30 iconic American hotel bars everyone should have a drink at

Once a watering hole of last resort filled with business travelers and tourists, the hotel bar is back with a vengeance.

All the major hospitality groups are filling their portfolios with new projects inside buzzy and beloved hotels. Hoteliers, too, are answering the bar-hopping public's call: multiple cocktail concepts within a single hotel are becoming the standard at big city hotels, especially those that stand on historic grounds.  

To create the ultimate American hotel bar bucket list, we've honed in on 30 hotel bars that stand out as icons among their peers. From the birthplace of the Mint Julep to a menacing bar housed in an old jail, the drinks always taste better here. 

April Walloga and Brittany Fowler wrote an earlier version of this post.

SEE ALSO: 30 of the best hidden bars in New York City — and where to find them

Alibi Bar & Lounge at the Liberty Hotel

215 Charles Street, Boston, MA

Up until 1990, the Beacon Hill building now known as the Liberty Hotel was a jail for some of Boston's most infamous criminals. The Alibi Bar & Lounge, with its brick cell walls and gated doors and windows, is located in the shadowy space that was once the jail's drunk tank.

Cocktails echo the bar's criminal past with names like Jailbait (a blueberry mojito). There's also bottle service, a nice wine list, and a full menu with pizza, pasta, sliders, and snacks like arancini and duck fat fries with truffle aioli. 

Bar Marmont at the Chateau Marmont

8171 West Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood, CA

Retreat to Chateau Marmont Hotel and Bungalows for your happily ever after. Modeled after a French royal residence in Loire Valley, this castle is home to the luxurious Bar Marmont.

The cocktail menu is built from vodka, rum, whiskey, tequila, and gin for an extensive list of unique creations. For those with deep pockets, explore the menu's Rare Breeds section with prices ranging from $80 to $200. Enjoy European-inspired dishes from executive chef Carolynn Spence, former chef de cuisine at New York's award-winning Spotted Pig.

Bemelmans Bar at The Carlyle Hotel

35 East 76th Street, New York, NY

With nightly jazz and specialty cocktails, Bemelmans Bar inside The Carlyle Hotel is a whimsical escape from the chaotic city.

Twenty-four-karat gold leaf ceilings combined with chocolatey leather and black glass tabletops create a warm and elegant atmosphere. Named after Ludwig Bemelmans, the man behind the children's book "Madeline," the bar's walls are adorned with Bemelmans' murals depicting scenes in Central Park.