Denver
Polished, precise, civilised. Denver's best hotel-bar drinking — picked for craft, not concierge buzz.
Downtown · $$$
Rooftop at the Art Hotel draws a steady local crowd in Downtown. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
RiNo · $$$
The Garden Bar at Ramble Hotel draws a steady local crowd in RiNo. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
Downtown · $$$
54thirty Rooftop draws a steady local crowd in Downtown. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
LoDo · $$$$
Cooper Lounge draws a steady local crowd in LoDo. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
City centre · $$$$
Cooper Lounge sits inside the historic Union Station mezzanine — a wood-panelled 1914 room with a long marble bar overlooking the train hall.
Downtown · $$$
Peaks Lounge at Hyatt Regency draws a steady local crowd in Downtown. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
RiNo · $$$
Temaki Den Rooftop draws a steady local crowd in RiNo. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
RiNo · $$$
The Double Daughter's Salotto draws a steady local crowd in RiNo. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
City centre · $$$
Descend below street level on Larimer Square and you enter one of Denver's most quietly exceptional cocktail bars. The Green Russell occupies a basement that fe
Downtown · $$$
The Roof at the Tabor draws a steady local crowd in Downtown. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
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.
Civilised, polished, not pretending to be a club. Pick by neighbourhood and proximity to where you're sleeping.
Looking beyond Denver? See our guide to the best hotel bars worldwide, or compare hotel bars city by city.