Including a 16th-century palazzo where ancient frescoes paint a story of renaissance art; a sustainably-minded Ibizan retreat; and a gallery-like boutique property housed inside a former factory, these are 12 of Europe’s most beautiful hotels.
Some of the world’s best hoteliers, architects and interior designers have crafted properties akin to works of art across Italy, Greece, France, Montenegro, and beyond.
From the quietly coy (where the devil is found in the detail) to flirtatious and flamboyant grand-dames, these are some of Europe’s most beautifully designed hotels.
Four Seasons, Florence
This 16th century villa-turned-hotel punctuates Giardina della Gherardesca – once a private botanical garden – just off the main throes of Florence’s medieval streets. If walls could talk, this palazzo would have lots to say, from days of wine-fed feasts and celebrations. Four Seasons Firenze still bears this extravagance in its interior design, where 16th century frescoes and ornate chandeliers meet rich cotton linens and fresh seasonal flowers. Led by French interior designer Pierre-Yves Rochon, a man who has set the standard for luxury design in hotels around the world, a carefully considered maximalism shines through. Every room is bespoke – each characterised by an attention to the high ceilings and natural light, as well as a stylistic Renaissance symmetry. Oriental wallpapers climb towards painted ceilings, complemented by gold-painted headboards and finishings that draw attention to ornate characteristics. The frescoes painted in one of the hotel’s sweeping hallways pay homage to the women who once lived at the hotel – including humanist Alessandra Scala and Countess Costanza de’Medici della Gherardesca – depicted with the rich colours and complex narratives of Italian Renaissance splendour.
Palazzo Avino, Ravello
This iconic pink-hued palace in the hills of the Amalfi Coast’s charming town, Ravello, will impress even the most discerning interior buffs. Formerly a private 12th-century villa for an Italian noble family, it was transformed into a hotel nearly 30 years ago and is amongst the world’s finest luxury properties. It’s decorated with pink interiors, but not as you know them: the sophisticated design style will challenge preconceived notions of pink with a grown-up aesthetic. Architect-designer Cristina Celestino was behind the redesign of the property’s suites: think soft architectural alcoves, plush textured furnishings and a subtle opulence that shifts between three moods depending on your room: aquamarine, coral or sand. Custom beds are the main focal point of the space, with soft curved headboards that bridge classicism and orientalism covered in shimmering crushed velvet, while pastel pink onyx marble bathrooms add to the magical atmosphere. Take home a touch of the hotel’s charm from the on-site boutique, The Pink Closet.
NoMad, London
Once Bow Street Magistrates’ Court and Police Station, and now one of London’s most covetable stays, NoMad London offers a surprise at every turn. Interior design and architect firm Roman and Williams – whose portfolio spans ornate bars, restaurants and properties around the globe – led the transformation from courthouse to guest house, while preserving the best qualities of the Beaux-Arts building. A foyer akin to a stately country house is decked with large oil painted canvases and dark shades, and the charm continues in the bedrooms where delicate pinks meet black furniture and velvet chairs. Many rooms overlook Covent Garden’s Royal Opera House, but artworks moves away from historic masterpieces to champion lesser-known creatives from London’s illustrious scene. Downstairs, find a dark-panelled and book-filled library with cosy nooks and comfy leather armchairs to sink into for hours, plus the light-flooded NoMad Restaurant.
Mona, Athens
The popularity of boutique hotels is on the rise in Athens, and Mona Athens is a stellar example. Once a 1950s, eight-story industrial factory, the industrial heritage of the space has taken on a new artistic function since opening as a hotel in 2022. Twenty uniquely designed rooms, a concept café lounge and bar, a rooftop space, and a speakeasy in the basement breathe creative life into the rustic building. Seventy years of industrial design remain untouched within the hotel, given away in the sky-high ceilings, concrete walls and floors, bold iron staircase, terrazzo floors and metal windows. The tall, quiet, shabby (but artistically so) walls allow artworks to sing, giving the whole hotel an immersive, experiential feeling akin to a gallery. Bedroom furnitures and fabrics are by the local Shila Maison D’ojects studio and champion velvets sofas in subdued, dusty tones perfect for lounging; relaxed linen bed throws; terracotta potted greenery; and contemporary oil paintings.
Soho House, Paris
As the former Parisian home of French artist and poet Jean Cocteau, a decadent space of quirky maximalism imbued with rich symbolism is promised – before even stepping through the entrance. This history, mixed with the creativity of the Soho House design team affords intricately thought-through spaces and a character-filled hotel with charm. Thirty-six bedrooms are split across five-floors, overlooking either the streets of Pigalle or the hotel’s central courtyard. Textural depth from sweeping bed hangings, pleated fabric covered walls, and painted room dividers create the atmosphere of a Parisian boudoir, where mysticism and seductive energy entice. You’ll also find painted artwork in each room, selected and commissioned from Parisian-based artists by Soho House’s Head of Collections Kate Bryan, to help preserve both the antique and current creative undercurrents of the French capital within one setting.
Cotton House, Barcelona
Once the headquarters of the Cotton Textile Foundation, Cotton House lies in the centre of Barcelona and preserves all the richness of Catalonian heritage. The 19th-century neoclassical building has been delicately renovated by Spanish interior designer Lázaro Rosa-Violán to preserve its original elements, including the marble staircase and parquet boiserie embellished ceilings. Ornate dark woods fashion mantlepieces and are met by patterned tiled floors and contemporary artwork, while mirrored walls, shelving, and panels in every room add to the already impressive design. Every room is so meticulously crafted, in fact, that no singular focal point dominates your gaze – instead you’ll find a kaleidoscopic impact. Seventy-eight rooms and five suites offer a different (yet equally impressive) interior and – undeniably – the finest cotton sheets on their beds. Beyond the interiors, L’Atelier homages the textile heritage of the property: guests are measured and asked to select fabrics before receiving an artisanal tailor service provided by the most prestigious tailors in Barcelona, Santa Eulalia.
