NJ hotel bar nominated best in U.S., and how you help it win

There’s something special about a hotel bar. A hotel bar can be romantic, historic, scandalous, friendly, and, well, responsible. I mean, your room is right upstairs, no driving, right? Although rooms right upstairs is where scandalous can play in too.

One of the coolest I’ve seen is at the Algonquin in New York. Talk about history. This was the hotel with The Round Table where famous authors would gather. The Blue Bar there has been famous since the end of Prohibition and served countless Broadway icons over the years.

But even it couldn’t get the honor one hotel bar in New Jersey just received.

A panel of judges at USA Today just named one of our own as among 20 best hotel bars in the United States. They’re taking public votes to determine which are declared 10Best.

Ours is The Brown Room at Congress Hall. For the uninitiated, Congress Hall is a beautiful and historic hotel in Cape May built in 1816 and rebuilt after a fire in the late 1870s. Several U.S. presidents have stayed here, including James Buchanan and Ulysses S. Grant.

Inside this charming hotel is The Brown Room. Not only have presidents loved the hotel, but very famous New Jersey Hall of Famer Big Joe Henry loves both the hotel and its incredible bar.

The Brown Room was praised by USA Today as “one of Cape May’s most sophisticated drinking venues. Set in the same spot as Congress Hall’s first legal cocktail bar after Prohibition, this hotel bar serves craft libations such as The West Wing, which combines mezcal, lime, pineapple, and pinot noir, or a Congressional Cosmo, mixed with vodka, orange liqueur, lime, and white cranberry.”

Now you can vote to not only put this Cape May gem in the 10Best list, but how about making it the number one hotel bar in the country? You can vote here. 

You can bet Big Joe will be!