UPDATE 1-29-2021: Hotel Vin's standard, Thursday-Saturday "bubbles" are sold out through mid-April. But "Big Game Bubbles" are now available for game-watching on Super Bowl Sunday, February 7. For the low, low price of $600, a group of 8 people can watch the game on a 32-inch TV and receive a case of beer, one bottle of liquor with mixers, and pre-game, half-time, and post-game treats. Reservations here.

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A new hotel in Grapevine has introduced fun little igloos on their rooftop which let you hang outside in a weatherproof environment.

Hotel Vin, which opened in September 2020, has added what they call rooftop "bubbles" on their Rioja Rooftop Terrace, where you and five of your friends can make merry for two hours or more.

A release lists the things guests may do in these igloo-like bubbles, as follows:

• enjoy specialty cocktails, fine wines, craft beer and light bites
• listen to their own playlists
• take in the views of historic Downtown Grapevine

They don't say anything about PDAs but one presumes that very restrained dancing and light necking are also permitted.

The hotel has four of these bubbles, each equipped with speakers, furniture, and heaters. All bubbles are fully sanitized between seating. They're available on a first-come, first- serve basis, but reservations are required.

If you miss out on renting a bubble, Rioja Rooftop Terrace has additional seating and fire pits. You can sit by the firepit and gaze longingly over at the merriment happening inside the bubbles and wonder where in god's name you went wrong.

The bubbles are available Thursday-Saturday from 5-11 pm, and are $250, which comes with a bottle of Cava (Segura Viudas Reserva Heredad) from Spain, and a Mediterranean mezze medley for six.

Call 817-251-3077 to book. If you book one during Happy Hour, from 5–6 pm, they go for $100 which gets you the bottle of Cava, but no mezze medley.

Waterproof Lounge
This roofop bar on the 19th floor of the Statler Dallas hotel in downtown Dallas was actually first to introduce this igloo concept to DFW back in December 2019.

Also referred to as garden igloos, they're made of plastic with stitched triangular segments that form a polyhedron. You guessed it, they're basically a geodesic dome, and they've caught on in other cities such as San Francisco, which was laughably in awe of them when they first appeared in the Rice-A-Roni city in August 2020. You could theoretically buy one yourself for just under $2K.

Waterproof has them in two sizes: Small, which is what the Hotel Vin has, with seating for up to six; and a large, which seats up to eight.

At Waterproof, the small goes for $200 per hour during peak hours (weekends and Thursday-Friday nights), and $100 per hour during non peak hours (Sunday-Wednesday, 10 am-12 midnight, and Thursday-Friday 12 noon-7 pm), with a two-hour minimum. The large is $300 per hour.

While they obviously serve as a deterrent to the cold weather, they're also being couched as a good solution for dining during coronavirus times. Assuming your entire party is your family, that is.