Written by Chadner Navarro

Left: City that never sleeps: The Fifth Avenue Hotel’s Portrait Bar. Eric Medsker
Center: Pulitzer Bar’s aged white rum Mango Paradis. Ashkan Mortezapour
Right: Pulitzer’s Bar. Ashkan Mortezapour

From London to Hong Kong, these standout spots light up the night.

In a booth at Side Hustle, NoMad London’s award-winning, Latin American-flavored hangout, Simon Ford – founder of Fords Gin and a frequenter of top cocktail bars the world over – tells me there are two things a hotel bar must do to stand out. The first: Offer a fresh point of view – an out-of-the-ordinary experience to attract locals but also convey a sense of place that appeals to visitors. As well, the bar should telegraph the hotel’s stature, he explains between sips of a spicy margarita. “It can be the deciding factor for guests booking a room at one hotel or another.”

Side Hustle is clearly standing out: At nearly midnight on a Tuesday, we’re surrounded by both locals and travelers. With James Beard Award-winning bar director Leo Robitschek at the helm, it’s easy to see why the spot was named Best International Hotel Bar at the 2025 Spirited Awards. Personally, I don’t need crowds or a tough-to-secure reservation to appreciate a hotel watering hole. The drinks and service must impress, of course, but I’m just as satisfied with a sparse salon where quietude and tables to spare offer their own kind of indulgence.

A few years ago in Amsterdam, I fell for the moody sexiness of Pulitzer’s Bar, tucked inside the hotel of the same name. Its bartenders were affable but for the most part left patrons alone. With a potent martini, beneath the wood beams of a transformed canal house, I surveyed the handful of others enjoying the dimly lit space and thought to myself, This seems like the ideal place to start a thrilling love affair.

Great hotel bars have long been the jet set’s social stomping grounds, but a cocktail of high-profile collaborations, inventive beverages with a buzz that outpaces their booze, and the rise of celebrity bartenders as talked about as Michelin chefs has ushered in a new golden era. Below, six seductive drinking dens destined to become new classics.

Higher calling: Tunki Rooftop’s perch.
Chucho Potts

Sing It from the Rooftop

For its collaboration with Belmond’s 37-room Casa de Sierra Nevada, the award-winning Mexico City speakeasy Handshake set up on a breezy rooftop overlooking the pink spires of San Miguel de Allende’s neo-Gothic church. The hotel’s general manager, Michael Näther, says Tunki Rooftop by Handshake is “for travelers who want to keep the energy going without diving into full-on party mode.” Peruvian tapas (from chili-spiked watermelon tiraditos to juicy lomo saltado) complement drinks such as an Aperol spritz sweetened with coconut and the Cariño, a rum-and-yellow-Chartreuse concoction made creamy with Greek yogurt. Virtuoso travelers receive breakfast daily and a $100 dining credit.

London Without the Starch

In a city brimming with genteel historic hotel bars, it’s refreshing to discover Side Hustle. The lively publike space at the 91-room NoMad London rises above the din with Churros Milk Punches (vodka, reposado tequila, cinnamon, cacao, and whey) and Sexy Olivias (blanco tequila, sherry, olive oil, mango, and egg white) rather than tepid pints. Wood booths, embossed leather walls, Latin American bites, and Martin Parr photography referencing the building’s police-station past say “Let’s ditch the pomp and have a great night.” Expect just-off-work locals, couples on first dates, and pre- and post-theater crowds, all drawn to one of the city’s largest agave collections – 200 tequilas, sotols, mezcals, and more – and the bar’s come one, come all vibe. Virtuoso travelers receive breakfast daily and a $100 hotel credit.

Limited Edition

When the 497-room Regent Hong Kong reopened in the Tsim Sha Tsui neighborhood in 2023, it unveiled a collection of high-profile culinary spaces, including Qura, an expansive bar overlooking Victoria Harbour. Murano glass light fixtures, framed photos from the hotel’s archives, and a glowing rose quartzite bar give patrons plenty to look at. But a collection of rooms (including a cigar room) and hidden-away pockets create private corners, where guests linger over rare sips such as a 30-year-old single-malt Mortlach and a 2012 bottle of Blanc de Blancs from Champagne house Salon. Virtuoso travelers receive breakfast daily and a $100 dining credit.

Bangkok, meet Buenos Aires: BKK Social Club. Kenseet

The Scene Stealer

At BKK Social Club inside the 299-room Four Seasons Bangkok at Chao Phraya River, a grand mix of marble, velvet, and leather furnishings channels Buenos Aires’ belle epoque glamour, while cocktails pay homage to classic Mexican drinks. A current fan favorite: the Paloma-with-a-twist La Capilla, featuring strawberry-infused tequila, mezcal, peach, and sparkling pink grapefruit. If you want laid-back, come early – the beats pick up as the night progresses and the energy spikes. Virtuoso travelers receive breakfast daily and a $100 dining credit.

People-watch at the clubby Portrait Bar.

Picture This

The look-at-me allure of The Portrait Bar in NYC’s 153-room Fifth Avenue Hotel – designer Martin Brudnizki managed to stuff an impressive mélange of decorative references into a small, gallery-like space – creates a special-occasion atmosphere, even if you’re only there for a quick early-evening cocktail or a nightcap between a hearty meal at Café Carmellini and your room upstairs. Bartender Darryl Chan’s drinks span the globe: The Barrio Getsemani, his tropical take on the martini (gin, aguardiente, passion fruit, and sherry), is inspired by Cartagena, while the clarified rum-and-scotch Cebu Island nods to the Philippines with notes of coconut and calamansi. Dress for the hour – business casual in the early evening, but step up the fashion-forward looks later at night. Virtuoso travelers receive breakfast daily and a $100 dining credit.

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