Best Rooftop Bars in Scottsdale
Scottsdale, Arizona — updated August 24, 2026
Five Scottsdale spots for a drink with elevation, from an Old Town rooftop lounge to a resort dining room with a view, plus notes on what we cut and why.
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Scottsdale's elevated drinking is concentrated in two places: the hotel blocks of Old Town, where rooftops sit a few floors above Scottsdale Road, and the resort towers east of the 101. Timing matters more here than in most cities, because the same patio that is punishing at 4pm is the best seat in the valley two hours later. The list below is ordered by how squarely each place answers the rooftop question, with review counts noted so you can see which ratings are settled and which are still forming.
1. Outrider Rooftop Lounge
The most literal answer to the question: a rooftop lounge in the middle of Old Town, on East 1st Street, a short walk from the Scottsdale Road bar cluster. It holds a 4.2 across 439 reviews, which is a moderate sample rather than a settled verdict, and the spread suggests a place people either time well or arrive at during a crush. Go early in the evening if you want a railing seat, or late if you would rather the crowd be the point. Its own site is the place to check for event nights, which can change the room considerably.
2. Orange Sky
The view option rather than the party option, sitting at the top of Talking Stick Resort on East Talking Stick Way, with the desert and the valley lights spread out below. It rates 4.3 from 869 reviews, one of the better-evidenced scores on this list, and the volume is worth weighing: a rating that holds near 4.3 across that many visits is a reliable signal. It is categorized as fine dining, so treat it as a sit-down room where the elevation is part of the deal, not a stand-and-mingle bar. Reservations are the sensible approach on weekends.
3. Cottontail Lounge
Attached to the W Scottsdale on East Camelback Road, and the only entry here with clearly published hours. Its own listing gives 10:00am to midnight Sunday through Thursday and 10:00am to 2:00am Friday and Saturday, though other listings put the late close on more nights than that, so confirm before planning a 1am arrival. Brunch runs 10:00am to 2:00pm and includes Irish steel cut oats at $9.00. The 4.4 rating comes from 205 reviews, the thinnest sample on this list, so read it as promising rather than proven.
4. Rockbar Inc.
A cocktail bar on North Craftsman Court, in the walkable pocket of Old Town where several of these stops sit within a few blocks of each other. At 4.4 across 926 reviews, it has one of the more settled scores here, which is unusual for a bar that trades on late nights and live sound. Include it as the drinks-first stop on a night that starts higher up: it is the sort of room people end at rather than begin at. Check its site for what is on before you commit, since the schedule drives the crowd.
5. Hotel Adeline, Scottsdale, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel
Listed last, and with a caveat. The property sits on North Scottsdale Road between Old Town and the resort corridor, and its 4.1 rating across 1,198 reviews reflects the whole hotel, guest rooms and all, rather than the bar alone. That makes the number a weak proxy for a drink. Worth a stop if you are already on that stretch of Scottsdale Road and want somewhere less trafficked than the Old Town core, but go with the understanding that the crowd is heavily hotel guests and the scene depends entirely on who is checked in that week.
What we left off
STK Steakhouse appeared on the earlier version of this list and has been cut as a national chain, despite a 4.4 across more than 3,200 reviews. Scottsdale Marriott Old Town comes off for the same reason. Rancher Hat Bar rates a 4.9 from more than 1,800 reviews, one of the strongest scores in the city, but it is a hat bar rather than a rooftop, so it does not fit the premise of this guide.