Ulan-Ude
So central is this high-ceilinged apartment hostel, you might even catch a glimpse of Lenin’s conk from one of the windows. The 14 beds are divided…
Must-see hotels in Europe
Sintra
This design-forward, minimalist newcomer easily outshines the competition. Book a bed in a four-bed mixed dorm (with lockers), or a boutique-hotel-level…
Positano
Positano personified. Hidden behind an ancient wall away from the tourists who surge along the pedestrian thoroughfares daily, this magnificent hotel…
Four Seasons Gresham Palace Hotel
Budapest
This one-of-a-kind luxury hotel was created out of the long-derelict art nouveau Gresham Palace (1907) and no expense was spared to piece back together…
St-Germain & Les Invalides
In a quiet quayside street, this 20-room establishment is the stuff of romance, Parisian myths and urban legends. Rock- and film-star patrons fight to…
Abruzzo
This enchanting albergo diffuso, with 28 distinctive rooms and suites scattered throughout the village, was what helped rescue Santo Stefano from oblivion…
Budapest
Budapest’s first hostel (then known as the Back-Pack Guesthouse), the Shantee has added two floors to its colourful suburban 'villa' in south Buda. It's…
Capri
This really lives up to the 'palace' in its name – a regal mix of chicness, opulence and unashamed luxury that takes the concept of la dolce vita to…
Ischia
Occupying its own promontory above the sea, this luxurious resort is surrounded by a 2.8-hectare pine wood, with sitting rooms and some guestrooms located…
Zamoskvorechie
If you want to wake up to views of the sun glinting off the Kremlin’s golden domes, this luxurious property on the Moscow River is the place for you. It…
Yekaterinburg
Opened in 1928, this historic hotel is housed in a grand art nouveau building in the heart of town and has seen its fair share of celebrity guests. It has…
Príncipe Real, Santos & Estrela
Perfectly located and exquisitely restored (and accordingly priced to shock!), this 14-room B&B is housed inside what was once the same 19th-century neo…
Perugia
This fairy-tale castle comes with all the turreted, ivy-clad, vaulted trappings you would imagine. Its 18 individually designed rooms have been finished…
Bairro Alto, Chiado & Cais do Sodré
This fashionable, unsigned backpacker favourite near Santa Catarina features original frescoes, azulejos and hardwood floors – all lovingly restored by…
Anglesey & the North Coast
Victoria House is pretty much the perfect guesthouse – a delightful, solid Victorian building in the middle of Caernarfon's old town, run by exceptionally…
Graz
Central but just removed from the action, four-star Schlossberg is blessed with a prime location tucked below its namesake. Rooms are well sized,…
Syntagma & Plaka
If you aspire to the best, the most prestigious place to stay in Athens is – and always has been – the Grande Bretagne, right on Syntagma Sq. Built in…
Bernese Oberland
Picture a dark-wood, 500-year-old chalet snuggled against the hillside, flower-strewn meadows where cows graze placidly, views of waterfalls and glaciers …
Billund
Lego is everywhere here, alongside spectacular kid-friendly detail – but there's also plenty of appeal for grown-ups at this 223-room hotel. Standard …
Macedonia
Occupying a former Islamic seminary built in 1817 by Pasha Mohamed Ali, this stunning hotel complex in Panagia blends original stone features such as…
Krasnoyarsk
Housed in a 19th-century former religious school for girls, the romantic French theme and impeccable personal service set the Iris apart from most…
Ravello
There can be no better place to swim than the Caruso’s sensational infinity pool. Seemingly set on the edge of a precipice, its blue waters merge with the…
Lyon & the Rhône Valley
By far the most unusual sleeping option in the Gorges de l'Ardèche, this good find offers eight luxury safari tents (called 'lodges') and four modern,…
Oban, Mull & Tiree
This working ecological croft and environmentally sensitive hostel is one of Scotland's most rewarding and tranquil places to stay. Lovable black…
Western Sicily
Head 15km south of Trapani, into the countryside, to find this outstanding farm retreat. Four of its 13 attractive rooms have sea views and there are…
Styria
This hotel on the Hauptplatz is a delight. Petra Brunner and Thomas Radzik, a chef and musician respectively, have worked some fresh ideas at this super…
Corte
Set in a powder-blue house on Corte’s northern edge, this peach of a B&B is run by a charming couple, Marina and Antoine. The three rooms and two suites…
Positano
Cue a fanfare of trumpets. Even by Positano standards, the Franca is high-class: an operatic mix of stylish white minimalism with a few regal touches…
Vila Nova de Gaia
Named after one of port producer Taylor’s original founders, the Yeatman is Porto's only true five-star resort, terraced and tucked into the Gaia hillside…
Gironde
'A delight for hedonists' is how this luxurious 19th-century mansion describes itself – and understandably so. Right in the heart of Médoc wine country,…
Vilnius
Staying at luxurious Pacai, in a restored 17th-century palace, you slumber beneath the same timber beams as past nobles – except nowadays there's modern…
Rhodes Town
The life’s work of builder Sotiris Nikolis and his Danish partner Marianne, this fine hotel ranges through several restored buildings and a flowery…
Lyon
Four 14th- to 17th-century houses wrapped around a traboule (secret passage) with preserved features such as Italianate loggias make this an exquisite…
Baixa & Rossio
Housed in Lisbon's loveliest train station, this world-class hostel has a glass ceiling that lights the spacious plant-filled common area. Rooms are crisp…
The Northwest Coast
Built in 1912, this stately veteran, 500m from Piana's centre, remains gloriously eccentric. Its rambling corridors and musty spaces ooze early-20th…
Irkutsk
Experienced tour guide Jack Sheremetoff had a super-central apartment hostel in Irkutsk long before the word even entered the Russian language. Despite…
Ronda
Located in a particularly tranquil part of town, this hotel is one of those old-on-the-outside, supermodern-on-the-inside places that Spain does so well…
Southern Corsica
Run by two brothers, this boutique farmhouse near Cucuruzzu hillfort is pure class. Its 16 rooms and two stilt-perched, family-friendly treehouse cabins…
St Gilgen
This old inn's rooms are beautifully designed – some of the most stylish in the region. Some combine antique pieces set against a simple contemporary base…
Rhodes Town
This 15th-century pasha's house lovingly recreates an Ottoman ambience with verve and style. Some rooms are in the mansion itself, the rest open onto the…
