The rooftop bar circuit.
Our bar team ranked the coast's rooftop bars by view, cocktail list and how loud it gets after 21:00. Biased? Slightly. Accurate? Completely.
By The Velvet Bar team
The ranking, honestly
First, disclosure: our own sunset lounge on level 21 tops this list — resident DJs Friday and Saturday, spritz list of eight, and a deck that faces the hinterland sunset. We're biased, and also right.
Beyond the building: the Surfers rooftop with the infinity edge for the skyline shot, the Burleigh pavilion bar for the surf view at golden hour, and the tiny wine rooftop in Miami that seats thirty and books out by Wednesday.
A rooftop bar lives or dies on two things: does the view face the sunset, and can you hear the person next to you. Most get one. Few get both.
The circuit order matters: Burleigh for the early drink, back up the coast for the 20:00 seating, then home to level 21 for the DJ set.
What to order where
Level 21: the spritz list — the passionfruit one outsells everything three to one. Surfers: cocktails, skip the wine. Burleigh: whatever's coldest; you're there for the view.
Noise check: our deck keeps the music at conversation level until 21:00; the Surfers rooftops go club-loud earlier. If talking matters, order your last drink accordingly.
Transport: the G:link covers the whole circuit — Burleigh is the only leg that wants a car.
The circuit rules
Sunset first
Golden hour is the whole point — plan backwards from 18:30.
Book where possible
Rooftops fill on Fridays; the level 21 lounge holds space for guests.
G:link, not car
The tram covers the circuit; parking doesn't.
The short version
One night: level 21, full stop. Two nights: add Burleigh at golden hour. A long weekend: the whole circuit, tram in hand.
Non-guests can visit the Velvet Bar on level 2 — the view is ours, the altitude is negotiable.
Good to know
The Velvet Bar team
The Velvet Bar team drinks professionally so you can too — responsibly.
Meet the whole teamMore from the journal
See it in person
Rooms, restaurants, the rooftop and the floor — all on Casino Drive, all walkable from the sand.