Hotel bars have come back into vogue in the past few years as a wave of attractive, upscale lounges opened with exotic cocktail menus, cutting-edge design and a soundtrack of electronic music, mimicking New York.s happening hotel scene. Soon, spots like the Topaz Bar, Bar Rouge and Sofitel.s Le Bar were attracting groups of young professionals looking for something more glitzy than the city.s pub scene, but less high-maintenance than Washington.s numerous velvet-rope nightspots. But Washington.s hotel bars are a diverse group, including clubby political hangouts that are perfect for power happy hours and glasses of single-malt scotch, sports bars packed with alumni groups and even rooftop bars with awe-inspiring views. They reach across demographic lines in ways that few other scenes can. This might be because of their inclusivity -. in the list below, none of the bars has a cover charge or strict dress code (although common sense should dictate that you don't wear shorts to the Ritz-Carlton).