From live jazz to DJ nights: 3 cool Bangkok hotel bars

Banyan Tree Bangkok’s Latitude blows other rooftop bars away with panoramic views of the cityscape.

By Erin Behan

There’s nothing more relaxing, or romantic, than reposing at a beautiful Bangkok bar, tropical drink in hand. What’s extra nice is when that bar is in your hotel — if you’ve ever been in a hotel without one, you know the pain of having to leave your hotel for a drink. Regardless of whether you’re staying at one of these Bangkok hotels, only a fool would skip these three hotel bars while on vacation.

Cocktails and music. It’s one thing to venture down to the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok’s hotel bar and get a perfectly mixed cocktail — the Oriental Mai Tai and Thajito made with fresh lemongrass and ginger are specialties — but quite another to enjoy a side of nightly live jazz that makes this bar famous. Live music starts at 9 p.m. and top jazz divas (usually from the U.S.) appear at 10 p.m., excepting Sundays. The Bamboo Bar’s jungle theme completes what’s an already otherworldly experience.

Cocktails and a view. Easy access to a fabulous drink is good, and fabulous views to go with that drink are that much better; it’s hard to imagine a better view of the city than what’s at the Latitude Lounge & Bar at Banyan Tree Bangkok. The open-air sky lounge on the 51^st floor offers stunning views of the city — even the clear, Lucite chairs seem designed not to impede the view. Although you can have just about whatever exotic cocktail your heart desires, the Latitude Sunset, made with gin, grapefruit and lime juices and grenadine syrup compliments the scene as the sun dips and the city’s lights begin to glow.

Cocktails and a party. Ease into the bar scene with tapas and drinks from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Metropolitan Bangkok. After that, the Met Bar turns into a clubby enclave with DJs spinning lounge tunes and as many of those tasty cocktails dished out as you can handle (new drinks are debuted weekly — the lychee cosmo sounds especially scrumptious). It doesn’t get more exclusive than this: Only members and hotel guests are allowed.

Related resources

• Cheap flights to Bangkok
• Thailand vacations

Erin Behan is a freelance writer and editor out of Brooklyn, N.Y., who counts good food, intoxicating drink and adventurous travel among her favorite things.

Tagged: Hotels