Some hotel bars are places to be seen. These venues, however, are places to see.

No longer the sole domain of expense account travelers, hotel bars are now drinking destinations. Case in point: The Manhattan Bar at the Regent Singapore Hotel was recently named the Best Bar in Asia — and the No. 3 bar globally — by The World’s 50 Best Bars Awards.

One of bar’s biggest draws is the ambience created by its award-winning interior design. It is an exemplar of how architects have reconceptualized the bar as a place to present (or perform in their parlance) unique experiences.

The Jakarta Post took a look at a few hotel bars that offer design ambience as well as a flair for alcoholic concoctions.

Omitted will be any mention of rooftop bars. The venues listed below are considerably closer to earth. The rationale? Skyline metropolis views are always intoxicating. For this article, it is best to focus on the deft work of mixologists as well as the creative designs at play.

Bars remain at the heart of the five-star hotel experience, at least for a certain type of traveler. While illumination by cell phone screens might be more common than candlelight these days, the corner booth you are sitting in is still likely to be leather lined. The snacks you are served will be salty and the mixologist who serves you will have a bow tie as you take a seat at the bar.

Here are three takes on the hotel bar as a design destination.

Nautilus Bar Four Seasons Jakarta

New York-based Alexandra Champalimaud crafted the dark, intimate, masculine design of the Nautilus Bar as well as the other dramatically brighter and more ethereal public spaces of the Four Seasons Jakarta.

Champalimaud, who was also behind the renovation of the Raffles Hotel Singapore and The Waldorf Astoria, drew on the spice trade and Indonesia to give Nautilus a local, historical touch in a space that is otherwise sleek and contemporary, with a black decor brightened by dazzling golden accents. Along one wall is a stylized, sepia visualization of ships docking at Jakarta’s Sunda Kelapa Port. A tumultuous sea is suggested by the groovy swirls of the multi-hued carpet, while brass telescopes and maritime ephemera sit above the curves of the bar shelves.

The entrance opens directly onto the bar, which, thanks to clever lighting, appears as a distant oasis sighted at the end of a corridor just off the hotel’s main lobby. It is a space that is wider than it is deep, with the bar is flanked by just a few tables and booths. The bar, fronted only by six high-backed leather stools, fosters easy camaraderie for patrons.

Must-try: Signature cocktails frequently infused with cloves and other spices from the archipelago.

Manhattan Bar Regent Hotel Singapore

Victorian: A rich, wood decor gives The Manhattan Bar, tipped as one of the world’s best, a cozy feel. (Courtesy Regent Hotel Singapore)

The Manhattan Bar boasts a 19th century feel that was conceived by the (aptly named) Distillery Studio, a Singapore-based design outfit that has since merged with global powerhouse Hassell. Distillery’s work for the bar picked up top honors at the inaugural Asia Hotel Design Awards.

Victorian England gave birth to the contemporary cocktail culture, and Distillery evokes both the era and the place through generous use of leather and wood. Chesterfield couches — immense, rich and leather — are mated with gorgeous armchairs running in a series down the center of the main space. Wood imbues the space with warmth, from the parquet floor to the Rick House, a corner full of whiskey barrels.

The focal point, of course, is the bar, which sits atop a raised, multicolored marble platform. The result is an ersatz stage for bar manager Philip Bischoff to perform. Above, tile mirrors set in wooden frames ensure those perched on the barstools can view the mixologists from multiple angles.

Must-try: Sunday cocktail brunch.

The Chandelier The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

Glitzy: Thirty-four kilometers of beaded swag envelop The Chandelier, bathing the multi-level bar in atmospheric lighting. (Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas/Anthony Mair)

The Chandelier Bar is dazzling — but not in any way you think a five-star Las Vegas hotel would be. The Rockwell Group and Focus Lighting, both based in New York, transmogrified an atrium into a multistory amalgamation of several bars that have at their core an impressive deployment of lighting technology.

Seven million crystals, for example, have been woven into a staggering 34 kilometers of beaded swags that are used to create spaces throughout the bar. Swags also define an immense chandelier — 13 meters tall and 23 m wide — that drapes over several floors of the bar. Patrons sit inside the space sipping concoctions as multiple projectors beam light onto the swags, which appears to undulate.

Must-try: Order a Verbena at the bar at Level 1.5. It is not on the menu. Trust us.