From the Top, The View Is Wide-Angle and Panoramic

When the folks at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel and Tennis Club built a new wing and tower onto their hotel 2 1/2 years ago and decided to put a cocktail lounge on top, the predictable what-to-name-the-bar question undoubtedly came up.

It’s nice to think that some local Solomon, after rejecting names such as Rich Corinthian Leather Lounge and The Doo Dah Room, stepped forward and said: “Why don’t we all go up there and just blurt out the first thing that comes to mind, and that’s what we’ll call it.”

Surprise! They called it The View.

It may not be the greatest view in Orange County (the best is probably at a private home on top of Spyglass Hill a couple of miles away, where the view is enhanced by a tile-lined pool, a deck-side vault full of crisp C-notes and a butler with a tray full of pina coladas in the foreground), but it’s easily in the top two.

The overlook is advertised as a 180-degree view of Newport Harbor and the surrounding landscape, but the hotel’s beverage manager, Steve West, says the big windows in the bar wrap around to “at least 220 or 230 degrees.”

Thinking of moving out of Orange County and settling in, say, Nova Scotia? Want to talk yourself out of it? Simply take the Marriott elevator to the 16th floor on a crackling clear day, stroll into the bar and ease into a window-side seat, order up and stare. It may be the most potent weapon the county Chamber of Commerce has.

“People come in here all the time with people from out of town to give them a perspective on Orange County,” West said .

In fact, West said, during the week much of the clientele is from out of town, mostly guests of the hotel. As the work week wears on, however, more and more locals arrive, so that by Friday evening “it’s standing room only in here,” he said.

Part of the appeal, West said, is what the hotel calls “Hungry Hour,” the period from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday when The View offers a price-per-item seafood buffet. Among the menu items are half a dozen peel-and-eat shrimp or Cajun shrimp ($3.50), half a dozen oysters on the half shell ($3) and linguine with scallops ($3). The food is grilled at a small table in the center of the room.

There is also live music from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. Monday and Tuesday and from 9 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Wednesday through Saturday.

However, West said, the main attraction is on the other side of the window glass. Facing the ocean on a clear day and beginning on the far right, the view extends from the San Gabriel Mountains south to Los Angeles and Long Beach, along the coast to Newport Harbor with Santa Catalina Island beyond, down the Irvine coast with Spyglass Hill and Harbor Ridge in the foreground and finally ending at Saddleback. Immediately below is Newport Center, Pacific Coast Highway and the harbor.

Sometimes, West said, he becomes involved in his work and forgets about the sight--for a good 5 minutes at a time.

“I love working up here,” he said. “You have to stop sometimes and remind yourself where you are. Then you just stop and look out the windows like everyone else.”

THE VIEW AT A GLANCE

Where: Atop the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel and Tennis Club, 900 Newport Center Drive.

Hours: 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily.

“Hungry Hour”: 5 to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. Price-per-item seafood grill buffet.

Live music: 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. Monday and Tuesday, 9 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Wednesday through Saturday.

Information: (714) 640-4000.