bubbles. It's a 75 percent pinot noir, 25 percent pinot meunier blend from the Montagne de Reims and Little Montagne de Reims, and Vallee de la Marne and Vallee de l'Ardre. It's aged 30 months and its unusually hearty flavor is suggested for pairing with chicken breast or veal.

Pommery Wintertime Champagne is available from Sherry-Lehmann for $59.95, and you can find it by the glass at New York City's Crosby Street Hotel and SD26.

Firmdale Hotels, privately owned by husband and wife team Tim and Kit Kemp, opened its first hotel in the United States this fall in New York City's SoHo. The Crosby Street Hotel is located in the heart of SoHo between Prince, Spring and Lafayette streets and is bringing the duo's famous luxurious European style and long standing reputation for world class personal service to this side of the Atlantic. Their London properties are consistently on the Conde Nast Traveller's hot list for both the US and UK.

The interiors of the hotel are designed by Kit Kemp who has been responsible for the luxury group's design since its inception. She recently won the Andrew Martin International Interior Designer of the Year award and House & Garden Hotel Designer of the Year for her work on their Haymarket Hotel in London. She has brought her trademark quirky London style to the Crosby Street Hotel which was built from the ground up on the site of a vacant parking lot.

Inside guests will have their choice of 86 individually designed rooms and suites spread over 11 floors, each featuring floor-to-ceiling warehouse windows, a rarity in New York City. The hotel is also one of the most environmentally friendly hotels built in the United States and hopes to be one of the very first certified GOLD LEED hotels in New York. Guest rooms provide all the usual amenities found in a deluxe hotel including luxury linens, WiFi, flat screen tv and i-pod docking station. The public rooms of the hotel have there own unique features including:

• The Crosby Bar which stretches an entire city block
• A state of the art 99 seat screening room with orange leather Poltrona Frau chairs
• A private courtyard garden
• A personally selected art collection featuring a 10 foot high Juame Plensa sculpture, Peter Clark dog collage, mixed media pieces by Justine Smith and Jack Milroy, and oil paintings by Francois Bard

There is even a bespoke fragrance created for the hotel by acclaimed British perfumer Lyn Harris. The scent will be featured in all the hotel's toiletries free of charge to guests and available for purchase in the form of a scented candle.

Prices start at $525 a night but they are offering a special opening rate of $495 and up.