While checking in at a hotel’s reception desk, do you typically find yourself glancing over your shoulder to survey the lobby bar? Are you the hotel guest who inspects the cocktail menu with as much scrutiny as you give the other amenities? The kind of cocktail lover who visits the bars of hotels you aren’t even staying in? When Afar editors realized that many of the tips we exchange about upcoming trips are often about hotel bars, we thought you might want to know our favorites too. From Tasmania to Tucson, here are some of the best places to get the taste of a new destination.
The Living Room at the Dewberry, Charleston, South Carolina
The bar at the Dewberry is fantastic: Think embossed ice cubes and the best version of classic cocktails you’ve ever had, served in a roomy setting full of vintage midcentury furniture. Lit by the floor-to-ceiling windows during the day and at night by romantic lights gleaming off polished wood and brushed gold surfaces, the Living Room is the chicest spot in Charleston. —Lyndsey Matthews, Afar contributor
Mary Mary at The Tasman, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Hobart, Australia
When it opened in 2021, The Tasman instantly became the coolest hotel on the island of Tasmania, stitching together an 1841 former hospital, a 1937 art deco building, and a new-construction glass annex that juts out dramatically toward the harbor. Don’t miss grabbing a drink at Mary Mary, a speakeasy hidden away behind the sandstone walls of the former St. Mary’s Hospital. The team has collected an impressive library of rare spirits, many distilled on Tasmania, and the cocktail menu is filled with Indigenous botanicals as a nod to the state’s rugged terroir. Don’t know where to begin? Tasmania is called the Apple Isle, so I went for the True Local, made with apple brandy, Pommeau, house-made vermouth, and apple juice. There are plenty of excellent ciders on the menu as well. —Nicholas DeRenzo, contributing editor
Trophies line the back wall of the impeccably chic Silver Lyan bar, in the subterranean vault of a historic bank in D.C.
Courtesy of Silver Lyan
Silver Lyan at Riggs Washington, D.C.
I first fell in love with the just-this-side-of-mad mixology of Mr. Lyan (aka Ryan Chetiyawardana) at his two London hotel bars, Lyaness at Sea Containers London and Seed Library at One Hundred Shoreditch. But standout hotel bars in London are nothing new. More game-changing is his first U.S. outpost, Silver Lyan, which opened in 2020 in the Riggs hotel in D.C.—a city better known for its power-lunch martinis than ultra-creative cocktails. The hotel occupies an 1891 bank, and the bar, tucked into the old basement vault, features high-meets-low decor like a wall of old trophies and art deco light fixtures. It’s the kind of place where you’ll get into rambling discussions with the staff about—there’s no other way to put this—the very, very weird ingredients, including dissolved deer antlers, hay-smoked bee larvae, and even rum infused with emu neck meat. (Really.) If you’re feeling less adventurous, there are also “tots & shots” (shots served with tater tots and buttermilk ranch) and jello shots with champagne chasers. —ND
Broken Shaker at the Freehand Miami
Thank the gods for Broken Shaker. The craft cocktail bar within a high-end hostel gives you a reason to be at a pool party in South Beach without having to wear anything tight or shiny. In fact, you can kick back with an old-fashioned—the actual best I’ve ever had—in a lounge chair beneath twinkle lights and not feel totally idiosyncratic. It’s a bit of Havana, a bit of Portland, Oregon, and entirely special. —Laura Dannen Redman, Afar contributor
The newly reimagined Starlite is filled with sumptuous design details, like zebra-pattern chairs, green curtains, and locally sourced antiques.
Photo by Mark Mediana
Starlite at the Beacon Grand, San Francisco
The Beacon Grand, formerly known as the historic Sir Francis Drake, underwent a major renovation before reopening in the spring of 2022. This iconic building originally opened its doors as a hotel in 1928, and one of the highlights of the property is the rooftop cocktail bar and lounge, the reimagined Starlite, on the 21st floor. In its prior heyday in the mid-20th century, it was a popular dance hall. Today it’s reclaiming that reputation and has quickly become a popular downtown nightlife spot . The hotel also has an excellent whiskey program in the downstairs bar, perfect for guests who prefer a more subdued drinking atmosphere. —Jessie Beck, associate director, video & SEO
elNico at Penny Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York
Inside, outside, take your pick—the rooftop bar of the Penny Williamsburg, elNico, shines no matter where you sit or stand. Outside features plenty of low-slung couches and high-top tables from which to take in the panoramic views of the Williamsburg and Manhattan skylines; inside, meanwhile, evokes the plant-filled loft of a Brooklyn friend, thanks to colorful rugs, dark wood furniture, floor-to-ceiling windows, and greenery galore. Order a rhubarb margarita and settle in. —Katherine LaGrave, deputy editor
Lucky visitors might still get a drink poured by the legendary Tiger, who started working at Hotel Congress in 1959.
