Hotel bars evolve to rival cocktail venues

Hotel bars have reached a standard strong enough to rival independent cocktail bars, a leading bar manager has stated.

Hotel bars have evolved to compete against independent cocktail establishments

Synonymous with luxury and opulence, Marco Ercolano, bar manager at The Rivoli at The Ritz, London, believes that over recent years hotel bars have evolved into establishments to offer a “competitive” alternative to regular bars.

“I believe nowadays the best bars are within hotels and they are much more competitive than the high-end bars on the high street,” Ercolano told The Spirits Business.

“Especially in the past few years; hotel bars have developed immensely in terms of service, quality of drinks and techniques.

“They have so much to offer.”

Their burgeoning success has been attributed to two key factors, service and quality, which have both been noted in helping hotel bars grow from a small entity within the hotel to “independent outlets”.

“I think the days of hotel bars only being for old people with lots of money are gone,” explained Patrick Kanongataa, bartender at Zeta Bar in The Hilton, Sydney. “Our older clientele don’t want to be called ‘bro’ and met with high fives, but our younger clientele don’t want a history lesson on whisky.

“Finding a balance is important.”

Looking ahead however, Kanongataa notes the challenge now facing hotel bars is ensuring they do not find themselves being left behind again, by continuing to drive innovation while maintaining traditional ideals.

“I think it’s important for hotels to keep investing in their bars and not let them fall behind the rest of the growing bar scene,” he added.

“Hotels have such a great history in terms of the Caribe Hilton with the Pina Colada to the Raffles Hotel and the Singapore Sling.

“It’s a testament to the quality of hotel bars – they won’t be slowing down any time soon.”

At the 2014 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards in New Orleans, London’s Artesian at the Langham hotel won a string of awards including the world’s best bar.