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Best Hotel Bets
The Best Hotel Splurges
Hilton Imperial (Dubrovnik, Croatia). Rather than build a hotel from scratch, Hilton had the wisdom to restore what was salvageable from Dubrovnik's historic 19th-century Imperial and graft a modern hotel onto the base. Every detail has been addressed here, and whether you hail from America or Azerbaijan, you'll be treated as an honored guest.
Diamant (Porec, Croatia). Though it looks like an impersonal '70s package-style hotel from the outside, it is much more -- management has thought of everything, and the hotel has an activity to match guests' every whim. The Diamant deserves special kudos for its efforts to accommodate guests with disabilities. Every part of the hotel can accommodate wheelchairs, even the pool and locker rooms.
Hotel Aria (Prague, Czech Republic). A new luxurious hotel opened in the heart of Malá Strana just around the corner from the St. Nicholas Cathedral. Its melodious theme will especially please music lovers.
Four Seasons Hotel (Prague, Czech Republic). The best luxury Old Town hotel with the best view of Prague Castle and Charles Bridge. If price isn't a concern, choose a room at this new addition to the luxury-hotel list with its unbeatable location.
Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace (Budapest, Hungary). The splendid, sprawling hotel is Hungary's foremost hotel. The Art Nouveau architecture is exquisite, and the customer care and attention to detail will leave you feeling pampered.
La Residenza (Timisoara, Romania). One of the most stylish and least pretentious upmarket hotels in Romania, this is where VIPs visiting the country's most western city stay when they're striking the latest deal or hiding from the press. If you can drag yourself out your plush room, you'll probably get no farther than the lounge or garden -- where you'll be tempted to curl up next to the fire or laze beside the pool. It's like being in your favorite uncle's mansion.
Staying in Count Kalnoky's Guesthouses (Miclosoara, Romania). Tudor Kalnoky was born abroad but returned to his Transylvanian homeland after the fall of Communism to reclaim his royal birthright. Having fallen in love with the little Hungarian village once ruled by his forebears, he has set about restoring some of its old houses, and ended up creating one of the most wonderful accommodations opportunities in the whole country.
Delta Nature Resort, Danube (Delta, Romania). This is the first luxury resort in what is widely regarded as the last wilderness in Europe. Guests are ensconced in plush cottages for the night (after enjoying local caviar), while during the day you're given endless options for wildlife encounters (including spying the 300 species of birds that find their way here each year) and cultural exploration (including rubbing shoulders with nuns and members of the small Lipovan communities that have settled in the Delta).
Baltschug Kempinski (Moscow, Russia). The hotel's views of St. Basil's Cathedral and the Kremlin are so breathtaking that TV networks set up here for their stand-ups. The brunch is fit for a czar, and the understated elegance of the rooms complements the facade's pastel ornamentation.
Grand Hotel Europe (St. Petersburg, Russia). This baroque confection in central St. Petersburg charmed Tchaikovsky and Bill Clinton, among other dignitaries. The harpist and the plush furniture of the mezzanine cafe provide respite from a day of touring.
Królewski (Gdansk, Poland). Rooms to die for just across the canal from Gdansk's Old Town. Room no. 310 is a corner room, with views over the city in two directions. The breakfast room looks over the river at the town. You'll feel like they've handed you the keys to the city.
Grandhotel Praha (High Tatras, Slovakia). You're in the Tatras, so why not spend a little extra to stay at this beautifully restored turn-of-the-20th-century Alpine manor (that manages to match the mountains for style and grace). The elegantly restored lobby, billiard room, restaurant, and cafe will immediately have you thinking you stepped into The Great Gatsby or an Agatha Christie novel.
Vila Bled (Slovenia). It was good enough for Marshall Tito to entertain some of the most powerful men on earth, and now its suites are like miniature museums to the monumental and fatal ambitions of Communism, all preserved like a staid 1950s mausoleum. The lakeside setting may be perfect, but imagine a world in which everything is monogrammed and guests get to lounge on a private lido with a perfect view of a 1,000-year-old hilltop castle. Oh, and the handsome lifeguard doubles as your cocktail waiter!
Nebesa (Slovenia). Anywhere else in the world, this paradisiacal four-cottage "resort" would be considered a bargain. The real splurge is time-related: You'll need to drive several miles to get to this mountainside location, from where you can not only see Italy, but feel the breeze off the ocean, while you're almost eye-level with soaring mountain peaks, often capped with snow. You'll feel like a private guest of the debonair owners as you lounge on your private terrace and conjure up dreams of owning the world as you look down over the beautiful Soca Valley and watch the deer in the adjacent field frolicking at dusk.
Kendov Dvorec (Slovenia). Arguably the finest restored manor in the country, this is an ideal and idyllic retreat filled with antiques and plush furniture. Each meal is a triumph, and while you're pretty much in the country, you're never too far from everywhere else in tiny Slovenia.
The Best Hotel Bargains
Villa Filipini (Porec, Croatia). Despite its location a couple of miles outside Porec's center and the lack of a beach in the vicinity, the warmth of the hosts, the casual but elegant decor of this tiny inn set in the woods, and the innovative gourmet cuisine in Filipini's restaurant make up for any shortcomings.
