Hotel bars are now leading cocktail culture

Hotel bars across the board are throwing away their stuffiness and insularity in favour of standing as the pinnacle of cocktail craftsmanship, as Melita Kiely discovers

Establishments like Fragrances at the Ritz-Carlton Berlin are reinventing our expectations of hotel bars

Hotel bars have become synonymous with luxury and opulence, but historically they were reserved for the realms of hotel guests seeking to indulge in classic cocktails at the end of the day.

Over the years, while an over-saturated bar industry has witnessed the demise of independent cocktail bars all over the world, hotel bars, unlike restaurants, have proven to be a rather robust commodity.

Widely underestimated as recently as five years ago, the transformation taking place is being driven mainly by the world’s leading five-star establishments.

They are no longer perceived as venues designed solely to serve clientele of a certain age and affluency, but have fast become an attractive alternative for a myriad of younger consumers eager to explore the diversity of what hotel bars have to offer. Some people, such as Patrick Kanongataa, bartender at Zeta Bar in The Hilton in Sydney, Australia, have even gone so far to say they are no longer a small entity within the hotel, but have grown into independent outlets in themselves.

“I think the days of hotel bars only being for old people with lots of money are gone; younger people are recognising quality drinks and service,” he explains. “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.”

Service is key to longevity in hotel bars

In seeking an equilibrium, however, there is one vital component to the successful longevity of a hotel bar that establishments everywhere universally agree simply cannot falter: the standards of service.

“Service is everything,” stresses Marco Ercolano, bar manager at The Rivoli at The Ritz in London. “It is fundamental and it comes even before the quality of the drinks. You might serve a great cocktail but without the right staff, it can lose all the glamour.”

While hotel bars have inarguably moved with the times, the expectations of guests in terms of service, sophistication and the particular atmosphere associated with hotel venues sits at an all-time high. In contrast, it could also be argued there are a profusion of independent cocktail bars spanning from London and New York to Singapore and Melbourne completely capable of providing high-end experiences akin to those delivered by hotels.

The Rivoli at The Ritz in London offers first-class service in a relaxed environment, but remains at the front of cocktail innovation

Unique ambience

But the ambience that “can only be found in a hotel bar” is what’s enticing more consumers to pull up a bar stool, according to Dirk Hany, bar manager of the Widder Bar at Widder Hotel in Zurich, Switzerland. “What I really like about hotel bars is the calmness of it all,” muses Hany.

“Most clients that come to our bar are not necessarily cocktail connoisseurs, they just enjoy drinking cocktails. When you’re working in smaller bars, the volume is much higher and you don’t have that time to really talk to your guests, educate them on their drinks and build a relationship with them.

“We can take that time to get to know our customers by name and really open a conversation – that’s what hotel bars do differently, and very well.”

Certainly, when it comes to doing things differently, The Ritz-Carlton in Berlin is leading the way with its recent opening of the world’s first sensory bar, Fragrances.

Founded by bar manager Arnd Heissen in association with drinks giant Diageo, Fragrances offers a selection of hand-picked perfumes by illustrious designers including Giorgio Armani, Yves Saint Laurent and Guerlain, which have all been paired with bespoke drinks. The concept has been designed to enable guests to “sniff out” their favourite cocktail based on their favourite fragrance.

Innovative offers

“Often, guests will not know what they like to drink, or what certain ingredients taste like,” says Heissen. “What we have done here is create an incredibly unique way of helping them decide by incorporating all their senses into the experience and eliminating any embarrassment they may feel by asking about something they do not know.

“So many guests are amazed when they come to the bar. When people open up the smells of the perfumes, they begin to tell me about their memories of their husband or childhood.”

In spite of the enormity of what Fragrances has achieved with innovation, surprisingly Heissen explains that overall the development of hotel bars in Berlin is much slower than what’s currently being felt in other cities.

The Artesian at The Langham in London is one hotel breaking the hotel bar mould

Diminishing expectations

In Sydney, Kanongataa describes the current situation as the “golden age of bartending”, while in London the revered Artesian at The Langham hotel was  crowned the World’s Best Bar and World’s Best International Hotel Bar at the 2014 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards in New Orleans last summer.

“In Germany, people still have the impression that if you go to a hotel bar, you have to act and drink a certain way,” he explains. “However, change is slowly happening and we are catching up with other parts of the world as consumers realise that nowadays a lot of hotels have a much more down-to-earth feel to them, while still being authentic.”

So have hotel bars reached a point of rivalry with independent cocktail 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 boldly states. “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.”

Evolution must reign

Having gathered momentum over recent years, the future challenge facing hotel bars is ensuring they don’t fall prey to being left behind again. As Kanongataa concludes, the hotel bar scene will continue to thrive provided innovation is embraced 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 says. “Hotels have such a great history in terms of cocktails from 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.”