My day pass to the rooftop pool at the Times Square Margaritaville cost $120.88, covered at my request by Hell Gate. I can't imagine a scenario where I would ever pay that much for a one-day pool pass for myself, but I wanted to spend the last beautiful day of summer here, in the unabashedly franchised kitsch of the least pretentious place in New York—and I was curious about the kinds of clientéle that a chain megalith would attract during Labor Day weekend. The Times Square Margaritaville tower, completed in 2021, is a portal, both embedded in the center of Midtown while surreally separate from it. I discovered it almost by accident after seeing a play last year, and saw my delight reflected back in the faces of my fellow visitors as we watched the hourly LED light show playing on the underside of the giant margarita glass hoisted into the air by the replica Statue of Liberty.
(It is also the three-year anniversary of the death of Jimmy Buffett, a person I never really think about but whose business I've come to deeply appreciate.)
I arrived alone on Saturday at about 1 p.m., taking the elevator to the sixth floor, which opens out onto a deck with a narrow but inviting pool. Most of the lounge chairs were occupied. Very caring waiters were going back and forth toting plates of chicken tenders, fried shrimp, and frozen margaritas. The Cars' song "Good Times Roll" was playing a little too loud.