We extend a large-eddy simulation (LES) methodology, based on using the spectral vanishing viscosity (SVV) method to stabilize spectral collocation approximations, from the Cartesian to the cylindrical geometry. The capabilities of the SVV-LES approach are illustrated for two very different physical problems: (1) the influence of thermal stratification on the wake of a cylinder, and (2) the instabilities that develop in transitional and fully turbulent rotor-stator flows.