May 18

Vogue Australia / 25 hotels with amazing rooftops you have to experience

BEC WHISH

15 May 2019

We’re hard-wired to love the sensation of looking down from above.

Image credit: Thompson Toronto. Instagram.com/thompsonrooftop

Gazing down on a city from above is a brilliant feeling; the buildings, roads and parks all spread out before you like your own private kingdom. It’s the reason we queue to go to the Top of the Rock in New York, the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the London Eye. To feel like the king or queen of a great modern city for a moment or two.

But we’re actually hard-wired to love the sensation of looking down on our kingdom, according to environmental psychologist Dr Sally Augustin. She told Psychology Today, “Being on the 100th floor, with a view of the nearby world, gives us prospect and refuge – that means we have a view out over a nearby area from a secure location.” Being able to safely see far is the reason humans historically built castles on top of hills with great vantage points. Any invading armies or animals are quickly spotted when you’re well-positioned up high.

Image credit: Palazzo Manfredi, Rome. Instagram.com/palazzomanfredi

This preference for looking down on the world’s great metropolises is reinforced by modern concepts. “We link things that are higher with more power and importance,” says Augustin. “Think about CEO offices on the top floors of buildings.” In film and TV, powerful people frequently enjoy sweeping vistas – for example, in the hit show Suits(which made Meghan Markle famous), every formidable lawyer’s office overlooked a panorama of Manhattan.

Then there are the basic financial facts – the higher you go in a building, the more privacy you’re going to get, the more it’s going to cost you. “Not many people can see into our windows when we're on the 100th floor, and there's probably no one nearby making annoying noises, either,” says Augustin.

The verdict is, the higher, the better – which is why we’ve compiled this list of the best hotel rooftops in the world. Here are some fabulous views you can reliably book on your next holiday (with apologies to anyone who suffers from vertigo).