The Ten Best Hotel Bars in Boston

Polished, precise, civilised. Boston's best hotel-bar drinking — picked for craft, not concierge buzz.

Boston's hotel bars run a quieter, more disciplined kind of drinking. They're rooms designed for travellers who want a precise martini and an unhurried hour, not whoever happens to walk in off the street. This is barsforKings's editor-curated guide to the 10 best hotel bars in Boston — picked for craft, atmosphere, and the rare quality of being equally good at 6pm and 1am.

Hotel bars solve specific problems. You need a bar near your room. You need somewhere quiet to take a meeting. You want the drink right the first time and you don't want to negotiate a wait. Every recommendation below clears those three bars. Most are open to non-guests; we've flagged any that aren't.

Best for: business travellers, late-checkout drinks, hotel-room negotiations made civilised, anniversaries that deserve a hotel jacket. Pricing skews higher than the city average — that's the trade. The rooms below justify it.

The Ranked List

Ten hotel bars, ranked

Civilised, polished, not pretending to be a club. Pick by neighbourhood and proximity to where you're sleeping.

No. 01 · Hotel Bar
The Rooftop at the Revere Hotel
Back Bay · $$$
The Rooftop at the Revere Hotel draws a steady local crowd in Back Bay. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
No. 02 · Hotel Bar
Rooftop at The Envoy
Seaport · $$$
Rooftop at The Envoy draws a steady local crowd in Seaport. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
No. 03 · Hotel Bar
Lookout Rooftop & Bar
South End · $$$
Lookout Rooftop & Bar draws a steady local crowd in South End. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
No. 04 · Hotel Bar
Citizen Public House
Fenway · $$$
Citizen Public House draws a steady local crowd in Fenway. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
No. 05 · Hotel Bar
The Ivy Room
Theater District · $$$
The Ivy Room draws a steady local crowd in Theater District. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
No. 06 · Hotel Bar
Lookout Rooftop Boston
City centre · $$$$
Lookout Rooftop sits on top of the Envoy Hotel in the Seaport District — a wraparound deck with views of Downtown Boston, the harbour and the Tobin Bridge.
No. 07 · Hotel Bar
The Publick House
Brookline · $$
The Publick House draws a steady local crowd in Brookline. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
No. 08 · Hotel Bar
The Baldwin Bar
Woburn · $$$
The Baldwin Bar draws a steady local crowd in Woburn. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
No. 09 · Hotel Bar
The Hawthorne
City centre · $$$
The Hawthorne operates at a level that most cocktail bars in America aspire to but rarely reach. Founded by Jackson Cannon, the bar has been one of the driving
No. 10 · Hotel Bar
Alden & Harlow Boston
City centre · $$$
Alden & Harlow is the Harvard Square restaurant-bar from chef Michael Scelfo — a celebrated New American kitchen with a tight cocktail programme that punches ab
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Photos via Google Places. Editorial selection by Bars for Kings editors. Source