Portugal
Located 9km south of Mafra, this unique rural tourism option is the forward-thinking vision of lisboêta Diogo Batalha, who managed to buy and restore 18…
Must-see hotels in Western Europe
St-Germain & Les Invalides
Built in 1910 by the founders of neighbouring department store Le Bon Marché to accommodate their customers, the landmark Lutetia received a magnificent…
Powys
Wonderfully designed, these six cosy, rustic-glam tree houses blend organically into an enchanted forest off the A470. You're as close to nature as can be…
La Rochelle
This 36-room themed hotel, squirrelled away in a centuries-old bourgeois mansion, is a secret museum of street art and rock memorabilia. Monumental…
Parque Natural da Serra da Estrela
Make it up to this fantastic mountain hideaway and you won't want to leave. Everything about the place is just so right, from its panoramic setting to the…
Galway City
Set on the shores of Lough Corrib, 4km northwest of Galway, this 1740-built stone manor is the ancestral home of the Ffrench family, one of Galway's 14…
Olhão
Set over nine hectares of olive groves, orange orchards and gardens blazing with bougainvillea, this stunningly designed farmhouse estate 11km northeast…
Baixa & Rossio
Overlooking Largo de São Domingos, Lisbon Story is a small, extremely welcoming guesthouse with nicely maintained, light-drenched rooms, all of which…
Alfama, Castelo & Graça
In 2015 Dutch hospitality dreamer Heleen Uitenbroek turned a ruined 15th-century palace into luxury sleeps at this 19-room bastion of style. It's airy and…
Marquês de Pombal & Around
Exquisite Valverde feels like a boutique town house (which it once was). Its facade is not showy, but once inside, an urban oasis of discerning design and…
Ullapool to Kyle of Lochalsh
If you prefer the lap of luxury to the sound of rain beating on your tent, head for this lavish Victorian shooting lodge with a romantic lochside location…
Amsterdam
Amsterdam architectural firm Space & Matter's ingenious project lets you stay in uniquely renovated canal-bridge houses, where bridge keepers once lived…
Alfama, Castelo & Graça
Nestled beside Castelo de São Jorge, this 15th-century palace, formerly belonging to the family of Brazil explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral, turns on the VIP…
Le Marais, Ménilmontant & Belleville
Painted ceiling beams, period terracotta and a mesmerising collection of art, books and curiosities only adds to the exceeding charm of this five-star…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
Jersey
Jersey's most distinguished hotel is a country manor, parts of which date back to the 14th century. Each of its 30 rooms and suites is individually styled…
Reims
Such class! If you've ever wanted to stay in a palace, this romantic château on the fringes of Reims is the real McCoy. Manicured lawns sweep to the…
The Northeast Coast
For dreamy views and a taste of rural life, check out the two B&B rooms in this gloriously romantic, vintage-furnished, golden-stone house in tiny…
Liverpool
This exquisite B&B, in a converted Grade II–listed Georgian townhouse from 1826, might just be the most elegant option in town. It only has four rooms,…
Ajaccio
Nestled right at the water’s edge, 1.5km west of the old town, this colonnaded, peach-coloured 19th-century mansion is a dream. Views of the bay from its…
Colmar
This graceful late-19th-century villa manages the careful balancing act of combining original art-nouveau features with modern comforts such as in-room…
Southern Corsica
This delightful family-run B&B hides in a pretty village house in tiny San Gavinu di Carbini, between Levie and Zonza. The rooms are exquisite, blending…
Ribeira
In a restored relic overlooking the Rio Douro, these eight rooms have been blessed with gorgeous wooden floors, plush queen beds and marble baths; the…
Lyon & the Rhône Valley
Just 300m away from the Pont d'Arc, the aptly named Belvédère (Lookout) has 30 rooms that have been sleekly refitted. Half of the rooms have views of the…
Strasbourg
A 16th-century inn lovingly converted into a boutique hotel, Cour du Corbeau wins you over with its half-timbered charm and its location, just steps from…
The Northeast Coast
Set in a stately, cream-coloured, mid-19th-century mansion overlooking the main road, this historic hotel offers soothing rustic-chic rooms set around a…
Lyon & the Rhône Valley
Beaujolais’ iconic, much-beloved inn occupies a village house restyled into an urban-chic, design-led boutique hotel. Oh, and there’s the fantastic…
