The Borgata

Approaching Atlantic City via the Expressway at night time, it’s hard to miss the tallest building in South Jersey: a striking tower illuminated with purple neon lights, standing out clearly amongst its fellow casinos and hotels of the strip. This is the Borgata: home to Atlantic City’s most popular nightclubs, including the Mixx with its acclaimed guest DJs spinning for sweaty young co-eds in a multilevel venue, posh mur.mur where exclusive bottle service is the norm, the tequila-touting Gypsy Bar, and the Music Box, which hosts big-name music acts and comedy shows. If you’re going to hunt celebrities in Atlantic City, chances are you won’t have much luck seeing them offstage anywhere except at the Borgata. However, be prepared to wait in line to enter (especially during major holiday weekends and AC events) and pay a steep cover charge. Make sure to leave your flip flops in the room, too, as dress codes are strictly enforced.

The baby of the AC casinos, the Borgata first opened its doors in 2003, stocked with about 2,000 hotel rooms, hundreds of table betting games, tons of slot machines, hoards of pretty cocktail waitresses, and a wide array of casual and fine dining establishments boasting famous chefs such as Bobby Flay and Wolfgang Puck. Although not directly on the Boardwalk, the Borgata makes up for its lack of beachfront residency with its breathtaking interior. The ornate glass light fixtures are perhaps the casino’s best, and overlooked, detail: multi-colored tendrils spiral around each other, producing spectrums of light that create a more intimate ambiance than that of the typical casino fluorescent buzz.

Although seemingly over-hyped, Atlantic City hadn’t seen a new casino or hotel — let alone one this chic and happening — in over a decade. Mr. Trump has even expressed slight bitterness towards the new kid in town, but the Borgata has proved its reputation and injected some new life into Atlantic City. It has been such a hit that MGM Mirage/Boyd Gaming even opened an additional tower in 2008, the Water Club. This annex contains several more floors of hotel rooms (with water beds, of course), an enormous multi-level spa, meeting and event spaces for rent, upscale retail stores, and a variety of fancy swimming environments, including an Infinity lap pool. Even if you can’t afford to splurge on a room there, it’s worth the cheap cab fare from anywhere in Atlantic City to hit up the Borgata for at least one ridiculously expensive cocktail.

- Allison Cohn