The hotel bar may be our favorite type of bar. The best examples aren't just places to forget the day's meetings or combat restless jet lag, they are portals to the city one is staying in. Saddle up to the right bartender or take advantage of your visiting status, and you'll benefit from more than a buzz in a new time zone. The hotel bar is a passport to insider knowledge, the latest happenings and, often, new friendships.
We've compiled a few of our most admired examples from our recent travels. From cozy, transporattive retreats to one-of-a-kind designs, these are the types of bars we book a hotel because of. Promise us this: you'll sit at the bar, introduce yourself to the bartender and stay for a couple rounds.
Friends are made easily at the Broken Shaker
(above) Miami: Broken Shaker at The Freehand. Tip: if you need to offset your bar bill, The Freehand offers a chic take on shared hostel-style spaces in addition to its private rooms.
Toronto: Sky Yard at The Drake Hotel. Tip: beg out of your meetings and pitch camp on the rooftop for Toronto's best day-drinking perch, friendly staff and an eclectic crowd.
Panama City: Danilo's Jazz Club at The Ace Hotel
Stockholm, Sweden: In a city with some of the most sincere service industry professionals, it's a tie between The Bistro Bar at the Hotel Rival and The Gold Bar at The Nobis Hotel. Tip: get the Bistro Burger at Rival.
Amsterdam: - Lotti's at The Hoxton Hotel
NYC: Get the best of Manhattan and Brooklyn with these two polar opposites, but equally unique experiences. Bemmelmans Bar at the Carlyle and The Ides at the Wyeth Hotel. Tip: even as a hotel guest, find your space in The Ides early...its rooftop view means its a popular place no matter the time.
(above) Berlin: Das Stue Hotel's Stue Bar
Seattle: Dunbar Room at The Sorrento Hotel
London: Bar 190 at The Gore Hotel.
(above) Tokyo: the Old Imperial Bar at The Imperial Hotel. Tip: though you may be tempted to reenact your best Bill Murray at Park Hyatt Tokyo (nothing wrong with a little "Suntory time"), you can't beat The Old Imperial's history.
Medellin: Envy, the rooftop bar at The Charlee Hotel
Shanghai: One more rooftop gem...why not. The Roof at The Waterhouse Hotel.