The buzz: While upscale lounges have been making a splash on the D.C. nightclub scene, the bottle-service-and-couches crowd hasn't extended beyond downtown. Until now. Pose Ultra Lounge, which sits atop the Gaylord National Hotel at the $4 billion, 300-acre National Harbor Complex, is trying to put Prince George's County on to the map of places with fancy martinis, European DJs and $500 minimums.

The show begins even before you pass the bowler-hatted doormen and enter the private elevators that whiz you to Pose's entrance on the 18th floor. The hotel's glass-enclosed, 200-foot-tall atrium contains multiple restaurants, burbling streams and other water features and full-size replicas of two 18th-century houses.

From a balcony near the check-in desk, a friend jokes that the scene before us resembles an oversized miniature golf course.

Those speedy elevators, outfitted with flat-screen TVs and pumping sound systems, open into a gorgeous monochrome playground: two-story-high, floor-to-ceiling windows along two walls, chrome-wrapped columns that gleam like mirrors, white floors. Colored lights whip around the room, bathing it in blues and reds. Dozens of flat-screen TVs show videos and random animations. I'm tempted to slide my sunglasses back on: For a nightclub, it's really bright in here.

Up a flight of stairs (clear, with glowing LEDs inside) is a reservations-only mezzanine full of couches and low tables. I'd rather take a seat at -- make that in -- in one of the VIP Booths built into the walls. They resemble private cabins outfitted with soundproof foam so you can have a passable conversation while folks are grooving just feet away.

The best part of Pose, though, and what's sure to have everyone talking, is the broad wraparound patio outside, which offers sweeping views of Virginia, the just-completed Wilson Bridge , and the many National Harbor buildings still under construction. In the distance, you can see the soft glow of lights from the District ^ and Arlington County, including the steady, blinking eyes of the Washington Monument.

(The view is such a key selling point that it extends into the bathrooms: Men have view of the District from large windows above the urinals, while one stall in the women's room has a window in place of one wall.

With a cool breeze and a drink in hand, the views from Pose are almost worth the price of admission alone.

Ah, right. Drinks. As soon as you step out of the elevator, you encounter the Infusion Bar: a round counter with a dozen different types of house-infused liquors on tap. (The drinks are made and stored in the kitchen, then piped under the floor to the bar.) Order the Royal Tea (gin steeped with Earl Grey tea, black currant and lemon) or the Spicy Redhead (rum soaked with cranberry, cinnamon, vanilla, allspice, coriander, nutmeg and clove) and a shot pours into a long icicle-shaped glass^ es, served at precisely 24 degrees. You'll want to sample several; be aware, though, that they're $7 each.

The scene: If there's one place where Pose falls short, it's that the entertainment side is still finding its way. Assistant general manager Paul Nelson-Ekwe explains that Pose is trying to do all its advertising by word of mouth instead of newspaper or radio ads. It got a bump in customers after Washington Redskin Santana Moss held his birthday party in the VIP area, which made appearances in local gossip columns, but for the most part, Pose flies under the radar -- and not in a good way.

When a friend and I stopped by recently, Belgian DJ K'Bonus, a regular on the European party circuit, was spinning funky breakbeats and disco, but few if any in the audience seemed to be there to hear him. (He played for a much more enthusiastic crowd at Eighteenth Street Lounge in the District the next night.) The sparse crowd never really seemed to get going, even late on a Friday night. On a Wednesday, the crowd was mostly conventioneers and tourists hanging out in the lounge -- there was no minimum to grab one of the stylish red chairs -- and the atmosphere lagged.

In your glass: That special infusion bar offers really intriguing flavor combinations, such as Blue Steel (vodka with blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and strawberries), and those concoctions have also found their way onto the menu. Berry-infused vodka makes a sweet appearance in the White Lights, a highly drinkable cocktail balanced with a floral eucalyptus-infused simple syrup and sharp lemon juice.

What to wear: Before visiting for the first time, I was told the dress code was serious: no jeans (even designer ones), no T-shirts, no sneakers, no boots. Then I got there and saw some men and women wearing denim. "Officially," says general manager Anthony Rakis, "I don't have a problem with jeans." But if you're going to wear that new pair of APCs or Earnest Sewns, he adds, they must be neat: no rips, no fraying, no extreme distress. Also, guys, Pose would prefer if you wore a button-down shirt.

Need to know: The only elevators that go to Pose are located in the upper atrium, directly to the right of the main entrance. Look for the velvet ropes when you come in.

Price points: This is not a cheap night out. Admission is $25 for non-hotel guests seven nights a week ($10 if you're staying at the Gaylord). Parking at the hotel is $12 for up to three hours ($19 if you want valet service). Cocktails are $12 to $14, and the infusions are $7. If you're thinking about getting a table, prices are average: A bottle of Belvedere or Courvoisier is $275; Jack Daniels is $225.

-- Fritz Hahn (July 4, 2008)