Mamula Island, Montenegro
Mamula Island, in the middle of Boka Bay, is a short boat ride from Montenegro’s mainland. Previously uninhabited, the Adriatic isle it calls home measures just 200 metres in diameter and is dominated by the 19th-century fort turned luxury hotel. But the hotel’s interiors have just as much to offer as the historic architecture. Compact in scale but not in design choices, organic materials such as woods and stone-toned fabrics create synergy with the arched-stone walls of the historic space. Architectural firm MCM London and designer Piotr Wisniewski of Berlin interior design studio WE Studio bring contemporary art to the Austro-Hungarian, 185os building. While the design choices honour the curves, vaults, and geometry of the property, the furnishings are nonetheless playful. Metallic lamps, soft sofas, and chairs by Gubi boast state-of-the-art joinery and flavours of colour, to meet ancient pottery and old oak tables. This is an off-the-grid stay like no other.
The Emory, London
The Emory is the newest luxury hotel to grace London’s world-class hospitality scene, having only opened to guests in spring 2024. A modernist take on the classical charm of The Emory’s elder sisters, Claridge’s, The Connaught, and The Berkeley, there’s a meticulous minimalism at the Maybourne hotel group’s latest addition. Interiors are the result of a marrying of the most renowned interior design minds, including Andre Fu, Pierre Yves Rochon, Champalimaud Design, and Patricia Urquiola. As a result, The Emory offers nine floors and 61 apartment-feel suites, throughout which a visual minimalism gives way to a rich depth in texture, colour and material. This is especially heralded in the property’s Champalimaud Suite, where calming finishings such as light herringbone floors and wood panelling meet vibrant colours in the artwork. In each, large panel-less, glass windows take centre stage, offering unobstructed views of Belgravia and the leafy plains of nearby Hyde Park.
Rosewood, Munich
Rosewood Munich lies in the heart of Munich’s Old Town and, as is characteristic of Rosewood properties, has a classic, elegant charm. Uniquely, the property is born from the simultaneous restoration of two neighbouring buildings: the State Bank of Bavaria headquarters and the Palais Neuhaus-Preysing aristocratic residence – and it bears resemblance to these architectural eras. Marble-tiled floors and staircases decorate the lobby alongside sleek white columns, while lamps throw warm light onto dark wall panels. Designer Tara Bernerd & Partners thoroughly researched the Bavarian, Bauhaus, and Baroque history of the setting, to find furnishing that aptly complemented the natural evocation of the period. The result is a mix of these historic styles with custom, modernist furniture. Upstairs, 73 guest rooms, 59 suites, and five ‘houses’ (signature suites) are generously spacious for a central spot in the city, and each is light and modern, with regal touches such as lines of red in the upholstery or gold framings.
Hotel Pacai, Lithuania
Eastern Europe’s Lithuania beckons a hotel scene worthy of attention, but remains largely off the luxury circuit. As the first Design Hotels property in the Baltic region, five-star Hotel Pacai proves this. Once the Palace of Pacai, a private mansion owned by a lineage of influential Lithuanian families, the hotel inhabits a spacious 17th-century building. Stone-vaulted ceilings like those of a church call to this storied history; partially decorated by ancient artists and restored to reveal masterpieces from the Lithuania Baroque. Local architects, including Saulius Mikštas, have come together to preserve and honour this history. Interior design choices draw attention to the natural beauty of the building using natural materials and colour palettes throughout the 94 rooms and ten suites. Luxury is not compromised: bathrooms are fashioned from three marble treatments (white and grey-veined, earthen brown, dark green) and many hold free-standing baths, while bedrooms find high-quality furnishings too.
Sinner, Paris
No pretence, but intrigue and the provocative permeates the whole of Sinner Paris. Though located in the heart of Paris’s historic district, Le Marais, this isn’t a place for classic, old-world Parisian glamour. Instead, interiors by Tristan Auer give way to a flirtatious mood. Seductive meets spiritual at confessional-like bathrooms in some of the suites, which you’ll find amongst the maze of dim, red-lit corridors. Upstairs, 43 rooms and suites vary from light-filled spaces with bright quirky sofas to cosier abodes decked out with black and white photographs. Sinner Paris drips with lust, yes, but tastefully so. Downstairs, the hotel bar is the focal point; bright stained-glass windows throw a yellow and red monastic-like glare over an eclectic array of velvet sofas and stools for a boudoir-like finish. Tristan Auer is the man behind Four Seasons George V Paris, (among many other high-end haunts), and applies the same dramatic and detailed maximalism to his design here.
Six Senses, Ibiza
The hedonism characteristic of this Balearic island is stripped back at Six Senses Ibiza where a holistic approach to mindful living awaits. Set over 20 acres surrounding the bay of Cala Xarraca, indoor-outdoor living recognises how the surrounding natural environment is one of the property’s greatest luxuries. Led by architects Jonathan Leitersdorf and Janfri Ranchal Studio, each of the 116 rooms and villas overlook the cove with sweeping sea views, while an al fresco terrace area meanders around ancient olive trees. High-quality, natural materials including walnut, rattan, and chestnut woods are prioritised, helping the hotel’s sustainability credentials while continuing the nature-led vibe. Despite this simplicity, Six Senses Ibiza holds many surprises. For example, the Cave Royale suite homages bohemian music (aka the soundtrack of the island) with a hidden door that leads to the hotel’s own recording studio.
Lead image credit: Four Seasons Firenze
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