How the Hotel Bar Became the Best Place to Get a Taste of Local Culture While Traveling

On any given night, Notos, the rooftop bar at Six Senses Rome, is pleasantly buzzing. Atop the restored 15th-century palazzo, the air fragrant with Mediterranean greenery like rosemary and lavender, the well-heeled set is sipping cocktails surrounded by lofty views of some of the city’s most iconic landmarks, including the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica and the bronze chariot-capped Vittoriano Monument. The crowd isn’t hotel guests or tourists, though — it’s usually about 70 percent city residents. Visitors who make up the other 30 percent are not only getting to experience the magic of the Eternal City, they’re also getting to soak up a decidedly local vibe.

The hotel is home to several concepts, including the rooftop bar and terrace Bivium, a sprawling and light-filled restaurant, cafe, and bar designed, according to general manager Francesca Tozzi, “to welcome and engage with the local community.”

While the destination hotel bar isn’t new (see: the Champagne Bar at The Plaza in New York or Bar Hemingway at Ritz Paris), some hotel bars have become a so-called third place for the local community to gather. The concept involves passing free time with familiar faces, outside of the office and home, in places like cafes, parks, and piazzas. But by its nature, bar culture makes it easier to strike up a conversation with the person on the stool next to you than it would be to break the ice with the adjacent bistro table busy drinking café crème or tucking into plates of steak frites.

For some seasoned travelers, spending time at the hotel bar meant missing out on experiencing a destination’s more unique institutions, like a century-old tapas bar or hole-in-the-wall jazz club. But this class of hotel bars is offering an experience of its own, with thoughtful programming, menus highlighting local ingredients, and a lively atmosphere thanks in part to a crowd of regulars. And just like locals, travelers don’t have to be overnight guests to experience these places.

In Rome, Six Senses “curates a rich entertainment schedule year-round, which includes live music, midweek aperitivo experiences, wellness programming, and special events,” Tozzi told Travel + Leisure, adding that these are great opportunities “to attract the local community as well as connect with in-house guests.”

In September 2023, Rosewood Munich was the first luxury hotel to open in the Bavarian capital city in a decade and it has already become a magnetic spot for regulars, with upwards of 80 percent local clientele at its three food and beverage outlets. At the polished Bar Montez, daily live jazz performances and signature cocktails were designed to draw in both groups.

“From the outset, our goal has been to integrate deeply into the local community,” Alice Buchsbaum, cluster director of communications of Rosewood Munich and Rosewood Schloss Fuschl, told T+L. “We aimed not only to attract international guests but also to create a space where locals could gather and connect with like-minded individuals.”

Beyond social programming and menus, some new properties were designed with intention — to create spaces that feel welcoming to those not spending the night. At Rosewood Munich, the bar, restaurant, and spa all have separate entrances, which allow guests to visit without passing through the hotel. “This design ensures a local feel, making it as convenient and welcoming as visiting a regular restaurant or spa in the city,” Buchsbaum said.

In Madrid, popular on-site restaurants at Rosewood Villa Magna also have separate entrances, and while they host a mix of local and international guests, it’s a higher percentage of Madrileños, according to Miguel Ángel Rodríguez, the property’s assistant bar manager. At Hôtel de Crillon in Paris, Bar Les Ambassadeurs has drawn locals (including artists like Edgar Degas and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, who immortalized the space in their paintings) since it opened in the 19th century overlooking Place de la Concorde. These days, around half the patrons are local, who return for the bar’s “stunning architecture and rich historical ambiance, but also for its exceptional service and seasonal cocktail menu,” bar manager Kevin Rigault said. In London, hotel bars have long been local haunts, and you’ll find an after-work crowd at posh places like The Standard, Virgin Hotels London Shoreditch, and the American Bar at The Stafford.

It’s not just European hotels. Seek out the local scene in Fort Worth, Texas, at Hotel Drover, recently named the No. 1 hotel in Dallas Fort Worth by T+L’s World’s Best Awards. The summertime Backyard Unplugged series features free live music by a slate of hometown artists, bringing in a crowd that’s more than half local. At the Four Seasons Philadelphia, locals ascend the glass elevator for live music (on Monday nights it’s care of young musicians through the Philadelphia School District’s MIC’D Up program) and unparalleled views of the famed William Penn statue presiding over City Hall. In Dallas, Gabe Sanchez, the award-winning bartender at the sleek, subterranean Midnight Rambler in The Joule hotel says the goal for the bar has always been to be “beloved locally and internationally recognized,” which they’ve nailed thanks to the perennially welcoming vibe, local DJ sets, and dead serious cocktails. And at Gurney’s Montauk and sibling property Sanctuary Camelback Mountain, both offer membership programs that keep the year-rounders in these resort towns regularly returning to visit the hotel bars, as well as facilities like the spas, pools, and beach.

At Madrid’s Rosewood Villa Magna, the cozy Tarde.O bar spills out onto an open-air terrace, where walk-ins gather over breezy aperitifs or nightcaps. “It is true that the area where people connect the most with others is the bar, which we see very clearly at Tarde.O,” Rodríguez said. “I’ve seen many great friendships forged at the bar.”