Hotel Clermont earns #9 because personality counts. Several rooftops below and above it may be objectively more luxurious, but Clermont gives travelers an experience they can actually remember as belonging to Atlanta. That distinction keeps it comfortably inside our Top 10.

Hotel Clermont is a useful reminder that not every good rooftop needs to be bougie. The rooftop is casual, colorful and considerably less concerned with creating an exclusive atmosphere than many of Atlanta's newer hotel rooftops. Grab a drink, find somewhere to sit and enjoy the skyline without feeling like you needed a stylist before leaving the hotel.

The Clermont's personality is part of the experience. This is an Atlanta institution with its own history and eccentricity, and the rooftop carries some of that same unbothered character. We'd choose it when the group wants somewhere interesting and social without turning drinks into an event requiring reservations, sections and a dress code. BlkTravel would choose Hotel Clermont Rooftop for: casual dates, drinks with friends, Atlanta character, relaxed rooftop nights, and travelers who want something different from the polished hotel-rooftop formula.