Overview
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.