Washington, D.C.

In my several trips to Sin City, I’ve never made it to Rehab, the much-hyped Sunday afternoon pool party at the Hard Rock. Tickets run around $100 bucks a pop but most say it’s worth it.

Perhaps taking its cue from Vegas, the Capitol Skyline Hotel started offering its own scaled-down version of Rehab a few weeks ago. Partnering with Spike Mendelsohn, Top Chef extraordinaire and owner of Good Stuff Eatery on the Hill, the Skyline throws Sunday afternoon pool parties. Doors open at 12 p.m. and admission is $10 bucks, which includes a Spike Cheeseburger. When we got there a little after noon today, the music was pumping and deck quickly filling up. We snagged some of the last chairs and lazed on the bright orange towels.

This place doesn’t even come close to the atmosphere at Hard Rock but what would you expect? This is D.C. But still, drinks were $5 bucks and there were all these dope rafts to play with.

We made our way over to the grill, which was churning out some thick and juicy burgers and crispy chips. Washed down with a Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka, it hit the spot.

Spike was around most of the afternoon — splitting his time between the grill, talking to overzealous Top Chef fans and lounging on this gigantic floating swan.

Tough life that he’s got.