Courtesy of Visit Tucson
Tiger’s Tap Room at Hotel Congress, Tucson, Arizona
The 105-year-old Hotel Congress has three on-site bars, the most treasured of which is Tiger’s Tap Room, which was renamed in 2017 to honor longtime bartender Thomas “Tiger” Ziegler, who had worked there since 1959. Now 91 and semi-retired, Tiger has still been known to stop in from time to time to visit his regulars. If you happen to meet him, be sure to ask for a ghost story or two. —Sara Button, Afar contributor
Claridge’s Bar at Claridge’s, London
Slip onto the leather banquette at Claridge’s Bar and nurse a cocktail while keeping an eye on the other customers. You’ll feel like you’ve stumbled onto the set of a movie about terribly discreet romances and drama in the lives of London’s beautiful people. A flute of one of the remarkable champagnes available by the glass (Dom Pérignon, Laurent-Perrier, Ruinart, among others) strikes the proper golden note in Claridge’s art deco gem of a bar. —Ann Shields, Afar contributor
XR Bar at the Crossroads Hotel, Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City has great selling points—fine arts, historic landmarks, and legendary barbecue options—but the city’s recently reclaimed the reputation it held during Prohibition when jazz and speakeasies flourished and boozy comradery reigned. One venue that pays homage to that history, XR, invites hotel guests and locals in for a drink or for the whole evening. This speakeasy hiding in plain sight offers an inventive cocktail menu, decor dominated by ornate light fixtures, and the insider sensation that you’re partaking in one of the city’s favorite pastimes. —Laney Boland, executive director
Though it only opened in 2014, Scarfes Bar feels like it’s been a London institution for decades.
Photo by Durston Saylor
Scarfes Bar at Rosewood London
You know those places that are new but feel like they’ve always been part of the fabric of a city? Scarfes Bar, which opened in 2014 with the debut of Rosewood London, has seamlessly integrated itself into the fabric of the city with its almost instantaneous clubby status. It’s easy to see why: The cocktails are top-notch, there’s live jazz seven nights a week, and the decor pays homage to British caricaturist Gerald Scarfe, whose work adorns the walls. My favorite touch: a fireplace to warm the bones on drizzly London evenings. —Jennifer Flowers, senior deputy editor
The Elysian Bar at Hotel Peter and Paul, New Orleans
The Elysian Bar is worth every bit of hype it’s received since it opened on the ground floor of the 1875 rectory of the church turned Hotel Peter and Paul. You can choose to sit at the bar, in the courtyard, or in the living room–like lobby space in an overstuffed gingham-print chair. Go for Aperitivo Hour from 3 to 6 p.m. to try the full menu of spritzes and vermouth and tonics. The well-curated bar menu is mostly small plates, so you might as well try multiple snacks, such as shrimp toast, marinated olives, and house-made focaccia with honey butter. —LM
GB Roof Garden Restaurant & Bar at Hotel Grand Bretagne, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Athens
As is fitting for a grande dame, the Hotel Grande Bretagne has four bars, including Alexander’s Bar, which has an intricate 18th-century tapestry of Alexander the Great. But my favorite is the GB Roof Garden Restaurant & Bar. With an enviable perch over Syntagma Square, Athens’s veritable center, the indoor-outdoor space is quiet, classy, and elegant without being fussy: Think fine glassware, ironed white tablecloths, and leather chairs. Order a martini and settle in for the views of Lycabettus Hill, the Parliament, and the famed Acropolis, which—illuminated at night—is a hard vista to beat. —KLG
The kitschy, midcentury decor belies the incredible skill that goes into the Japanese-inspired cocktails and bites at Hai Noon.
Courtesy of Hai Noon
Hai Noon at Papago Motor Hotel, Scottsdale, Arizona
There are certainly fancier hotels in Scottsdale than the Papago Motor Hotel, a no-frills converted ‘60s-era motel near the Desert Botanical Garden. But I can’t think of a better hotel bar and restaurant than the one hidden inside: James Beard Award–winning chef Nobuo Fukuda recently opened Hai Noon, where the midcentury desert vibes clash playfully with the sophisticated Japanese menu. The raw seafood preparations were inspired, but I was especially smitten with the clever cocktails, which are perfectly balanced and include ingredients like star anise, soy sauce, Calpico, barley shochu, and kurosato (Japanese black sugar); the menu also includes Japanese beers, shochu, and sakes, ranging from $12 a glass to $360 a bottle. You’ll feel like you’re ordering drinks from some chic Tokyo lounge in a space that looks more like your retired uncle’s Sonoran bachelor pad. —ND
Bemelmans Bar at The Carlyle, A Rosewood Hotel, New York City
Bemelmans Bar might as well be the birthplace of “ooh!”—that sound you make when you walk into a memorable room. Tucked away in The Carlyle, it inspires utter delight, whether you’re a fan of Ludwig Bemelmans’s Madeline characters frolicking on the walls (rabbits picnic, elephants ice-skate) or the old-school NYC vibe manifesting as leather banquettes in a shade of “man-cave brown” and a gold-leaf ceiling—or you just happened upon Lady Gaga playing a surprise set. There’s live music, and a sense of serendipity, every night. —LDR
Cocktails come with an unbeatable view at the Gritti Palace in Venice.
Courtesy of Marriott International
The Gritti Terrace/Riva Lounge at The Gritti Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Venice
Are these the most expensive cocktails in Venice? At nearly €30 a pop, probably. But at The Gritti Palace, you’re paying for the view, an unmatched front-row panorama of the Grand Canal, with Palazzo Genovese and Basilica Santa Maria della Salute staring back at you as gondola and vaporetti chug by. The Gritti Terrace is a seasonal daytime restaurant-bar open until 5:30 p.m. April through October; the adjacent Riva Lounge has the same view and is open until 1 a.m. This is a prime if pricey respite from the crowds. —Sophie Friedman, Afar contributor
Charmaine’s at the Proper Hotel, San Francisco
In 2017, when Charmaine’s opened atop the Proper Hotel in downtown San Francisco, it made waves. As there aren’t many rooftop spots in this foggy town, locals, visitors, and hotel guests still flock like moths to Charmaine’s firepits. As one of San Francisco’s scenier spots, there can be a line to get in, but the wait’s worth the chance to sip cocktails while drinking in some of the best views in the city. —Maggie Fuller, Afar contributor
This article was originally published in 2019 and most recently updated on July 3, 2024, with current information.
