Styria
Gasthof Kölblwirt has it all: a pension, a restaurant specialising in Styrian beef, and lots of suggestions for activities. Pine-clad rooms are sweetly…
Must-see hotels in Central Europe
The Julian Alps
Now here's something really special. Saša and Jure have built the most marvellous little escape in the forested hills, 9km from Idrija. The apartment,…
Mazovia & Podlasie
This relatively isolated resort, about 4km west of Tykocin in Kiermusy village, defies easy description. It's part traditional inn and part bungalow…
Prague
A pleasant change from the usual characterless, beer-stained backpacker dives, this hostel is for a gentler sort of budget traveller. There’s a touch of…
Ljubljana
This stunning boutique hotel in the heart of Ljubljana’s Old Town is formed from four 17th-century buildings. But history stops there, for this hostelry –…
Bratislava
Even travellers with aristocratic tastes will raise an approving eyebrow at the neobaroque furnishings, sophisticated restaurant and exemplary service at…
Nuremberg
Aristocratic in its design and service, this centrally located treat of a historic hotel has been in the same family since the turn of the 20th century…
Kreuzberg
This gorgeous hotel in a sensitively restored 1913 building wraps everything that makes Berlin special – culture, class and culinary acumen, infused with…
Portorož
This 19th-century grande dame is a 181-room, five-star masterpiece in the Kempinski stable, with a new and an old wing masterfully combining traditional…
Prater & East of the Danube
How clever: the Magdas is a hotel making a difference, as the staff who welcome guests are refugees. The former retirement home turned modestly priced…
Prague
The Czech Inn calls itself a hostel, but a boutique label wouldn’t be out of place. Everything seems sculpted by an industrial designer, from the iron…
Erzsébetváros & the Jewish Quarter
This fabulous conversion of a 19th-century Eclectic building has 38 apartments measuring between 45 and 97 sq metres just off swanky Andrássy út. The…
Salzburg
Marianne and Christopher have transformed the original von Trapp family home into a beautiful guesthouse (for guests only, we might add). The 19th-century…
Malá Strana
Voted one of the country's top three small hotels, this hidden gem is tucked away at the end of a cobbled cul-de-sac on the southern slope of the castle…
Heidelberg Region
A hotel has stood on this spot next to the Kaiserdom since the Middle Ages, hosting emperors, kings and councillors over the centuries. The current…
The Black Forest
This boutique stunner on Engelgasse wings you to story-book heaven. Its 16th-century exterior conceals a pure, contemporary aesthetic, where clean lines,…
Berlin
The Berlin edition of the eponymous members' club and celeb-fave doubles as a hotel open to all. The vintage-eclectic rooms vary dramatically in size,…
Staré Město
From the complimentary glass of wine when you arrive to the comfy king-size beds, the Dominican certainly knows how to make you feel pampered. Housed in…
Lugano
Kristina and Maurizio bend over backwards at their B&B, lodged in a beautifully restored 16th-century town house. Exposed stone, natural fabrics and…
The Engadine
If you fancy staying in the remote Val Fex, south of Sils-Maria, book into the grand 19th-century Hotel Fex, a mountain retreat with sensational views and…
Zürich
Away from the city centre (but next door to Google's European headquarters), this hip boutique hotel in a renovated brewery abounds in seductive features,…
Gdańsk
The view from the Podewils across the river to the Main Town can’t be beaten, though the owners probably wish they could take its cheery baroque facade…
Gdańsk
Wonderfully located near St Mary’s Church, this neat, Gothic-themed guesthouse is squeezed into Gdańsk’s oldest building and the smallest townhouse in…
Schwarzwaldhochstrasse
Nestled among hills ribboned with vines and orchards and producing its own wine and schnapps, family-run Rebstock Waldulm is a delight, with spacious,…
Lower Austria
The Wagner family look after body and mind at this seriously ecofriendly hotel: rooms have untreated wood furniture, natural cotton bedding and grand…
Castle District
This award-winning boutique hostelry facing the Danube has the wow factor. Each of the 45 rooms and three ‘panoramic’ suites is different, with…
Zürich
A supremely stylish boutique hotel in the equally grand district of Augustiner, the Widder is a pleasing fusion of five-star luxury and 12th-century charm…
Weimar
This super-friendly, professionally run hostel offers imaginative, artist-designed rooms. In one double the bed perches on stacks of books, while the …
Wrocław
Built on the site of a ruined Franciscan priory in 1892, the Monopol is one of Wrocław's destination hotels, having housed such luminaries as Pablo…
Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Each of the 17 elegantly furnished guest rooms at this boutique hotel built into the town walls has its own private sitting area. The lower floors shelter…
Kecskemét
We love, love, love this 10-room guesthouse on a quiet street that looks onto an inner courtyard garden. Four of the rooms are upstairs in the terraced…
City West & Charlottenburg
The 'urban jungle' theme of this lifestyle outpost in the iconic 1950s Bikini Haus plays on its location between the zoo and main shopping district. Rooms…
Szeged
Wow. Our favourite boutique hotel in Szeged is a jaw-dropper. Set in a historic town house built by a wealthy goldsmith in 1859, it counts a dozen rooms,…
Eastern Slovenia
For the great outdoors on your doorstep, you can't beat this farmhouse with helpful owners and rooms, with balconies, in cosy-countryside style. Breakfast…
Vienna
Stepping into Hotel Sacher is like turning back the clocks 100 years. The lobby's dark-wood panelling, original oil paintings, deep-red shades and heavy…
Gdańsk & Pomerania
Surely one of northern Poland’s best places to linger, this tasteful hotel, crafted from a palatial spa house just steps from the Baltic, is welcoming,…
Bratislava
A cracking hostel where social areas feel lovably grungy while facilities, like kitchens and bathrooms, are nicely up to date. Table football, guitars and…
Lower Austria
A short drive from the national park, in the heart of Weinviertel farmland, young owners Peter and Sabine have one guest apartment in the family Schloss…
Prenzlauer Berg
These 11 stylish and modern self-catering studios, two- and three-bed apartments have full kitchens, plenty of design cache and neat historic touches such…
Malá Strana
Location, location, location – those three little words that mean so much. The quaint little 'House at the Big Boot' is set on a quiet square, just five…
