Skybars in LA: Skybars and Rooftop Lounges in Los Angeles (At the Top)

I enjoy visiting skybars. Being able to look at the city below is a great feeling and lately I've been "collecting" that experience when I visit a city. My goal is to go to the highest skybar in the city and enjoy a happy hour with a frend. This time in LA, I tried three of them: The member only City Club on Bunker Hill, Rooftop Bar at The Standard, and WP24.

The City Club at Bunker Hill is a member's only club at the top of the Wells Fargo Tower. It's on the 54th floor and it's the highest skybar in the city. I managed to get in on a fluke. I'm not a member, but the person I was staying with happened to know someone who was. Lucky us.

From the bar, you can see the entire city. The prices weren't as bad as I thought they would be, but it is more expensive than other places. Then again, if you can afford the monthly membership, you can afford these prices.

The Rooftop Bar at The Standard doesn't have the same view, not by a long shot, but it is open to the public and when we visited cover free. The rooftop is separated into two areas. The first is a super-trendy lounge and the other is a faux-German beer garden. While there was no cover, a beer was $8. It's built in to the prices in any case. Overall the building is a relic that's been updated as much as they can. I don't think that I would stay here for the hotel, but I would definitely come back.

Finally, we have WP24, which is located on the 24th floor of the Marriott in the LA Live development. I have mixed feelings about the bar. The menu looked pretty good, but it's pricey as you would expect for a Wolfgang Puck restaurant. On the other hand, it's in the LA Live development which is all expensive and among the options in the area this is actually a good choice for a pre-game drink or anything in conjunction with a convention or other event in the area. The view is nice and the windows offer an unobstructed view, but it doesn't have the same feel of being embedded in the city as other skybars do. City Club is distinctly above the city and The Standard, although only on the 16th floor, is still distinctly in the city. From WP24, you get a view of the city from a couple blocks away.

Los Angeles actually has quite a number of skybars. I'm sure this is not an exhaustive list, but here is my shortlist of skybars in LA which is part of my big list of skybars worldwide. When I go back, I am definitely looking forward to trying Perch, which I didn't get around to this time. If you have any suggestions of places to add to this list, please let me know!

City Club on Bunker Hill: Wells Fargo Building, 54th floor

BonaVista: Bonaventure, 34th floor

WP24: The JW Marriot at LA Live, 24th floor

Elevate Lounge/Takami: 21st floor
Perch: Pershing Square Building, 16th floor
Rooftop Bar at The Standard: The Standard Hotel, 15th floor