World’s Swankiest Hotel Bars

The crimson-hued salon at the new Baccarat Hotel is one of the most dazzling bars in the city. Underneath rose-tinted Baccarat chandeliers, there's a 60-foot natural-wood bar and 18th-century art sourced from Parisian vintage markets cover the walls. The scene is joie de vivre at its finest: a sophisticated crowd feasts on caviar, duck pastrami sliders, and classic cocktails like the French 75 served in—what else?—the brand’s crystal glassware. Bonus: the hotel's stone terrace will open just in time for summer.

Richard Branson’s utilitarian-chic style and cheeky humor are on full display at the Commons Club at Virgin Hotel Chicago. The soaring stainless steel bar has splashy red-and-white panels and serves playful drinks like the Dirty Pretty Lover (bourbon, quince, raspberry and Moët). There are plenty of places to chill, from the Shag Room, outfitted with half-moon shaped couches and velvet curtains, to the Funny Library, where shelves are lined with vintage tchotchkes and card games, to the rooftop bar with eye-popping views of the Loop and a menu of boozy teas. The details here make all the difference: free WiFi, ubiquitous charging outlets, and, for guests, two cocktails on the house from 6-7 p.m.

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The South Beach glam set has a new place to bronze and clink champagne flutes—the rooftop terrace at the eco-chic 1 Hotel South Beach. Starwood founder Barry Sternlicht spent $500 million refashioning the landmark Art Deco building, which formerly housed the Gansevoort Hotel, into a model of sustainability: living walls, wooden ceilings reclaimed from Alaskan water towers, and a fleet of chauffeured Teslas. Expect a pool party vibe, with private cabanas, bottles of rosé, and a DJ spinning Ibiza-style beats.

The trio behind the Experimental Cocktail Club’s global success recently opened the nightlife-focused Le Grande Pigalle in the city’s fast-gentrifying SoPi neighborhood. The hotel's dimly lit cocktail bar echoes ECC’s signature vintage aesthetic (mahogany furniture, geometric-print wallpaper) and draws the Bobo (bourgeois plus bohemian, get it?) tribe with tipples like the Panamerican Clipper, made of apple brandy, homemade red fruit syrup, lemon juice and absinthe.

The rooftop Monkey Bar at the 25hours Hotel Bikini has single handedly brought East Berlin’s cool contingent to a part of town better known for touristy attractions like the Zoologischer Garten and Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial church. Follow the lines that spill out onto the ground-level up to the greenhouse-style terrace on the 10th floor. The cool indoor-outdoor space is decorated with plants and herbs—ingredients used for the tiki-inspired drinks and killer gin-and-tonics. We love the King Kong, made with homemade Guatemalan vanilla rum, chocolate spirits and cherry bitters.

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As if Tom Dixon’s nautical–inspired design at the Dandelyan didn’t give the new Mondrian enough cachet, the hotel has tapped Ryan Chetiyawardana, the cocktail magician behind the madcap drinks at Hoxton’s White Lyan, to head up the bar program. The progressive concoctions are sorted into four categories—floral, mineral, vegetal, cereal—with a corresponding key indicating the optimal time of day to drink them. Need a morning pick-me-up? Order the Crystal Lyan, made with sparling vodka, peach nectar, lime-flower blossom, and vanilla. For a nightcap, the Puffed Grains and Chocolate, a mix of scotch, curacao, grain soda, and chocolate and pink peppercorn, is liquid dessert. It’s even topped with a toasted marshmallow.

What better place than Hollywood for Paris-based Mama Shelter to make its U.S. debut? The cult boutique hotel chain from the Trigano family (of Club Med fame) will be remade with a laidback SoCal touch—and the action will be at the rooftop gym and bar. Yoga classes and outdoor workouts will rule the morning; come night, the space will transform into a social hub serving local microbrews and a projector showing classic films.

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Prince Edward County is the cousin to Napa Valley, a tiny wine-producing region just a four hour drive from Montreal or Toronto that's become a summer hotspot for creative types. The arrival of the stylish Drake Devonshire has cemented the area's status as an incubator for creatives and start-up-minded millennials. On Friday nights you’ll find them at this barn-like wine bar sipping Pinot Grigio from nearby Three Dog Winery or an old-fashioned Root beer made by resident barwoman Sandy De Almeida.

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In the boho Beyoğlu district, Soho House Istanbul has restored an Italianate mansion that once served as the U.S. Consulate to its former glory, while injecting the familiar retro-chic aesthetic that defines its properties across the globe. On any give night the five-floor club is a home base for international filmmakers and designers, who nosh on Aegean cuisine at the Mandolin Terrace, sip raki at the rooftop pool bar overlooking the Golden Horn, or party in the speakeasy-style Embassy—the brand’s first ever club.

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After conquering New York’s after-dark scene with Death & Co., Dave Kaplan, Alex Day, and Devon Tarby journeyed west to launch a string of mixology dens (Honeycut, Normandie Club) in L.A. Now the spirits nerds are feverishly awaiting the opening of Walker Inn in Korea Town. The 27-seat bar will offer ephemeral dishes developed at the on-site testing lab, while the cocktail program will have 50 iconic concoctions, along with a special menu that specializes in one drink, say, the martini, which will be reinvented in myriad forms.

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