Finding a hotel rooftop in Los Angeles is easy. Finding one where the bar is genuinely on the roof, and worth the lift ride, takes more work. These five range from a 34th-floor terrace above South Figueroa to a low-rise roof looking straight at the Pacific in Venice, and each one is open to people who are not staying the night.
How we selected these hotels
Every hotel here has a bar that is genuinely on the roof, confirmed on the hotel's own website. That sounds obvious, and it is the hardest part: a lot of LA hotels market a poolside or terrace bar as a rooftop, and several well-known names came off this list for exactly that reason.
- 1. A real rooftop venue, not a pool deck or a lobby terrace.
- 2. Whether the bar works as a destination in its own right, which mostly means you can book it without staying the night.
- 3. The food and drink program, so a full kitchen outranks a short cocktail list.
- 4. The view, which is what you are actually paying for up there.
We do not rank on venue size: no hotel publishes square footage or capacity for these bars, so any number we gave you would be invented. Four properties were cut after checking their own sites: Sunset Tower's Tower Bar is on the ground floor, the Beverly Hills Hotel's Cabana Cafe is poolside, Hotel Figueroa's La Casita is titled a poolside lounge, and Chateau Marmont publishes no bar venue at all.
Los Angeles rooftop bars: side-by-side comparison
| Hotel | Rooftop bar (level) | Setting and scale | Food and drink program | View and public access |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AC Hotel by Marriott Downtown Los Angeles | La Lo La Rooftop, 34th-floor terrace | Open-air planted terrace with a terrazzo bar and heated seating nooks | Spanish shareable plates, signature cocktails | Hollywood Hills views; public, books Wed to Sat |
| 1 Hotel West Hollywood | Harriet's Rooftop, 9th floor of the West Tower | Rooftop restaurant plus cocktail lounge, with its own entrance and lift | Full restaurant and bar, afternoon into late night | Panoramic city views; public, online booking only |
| The Hoxton, Downtown LA | Inanna Bar, rooftop pool level | Wraps an open-all-year rooftop pool, poolside bites plus dinner service | Levantine mezze, flatbreads, grilled prawns | Looks down over Broadway; non-guest access not published |
| Hotel Erwin Venice Beach | Kassi Venice Beach, rooftop | Rooftop lounge above a low-rise beach hotel, with a takeaway counter downstairs | Coastal sharing plates and cocktails | Pacific Ocean and the boardwalk; open to the public |
| The Wayfarer Downtown LA, Tapestry Collection by Hilton | The Rooftop, 12 stories up | Open-air roof with lounge seating and a fire pit | Tiki-led bar, lunch, brunch and dinner | Ringed by DTLA towers; public, books direct |
Planning your rooftop visit
- Rooftop bar names in Los Angeles turn over faster than the listings sites keep up with. Harriet's, La Lo La, Inanna, Kassi and The Rooftop are the current names; if a third-party site sends you to a different one, trust the hotel's own page.
- Most of these take walk-ins midweek and fill on Friday and Saturday evenings. Harriet's is the exception: it books online only, so sort that before you arrive.
- Four of the five are a short walk from Metro rail. The AC Hotel and The Wayfarer are near Pico on the A and E Lines, The Hoxton is a few blocks from Pershing Square on the B and D Lines, and only Hotel Erwin in Venice needs a car or a long bus ride.
- If you want the ocean rather than a skyline, Kassi at Hotel Erwin is the only one on this list pointed at the Pacific.
What makes a rooftop bar worth the trip in Los Angeles
Los Angeles rooftop bars compete with the city's outdoor dining culture, so the ones that hold their own tend to offer something specific: a clear sightline, a kitchen that can carry an evening, or a room that locals use when they are not staying the night.
La Lo La at the AC Hotel is the highest of these by a wide margin, on the 34th floor above South Figueroa, with the Hollywood Hills on the horizon. Harriet's at 1 Hotel West Hollywood runs a full restaurant and bar on the 9th floor of the West Tower and has its own entrance and lift, so it works as a night out on its own terms. Inanna at The Hoxton wraps a rooftop pool and looks straight down over Broadway in downtown Los Angeles.
