Melbourne
Polished, precise, civilised. Melbourne's best hotel-bar drinking — picked for craft, not concierge buzz.
North Melbourne · $$$
The Leveson Hotel draws a steady local crowd in North Melbourne. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
City centre · $$$
Boilermaker House is Melbourne's most respected whisky bar — 950+ Scotch, Irish, Japanese, American, and Australian whiskeys. The basement bar is dimly lit with
City centre · $$$
Boilermaker House has been ranked in the World's 50 Best Bars list for years. The bar's signature is the boilermaker — a dram of whisky paired specifically with
CBD · $$$
Double Deuce Lounge draws a steady local crowd in CBD. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
City centre · $$$
Michael Madrusan opened The Everleigh in 2013 after working at Milk & Honey in New York, and the bar has operated on the same foundational principle ever si
Fitzroy · $$$
Naked In The Sky draws a steady local crowd in Fitzroy. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
CBD · $$$
The Paris Cat Jazz Club draws a steady local crowd in CBD. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
City centre · $$$
Rooftop at QT sits on top of the QT Melbourne Hotel and delivers a panoramic CBD skyline view. The wraparound terrace is the most reliably-packed Melbourne summ
South Yarra · $$$
Emerson Rooftop draws a steady local crowd in South Yarra. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
CBD · $$$$
Siglo Rooftop draws a steady local crowd in CBD. 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 Melbourne? See our guide to the best hotel bars worldwide, or compare hotel bars city by city.