Hotel Peristil (Split, Croatia). The Peristil is tucked in a corner inside the walls of Diocletian's palace, and while its facade is respectful of the magnificent Roman ruin, its interior is brand-new (2005) and comfortable.
Valsabbion (Pula, Croatia). The hotel's seven rooms and three suites are decorated with flair in a breezy, romantic style that carries over to its exquisite restaurant, one of the best in Croatia. There is also a spa with a long menu of beauty treatments.
Dryanovo Monastery (Near Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria). Many Bulgarian monasteries offer cheap accommodations, but facilities are usually spartan (no hot water, shared toilets) and often less than hygienic. Not so Dryanovo Monastery, where the monks offer spotless en-suite rooms. Admittedly they are tiny, with two single beds, but throw open the window to allow the gushing "prana" of the river coursing past the fortified walls below to lull you asleep, and you'll wake miraculously refreshed. If you'll forego the sight of a long-bearded monk in a black cassock entering your name into a massive leather-bound ledger, you could also opt for a bigger room (and a towel that's larger than the face cloth the monks supply), at Komplex Vodopadi, an independently run hotel within the monastery grounds.
Kapsazov's House (Kovachevitsa, Bulgaria). Located in one of Bulgaria's most attractive heritage mountain villages -- all narrow cobbled lanes, and timber homes perched above towering stone walls -- this is the classiest guesthouse in the country. Right on the edge of the village, with an immaculate stonewalled garden, you can loll about all day watching swallows dive-bomb the pretty pool, but it is in the evenings, seated at Sofia Kapsazov's table (often with a fascinating mix of expat diplomats and Sofia intelligentsia) that you really know you've landed up in heaven. The angel in charge is Sofia, who hosts regular cooking courses -- after one of her meals you'll wish you had time to sign up for one.
Pension Vetrník (Prague, Czech Republic). This family-run romantic hideaway is reachable in about 20 minutes by tram from the city center. Its atmosphere and price are unbeatable.
Pension Unitas/Art Prison Hostel (Prague, Czech Republic). An ideal place for budget travelers who want to take advantage of staying in the very center of Prague.
Charles Apartment House (Budapest, Hungary). Comfortable and clean flats -- complete with bathrooms and fully equipped kitchens -- in Buda apartment buildings.
Rembrandt Hotel (Bucharest, Romania). This chic Dutch-owned boutique hotel embodies the spirit of rejuvenation being experienced in the Romanian capital. It's squeezed into an impossible slither of property in the old quarter, which is steadily coming back to life. Special guests get the small top-floor room with a terrace with views all the way to the Parliamentary Palace built by that madman, Ceausescu.
Casa Rozelor (Brasov, Romania). With three of the most idiosyncratic guest suites in the country, this guesthouse is a project of love that has taken years of painstaking restoration (now continuing in a similar building nearby), followed by careful detailing with eclectic antiques bought from Gypsies, complemented by some outrageous contemporary art and furniture. And it's right in the heart of Brasov's medieval center. Seldom does the blend of old and new fit so well, and feel so good.
Casa Epoca (Sighisoara, Romania). This recent guesthouse addition to Transylvania's best medieval fortress town occupies a 15th-century Gothic building and comes with few frills. It's done out almost entirely in wood and includes reproduction medieval Saxon beds. Everything is clean, neat, and stylish, and unlikely to attract a crowd.
Pulford Apartments (St. Petersburg, Russia). Furnished, renovated flats with views of St. Petersburg's greatest monuments. A range of room sizes and services is available, including cleaning and airport transfers. Moscow apartments are also available.
G&R Hostels (Moscow, Russia). Several floors of a drab Soviet hotel have been transformed into clean, comfortable accommodations. Services include cars with drivers and visa support. While the location is not central, it's right next to a metro station.
Hotel Karmel (Kraków, Poland). This lovely family-run inn, tucked away on a quiet street in the former Jewish quarter of Kazimierz, is a total surprise. From the warm and smiling woman at the reception desk to the parquet flooring and the crisp linen on beds, everything about this place says quality.
Penzión pod Hradom (Trencín, Slovakia). Every town should have a pension as clean, quiet, delightful, and cheap as this one. And the location is ideal, perched on a small lane beside the main square and just below the castle. If the pension is empty, the owners will give you the nicest room in the house for the price of a standard.
Hisa Franko Casa (Slovenia). A treasure just outside Kobarid, near the Italian border in Soca Valley. Beautiful guest rooms are each done out in a unique combination of lively colors and feature such treats as his-and-hers slippers and your personal choice of in-room amenities. It's more pension than hotel, and is something of an afterthought to one of the country's finest restaurants, just downstairs.
Antiq Hotel (Ljubljana, Slovenia). In the heart of Ljubljana's Old Town, right near one of the paths that leads to Castle, this small hotel is brand-new and stuffed full of lovely antique pieces in a wonderful, tasteful jumble that will remind you of the city's excellent Sunday morning market.
Max Hotel (Piran, Slovenia). In this popular destination where Venice is your most obvious point of reference, accommodations are hard to come by during the busy summer season. Affable Max offers just a few simple rooms, but they're bright and tasteful and your life-loving host will do everything to make your stay a pleasurable one (providing you don't interrupt his afternoon siesta).
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without
notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before
planning your trip.
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