The two outliers earn their places differently. Kassi at Hotel Erwin is barely elevated by comparison, but it is the only one here facing the Pacific rather than a skyline, which is the whole point of Venice. The Rooftop at The Wayfarer is 12 stories up and ringed by towers rather than looking over them, with a tiki bar that does not take itself seriously.
The hotels
AC Hotel by Marriott Downtown Los Angeles
1260 South Figueroa Street
9.41,209 reviews
La Lo La Rooftop is on the 34th-floor terrace, the highest bar on this list, with a terrazzo bar, heated seating nooks, and views to the Hollywood Hills.Spanish shareable plates and signature cocktails, open to the public Wednesday to Saturday.
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1 Hotel West Hollywood
8490 Sunset Boulevard
8.6630 reviews
Harriet's Rooftop is on the 9th floor of the West Tower, with its own lobby-level entrance and a dedicated lift, running from afternoon drinks into late nights.The only 5-star on this list, and the only one where the bar takes online reservations exclusively.
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The Hoxton, Downtown LA
1060 South Broadway
9.2860 reviews
Inanna Bar wraps the rooftop pool and looks straight down over Broadway, serving Levantine mezze alongside the drinks.Open all year, with poolside bites in the afternoon and full dinner service into the evening.
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Hotel Erwin Venice Beach
1697 Pacific Avenue
8.41,872 reviews
Kassi Venice Beach is the rooftop above a low-rise beach hotel, and the only bar here with the Pacific in front of it rather than a skyline.Coastal sharing plates and cocktails, explicitly open to the public as well as hotel guests.
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The Wayfarer Downtown LA, Tapestry Collection by Hilton
813 S Flower St
7.4421 reviews
The Rooftop is 12 stories up, ringed by DTLA towers, with lounge seating and a tiki-led bar.Serves lunch, brunch, and dinner, and books direct without a hotel reservation.
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Frequently asked questions
Which Los Angeles hotel has the highest rooftop bar?＋
La Lo La at the AC Hotel by Marriott Downtown Los Angeles, on the 34th-floor terrace, is the highest on this list by a wide margin. Harriet's at 1 Hotel West Hollywood is on the 9th floor, and The Rooftop at The Wayfarer is 12 stories up. None of these hotels publishes the square footage of its bar, so we do not rank them by size.
Can non-guests visit rooftop bars at Los Angeles hotels?＋
Most of these do take outside visitors. Harriet's at 1 Hotel West Hollywood books online only and is open to the public. La Lo La at the AC Hotel books directly and runs Wednesday to Saturday. Kassi at Hotel Erwin states plainly that it is open to guests and the public. The Rooftop at The Wayfarer books direct. The Hoxton does not publish a non-guest policy for Inanna, so call ahead.
Do Los Angeles hotel rooftop bars require reservations?＋
Harriet's takes reservations online only, so turning up without one is a risk. La Lo La and The Rooftop both book direct and take walk-ins when there is room. Inanna and Kassi run closer to walk-in service. Weekend evenings fill everywhere, so book if the trip matters.
Which rooftop bar hotel in Los Angeles is closest to a Metro station?＋
The AC Hotel and The Wayfarer are both in South Park, a few minutes' walk from Pico station on the A and E Lines. The Hoxton is a short walk from Pershing Square on the B and D Lines. 1 Hotel West Hollywood is the car-oriented one on the Sunset Strip, and Hotel Erwin in Venice has no rail nearby at all.
Are there rooftop bar hotels in Los Angeles outside of West Hollywood?＋
Most of this list is outside West Hollywood. Three are in downtown Los Angeles, the AC Hotel and The Wayfarer in South Park and The Hoxton on Broadway, and Hotel Erwin is on the beach in Venice. 1 Hotel West Hollywood is the only Sunset Strip entry that has a genuine rooftop bar.
Why are the Beverly Hills Hotel and Chateau Marmont not on this list?＋
Because neither has a rooftop bar. The Beverly Hills Hotel's Cabana Cafe is poolside, and Chateau Marmont publishes no bar venue at all. Sunset Tower's Tower Bar is on the ground floor and its terrace is at pool level, and Hotel Figueroa's La Casita is described on the hotel's own site as a poolside lounge. All four are widely listed as rooftop bars elsewhere, which is why this list checks the hotel's own site rather than the aggregators.
