Where the Hotel Bar Is Part of the Experience
There is something special about a great hotel bar. From glamorous grand-hotel institutions and dark, intimate cocktail bars to rooftop hangouts and effortlessly cool neighbourhood spots, these are places worth checking into for—even if you never leave the bar. Bar Culture celebrates hotels where drinks, design, atmosphere and people come together, and where the bar isn’t simply an amenity, but part of the hotel’s identity.
Danieli, Venezia, A Four Seasons Hotel | Venice, Italy A Venetian Gothic legend reborn, with Pierre-Yves Rochon bringing light, colour and contemporary refinement to one of Venice’s grandest hotels Why DNA Hotels Loves It ● One of Venice’s great historic hotels, centred on the 15th-century Palazzo Dandolo and now meticulously restored rather than reinvented by…
read moreMandarin Oriental The Landmark, Hong Kong | Central, Hong Kong, China Hong Kong heritage, contemporary residential luxury and one of Asia’s most formidable culinary collections, reimagined by Joyce Wang Studio. Why DNA Hotels Loves It ● Joyce Wang Studio has transformed the 109-room hotel into a sophisticated Hong Kong pied-à-terre inspired by the city’s historic…
read moreVan Oys Maastricht Retreat | Eijsden, The Netherlands Eight centuries of history, reimagined through slow luxury, gastronomy and the landscape of South Limburg. Why DNA Hotels Loves It ● A historic estate on the River Maas transformed into a contemporary retreat across a château, former farmstead and new-build Carré. ● Quiet, tactile interiors use stone,…
read moreKruisherenhotel | Maastricht, Netherlands Late-medieval Gothic architecture meets uncompromising contemporary design inside a 15th-century monastery. Why DNA Hotels Loves It ● One of the Netherlands’ most convincing examples of adaptive reuse: a Gothic monastery and church transformed into a contemporary hotel without disguising the original architecture. ● Henk Vos’ interiors and Ingo Maurer’s lighting installations…
read moreUrban Nature Bad Gastein - Austria Bad Gastein’s historic bathing culture reborn with a playful new attitude — and an extraordinary pool above the Alps. Why DNA Hotels Loves It ● BWM Designers & Architects transformed the historic Badeschloss of 1791 and a bold 35-metre contemporary tower into one architectural composition built around Bad Gastein’s…
read moreInterno Marche Design Experience Hotel - Tolentino, Marche, Italy A living museum of Italian design, where 60 years of creative history become part of the stay Why DNA Hotels Loves It ● A former leather factory and Poltrona Frau headquarters transformed into a 30-room casa-museo, with more than 400 pieces tracing six decades of Italian…
read moreW Sardinia – Poltu Quatu, Italy W grows up on the Costa Smeralda, trading glossy excess for Sardinian craft, coastal textures and a hidden harbour Why DNA Hotels Loves It ● Meyer Davis gives the W formula a distinctly Sardinian identity, replacing the brand’s old high-gloss aesthetic with tactile materials, organic forms, local stone and…
read moreVilla Argentina - Dubrovnik, Croatia Dubrovnik’s grande dame returns, with Adriatic views, Mediterranean gardens and a carefully restored modern soul Why DNA Hotels Loves It ● One of Dubrovnik’s great historic hotels returns in August 2026 after a major transformation by Croatian architecture studio 3LHD, preserving the character of the original villa while radically improving…
read moreCanopy by Hilton Bangkok Sukhumvit - Thailand Bangkok’s cinematic past meets contemporary neighbourhood cool in Asoke Why DNA Hotels Loves It ● The first Canopy hotel in Southeast Asia, with AvroKO using Asoke’s industrial history and Thailand’s early film industry as unexpected starting points for the design. ● A bronze façade inspired by vintage movie…
read moreHôtel Nelligan - Montréal, Canada A landmark Old Montréal address reborn with richer interiors, local craftsmanship and a new social energy Why DNA Hotels Loves It ● A comprehensive redesign by Montréal studio Atelier Zébulon Perron respects the hotel’s historic stone and brick architecture while giving it a sophisticated new identity. ● Local design runs…
read moreHotel Riviera Menorca – Ciutadella, Spain A splash of 1970s Italian seaside glamour brings colour, curves and a little mischief to Menorca. Why DNA Hotels Loves It ● Ilmiodesign deliberately rejects the ubiquitous white-on-white Balearic aesthetic, looking instead to the colourful beach culture of the 1970s Italian Riviera Romagnola. ● The former Hotel Madrid has…
read moreHotel Aurora – Merano, South Tyrol, Italy Four generations of family history meet 1970s glamour, Alpine modernism and a new cultural life on Merano’s Passer Promenade. Why DNA Hotels Loves It ● A rare renovation that builds on six decades of family design history rather than erasing it, preserving original 1970s interiors alongside bold new…
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