Lounges

New Delhi, Delhi

The Oberoi New Delhi's rooftop lounge serves India's capital city with views over the extraordinary New Delhi planned cityscape designed by Edwin Lutyens — a magnificent imperial capital of wide boulevards, circular traffic roundabouts, and majestic government buildings that represents the most ambitious example of imperial urban planning in history. New Delhi's remarkable architectural grandeur and its extraordinary political significance as the capital of the world's most populous democracy create hotel lounges of considerable Indian state significance.

9th Floor, The Oberoi, Dr. Zakir Hussain Marg, New Delhi 110003

New Delhi, Delhi

PCO (Please Call On) is New Delhi's most acclaimed speakeasy cocktail bar — a hidden bar accessible only by phone reservation that has been consistently recognized among Asia's 50 Best Bars for its extraordinary cocktail program incorporating Indian ingredients and flavors. PCO's remarkable concept and its outstanding use of Indian botanicals, spices, and regional spirits in contemporary cocktail craft create a lounge of genuine Indian cocktail culture significance.

5 Basant Lok Community Centre, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi 110057

Panaji, Goa

Goa's beach lounge and bar scene is among the most famous in Asia — a former Portuguese colony whose extraordinary combination of Indian warmth, Lusophone architectural heritage, stunning beaches, and legendary party culture creates a beach lounge environment unlike anywhere else in the world. Goa's remarkable cultural fusion (the only place in the world where Konkani language, Portuguese colonial architecture, Hindu temples, and Catholic churches coexist in absolute harmony) creates beach lounges of singular Indian multicultural heritage significance.

Panaji, Goa 403001

Bengaluru, Karnataka

High Ultra Lounge at the Taj MG Road Bengaluru is one of India's most sophisticated hotel rooftop lounges — a venue serving the city that has become India's most cosmopolitan and internationally connected metropolis, where the extraordinary concentration of technology professionals, international returnees, and India's most globally minded youth creates a cocktail lounge culture of remarkable contemporary sophistication. Bengaluru's remarkable transformation from "Garden City" to Silicon Valley of Asia and its outstanding contemporary food and beverage culture create lounges of considerable Indian tech culture significance.

Taj MG Road, 41/3 Mahatma Gandhi Rd, Bengaluru 560001

Mumbai, Maharashtra

Dome at the InterContinental Marine Drive is Mumbai's most iconic and beloved rooftop bar and lounge — an open-air terrace venue overlooking the extraordinary Marine Drive (the "Queen's Necklace," a 3.5-km seaside promenade whose arc of Art Deco streetlights creates what many call the most beautiful nighttime view in any Indian city), offering one of the most spectacular urban cocktail settings in Asia. Dome's extraordinary Art Deco Marine Drive setting and its remarkable status as the definitive Mumbai rooftop bar create a lounge of considerable Indian hospitality culture significance.

InterContinental Marine Drive, 135 Marine Drive, Mumbai 400020

Mumbai, Maharashtra

ITC Grand Central's rooftop lounge in Parel serves Mumbai's rapidly evolving former textile mill district — an extraordinary urban transformation zone where the mills that powered India's industrial revolution have been converted into luxury hotels, entertainment complexes, and residential towers, creating one of the most dramatic urban regeneration stories in Indian history. The district's remarkable transformation narrative and its excellent hotel lounge culture create lounges of considerable Indian urban significance.

ITC Grand Central, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Rd, Mumbai 400012

Mumbai, Maharashtra

Nksha is one of Mumbai's most acclaimed contemporary Indian cocktail bars — an outstanding venue that pioneered the use of Indian regional ingredients, indigenous spirits like arrack and feni, and Indian flavor profiles in sophisticated contemporary cocktails, helping establish Mumbai's position as one of Asia's most exciting cocktail cities. The bar's extraordinary contribution to Indian mixology innovation and its remarkable use of indigenous Indian ingredients create a lounge of considerable Indian craft cocktail significance.

Khar West, Mumbai 400052

Mumbai, Maharashtra

The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel is the most historically significant and symbolically important hotel in India — a magnificent 1903 Indo-Saracenic palace across from the Gateway of India that was built by Jamsetji Tata (founder of the Tata industrial empire) reportedly because he was refused entry to a whites-only European hotel, and where the Sea Lounge and Harbour Bar remain the most prestigious cocktail experiences in Mumbai. The Taj's extraordinary historical importance (site of the 2008 terror attacks, symbol of Indian hospitality and resilience) and its remarkable cocktail lounges create a lounge of singular Indian cultural heritage significance.

Apollo Bunder, Colaba, Mumbai 400001

Hyderabad, Telangana

Hyderabad's Banjara Hills lounge and bar scene serves India's most rapidly growing technology city — a Telangana capital where the extraordinary concentration of global technology companies (Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Apple all have major campuses here), the spectacular medieval Golconda Fort and Charminar, and the legendary Hyderabadi biryani create an entertainment culture of remarkable Indian contemporary economic significance. Hyderabad's remarkable position as India's most rapidly emerging technology hub and its extraordinary multicultural Nizam heritage create lounges of considerable Indian significance.

Banjara Hills, Hyderabad 500034

Kolkata, West Bengal

Someplace Else at The Park Kolkata on Park Street is the most important live rock music bar and lounge in India — a Calcutta institution that has presented live rock performances nightly since 1970, making it one of the longest-continuously-operating live music bars in all of Asia. Kolkata's extraordinary role as the birthplace of Indian rock music (Calcutta developed a world-class rock scene in the 1960s when Western music became available through the port city's international connections) and Someplace Else's remarkable 50+ year heritage create a lounge of singular Indian rock music cultural significance.

Park Hotel, 17 Park St, Kolkata 700016