Mr & Mrs Smith’s Ten Hottest Hotel Bars

Turning a night in into a great night out, the ten finalists in the Hottest Hotel Bar category at the inaugural Smith Hotel Awards will quench any thirst. Night-owls, cocktail-connoisseurs and boutique-bar-hoppers rejoice: these top-shelf watering-holes have views worth Instagramming, barmen worth befriending and drinks worth remembering. Teetotallers beware.

Winner, Hottest Hotel Bar: Ace Hotel New York

Where: 20 West 29th St, New York
What: Rock ’n’ roll retro

Designed for the cool cats, the Ace Hotel New York has art-lined walls, a Gibson guitar and turntables for wannabe rock-stars in most rooms, as well as a dining den, the Breslin, helmed by Spotted Pig founders April Bloomfield and Ken Friedman. Decked out like a classic Park Avenue apartment, the hotel’s bar plies thirsty hipsters with craft beers and spirits, homemade pickle juice (yes, really) and tasty bar snacks. Cocktails — crafted by master mixologist Sasha Petraske, of Milk & Honey fame — are best enjoyed from the comfort of a distressed Chesterfield.

Runner-up, Hottest Hotel Bar: The Zetter Townhouse

Where: 49-50 St John’s Square, London
What: Modish magpie’s nest

More glam grande dame than Miss Havisham, The Zetter Townhouse is a fanciful find inspired by the fabulous (and fictional) Great Aunt Wilhelmina. From the intricate free-hand paintings that adorn lift doors to the repurposed vintage-magazine wallpaper and top-floor rooms with headboards crafted from Victorian carousel trappings, Wilhelmina’s ‘house’ delivers a hefty dose of eccentricity — much like the lady herself. Moonlighting as the reception desk, the Lounge has done away with run-of-the-mill menus and is bringing tinctures, bitters and herbal remedies back in vogue. Behind the apothecary-style bar, cocktail-maestro Tony Conigliaro uses home-made cordials and infusions to create wicked liquid delights, including the signature Master at Arms (named for Wilhelmina’s dalliance with a solider).

Second runner-up: Fasano Rio

Where: Av. Viera Souto 80, Rio De Janeiro
What: Club tropicana

Unleash your inner Gisele and strut supermodel-style into Fasano Rio. With a glass exterior, section of private beach and white marble pool on the roof, this bossa nova-chic stunner has long been seducing Rio’s model-elite and international jetset. Forgo your free flip-flops and dress to seriously impress at the hotel’s ground-floor bar, Baretto Londra: a sleek tribute to the hotel owner’s favourite city. This dimly lit watering-hole has low tables housing chilled bottles of premium vodka, cool leather chairs and glossy dark wood panelling. No wonder it’s a Rio institution.

Hotel Omm

Where: Rosselló, 265, Barcelona, 08008
What: Architect-designed dynamite

In a city touched by the hand of Gaudi, Hotel Omm boasts an eye-catching façade: small, white rectangular slabs with slits for thin windows and small balconies protected from the blazing Barcelona sun. The rooftop terrace has a swimming pool and views perfect for armchair tourists; the spires of La Sagrada Familia and swirls of La Pedrera’s roof can be checked off without leaving the comfort of a sunlounger. Moo, the brainchild of the Michelin-approved Roca brothers, is an informal and health-conscious restaurant serving Catalan haute-cuisine with each half-portion dish accompanied by a carefully selected wine. Moo’s cocktail bar and lounge, OmmSession is sleek and sexy, graced with international and local DJs who play until sunrise.

101 Hotel

Where: 10 Hverfisgata, Reykjavik
What: Ice-cool metropolitan

A monochromatic marvel, Reykjavik’s 101 Hotel has its own gallery, is dotted with cutting-edge art and proves a minimalist ethos is anything but dull. After a day’s worth of geyser-gazing and Blue Lagoon-paddling, the bistro-inspired favourites — think burgers and fresh fish — served in the spaceship-style 101 Restaurant & Bar are spot-on for weary Skidoo-sledders. In the sleek and glossy bar, elegant white stools line up like pale soldiers at the Starck-style long communal bench; for an intimate tipple, drinks can be taken in the cosy lounge where grand leather sofas are clustered around an open fireplace.

