Sophisticated, stylish, and at the same time increasingly inclusive, hotel bars have carved out a new central role in contemporary drinking culture. Today, they stand out for their distinct personality, consistent quality, and that effortless elegance that attracts not only hotel guests but also locals and discerning visitors.
What strengthens their profile even further are collaborations with brands like Altamura Distilleries Vodka, elevating the bar’s offerings and broadening its appeal. To explore how hotel bars really work today, three leading voices in mixology share their insights: Salvatore Calabrese, Giacomo Giannotti, and Edoardo Sandri.
Hotel Bars: A Global System of Excellence
In hotel bars, the cocktail is just the beginning. What truly drives the guest’s choice is the way they’re welcomed, the precision of the service, and the value of the time they spend there. People may come for a drink, but they stay because the experience works.
These bars follow their own set of rules—they’re not simply an extension of the restaurant. They recognize their guests, whether they’re staying at the hotel or not, and make them feel seen.
Frank Grillo, the visionary behind premium brand Altamura Distilleries Vodka, knows this well. It’s no coincidence that Altamura is now the main sponsor of the World’s 50 Best Hotels, partnering with strategic addresses like the St. Regis Venice, Four Seasons Hotel Firenze, and established names across the UK, Spain, France, Australia, Asia, and the United States.
“The world’s greatest hotels have always been social landmarks in their cities,” says Grillo. “Some of the most iconic cocktails of all time were born at hotel bars. From Ada Coleman’s Hanky Panky at the Savoy to the Red Snapper at the St. Regis, from the Singapore Sling at Raffles to Salvatore Calabrese’s Breakfast Martini at the Lanesborough. Hotel bars have long been the home of the classics. And that tradition is still very much alive—it’s evolving in today’s hotel bars.”
For Grillo, the mission is clear: bring his Italian vodka into the hands of the world’s best bartenders and into the glasses of a global audience of true enthusiasts.
The Art of Measured Hospitality
For Salvatore Calabrese, a hotel bar is all about balance. “When someone takes a seat, they want to feel seen, understood, guided. You need to know when to speak and when to stay silent. The real value lies in courtesy, precision, and making the guest feel important without putting yourself in the spotlight.”
This philosophy is reflected in every detail at the Donovan Bar in London’s Brown’s Hotel, where Calabrese leads the team. Historic in setting but modern in spirit, the Donovan embodies the kind of hospitality Calabrese has refined over decades. The bar has its own entrance, separate from the hotel reception, and there’s no hostess at the door. It’s the team’s job to greet the guest directly, making them feel at home from the first moment.
“It’s a strategic choice designed to make everyone feel welcome, even when the place is full,” explains Calabrese. Because the experience starts the second you step through the door.
That same approach—careful, attentive, and seamless—follows Calabrese even outside his own bar. During a special event with Altamura Distilleries Vodka at the Portrait Bar in New York’s The Fifth Avenue Hotel, Calabrese describes the night as one of his most successful guest shifts.
“A refined setting, a crowd ready to listen, a perfectly paced rhythm. In events like this, every detail has to support the narrative. And Altamura Vodka stands out—it’s the spirit guests remember. A solid framework that brings structure to the cocktail and coherence to the service.”
A Focus on Every Detail
That same attention to detail defines the work of Giacomo Giannotti, co-owner of Paradiso Barcelona, a speakeasy consistently ranked among the World’s 50 Best Bars, and now of Paradiso Dubai, set inside the luxurious Five Luxe JBR.
“In every hotel, the detail is everything. Guests come to a hotel bar for an elegant atmosphere, a sense of spectacle, but most of all they want a fully immersive, perfectly calibrated experience surrounded by the right people,” says Giannotti.
This ethos took center stage during one of his Altamura Vodka guest shifts at the Four Seasons at The Surf Club in Miami, where he served over 400 cocktails in just a few hours, accompanied by live saxophone behind the bar and an international crowd enjoying a double show—the bar itself and the performance.
“It’s about creating an evening where everything works: the setting, the flavor, the service, the people. Working with a distillate like Altamura makes that possible. That’s the winning formula for guests.”
The Luxury of Informal Hospitality
In Italy, the hotel bar scene is evolving more slowly than abroad, but it’s opening up more and more to non-residents, becoming spaces of accessible luxury. Edoardo Sandri, Assistant F&B Manager at the Atrium Bar in the Four Seasons Hotel Firenze, explains it well. Here, Altamura Distilleries Vodka is part of a carefully curated selection designed to enhance the guest experience.
“Atrium Bar has two key strengths,” says Sandri. “First, we make even first-time guests feel comfortable in a high-end setting, offering flawless service in a relaxed, approachable way. Second, there’s the refinement, the precise protocol, the kind of rigor that reminds you of a Michelin-starred restaurant. Different approaches, but the same promise: offering something guests won’t find anywhere else. That extends to the spirits we select.”
The Atrium Bar’s philosophy is clear: “Altamura Distilleries Vodka is on our list because of its purity, and because of the way it integrates into a cocktail without overpowering it. It’s a spirit that supports the kind of elegance that doesn’t need to explain itself.”
Today, more and more travelers are choosing hotel bars for their reliability. And it’s figures like Calabrese, Giannotti, and Sandri who define what it really means to create spaces that people want to walk into. The support of excellence-driven brands like Altamura Distilleries Vodka makes all the difference.
Images courtesy Altamura Distilleries
Article created in partnership with Altamura Distilleries Vodka