Public Chicago

Where: 1301 North State Parkway, Chicago, Illinois
What: Mid-century reincarnation

Once hosting paparazzi-attracting clientele — Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart, don’t you know? — Public Chicago hasn’t lost its edge; it’s as cool as ever, has views worth leaving home for and a lively bar scene where the international glitterati congregate. All rooms at Public have floor-to-ceiling windows, but the rooftop suites are corkers, named for icons like Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra. At night, the Pump Room’s bar becomes bubbly and vibrant, offering tapas-inspired small plates, specialty cocktails and international draught or bottled beer. If ‘being seen’ isn’t your thing, mosey over to the mellow Library with its comfy couches, Vermeer-esque art and the same liquid offerings as its buzzier counterpart.

The Standard Downtown LA

Where: 550 South Flower Street at Sixth Street, Los Angeles, California
What: High-rise hedonistic HQ

A downtown playground in a mid-century architectural landmark, The Standard Downtown LA attracts the Golden State’s buff, bronzed and beautiful. With decor crying out to be a Sixties film set, all rooms are helpfully descriptive, from ‘Cheap’ to ‘Big Penthouse’, with ‘Gigantic’ and ‘Wow’ sandwiched in the middle. Weekends have a distinctive nocturnal energy as the young and hip flock to the lobby and bar for head-nodding beats and cleverly crafted cocktails. The rooftop is the beating heart of this pleasure dome: by day, curl up in the shaded waterbed pods or stretch out on a sunlounger by the come-hither pool; as the sun disappears over the red Astroturf deck, the dance floor fills and nightly DJs pump out hip-hop, crunk, disco, soul and Eighties hits.

Park Hyatt Tokyo

Where: 3-7-1-2 Nishi Shinjuku, Shinjuku-Ku, Tokyo, Greater Tokyo Area
What: Celluloid sophisticate

Play out Scarlett and Bill’s kooky courtship at the Park Hyatt Tokyo, a handsome high-rise that eyeballs an impressive city skyline and the white-capped peaks of Mount Fuji. Accountants will wince at the Shinjuku location; Shibuya’s shopping district boasts chicly dressed windows tricked out with designer labels. For your fill of people-watching, seek out the New York Bar & Grill, atop the hotel’s 52nd floor, and scroll through the menu’s roll call of coveted flavours: foie gras, Japanese kasumi duck and Oscietra caviar. Budding sommeliers can work through the 1,600 wines on offer — some exclusive to the hotel — or would-be Coppolas can sip a LIT (Lost in Translation), crafted from sake, sakura liqueur, schnapps and cranberry juice.

Berns Hotel

Where: 8 Näckströmsgatan, Stockholm
What: Historic nightlife palace

A beloved party pad, Berns Hotel has swanky Scandinavian style and deliciously cosy rooms. Berns has its own concert hall (recently graced by pop princess Rihanna) as well as Gallery 2.35:1, an electronica nightclub with pulsating bass. Berns Asiatiska is a gilded eatery with plush velvet chairs and dazzling chandeliers, serving sophisticated Asian-inspired fare and Asian brunch on weekends. For a night of liquid refreshment, float between the Terrace in summer for schnapps and the exclusive veranda on the second floor, or weave your way through the designer-clad revellers in the maze of happening bars.

Karma Kandara

Where: Jalan Villa Kandara, Banjar Wijaya Kusuma, Ungasan, Bali
What: Cliffhanging couture

With the azure Indian Ocean and an emerald jungle as its neighbours, Karma Kandara catapults relaxation into a higher stratosphere. Tucked away in lush tropical gardens, each villa has a plunge pool and pavilions set around a secluded courtyard. Dance barefoot at Karma Beach Bali’s barbecue beach parties or recline with a fruity concoction or ice-cold beer on the stretch of private beach. Have a hankering for a pinot or chardonnay? Veritas is the glass-clad wine bar that boasts Bali’s first Enomatic wine dispenser, dark-velvet club chairs and spectacular coastline views. Sitting on a sun-blessed rooftop, Temple Lounge & Bar is the dreamy Moroccan-inspired drinking hole, complete with shisha pipes and Middle Eastern grazing plates.

Still thirsty? Head to Mr & Mrs Smith for more boutique hotels to whet your whistle.