Hotels
Where to stay, city by city – the palaces, the townhouses and the hotels worth the journey, each with its own story.
Europe 67
Monaco3 · France & Monaco
Hôtel Métropole Monte-Carlo – Belle Époque with Lagerfeld's pool
Hôtel Métropole in Monte-Carlo since 1889: Jacques Garcia's interiors, Lagerfeld's Odyssey by the pool and two-star Les Ambassadeurs by Christophe…
Hôtel Hermitage – Monte-Carlo's Belle Époque palace overlooking the harbour
Hôtel Hermitage above Port Hercule: the 1896 palace, its glass-domed winter garden, the listed painted ceiling and Yannick Alléno's two restaurants.
Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo – 160 years on Place du Casino
Since 1864 Hôtel de Paris has faced the casino in Monte-Carlo: Le Louis XV with three Michelin stars, a 350,000-bottle cellar and a $280m renovation.
The Riviera15 · France & Monaco
Hôtel Barrière Le Majestic – the art deco palace facing the steps
Le Majestic on the Croisette, opposite the Palais des Festivals: the art deco hotel of 1926, its 349 rooms and suites, Beefbar Cannes, the Ciro's…
Le Mas Candille in Mougins – a Provençal farmhouse in Hugo Toro's rendition
Le Mas Candille above Cannes: an 18th-century farmhouse reopened in 2024 with Hugo Toro's interiors, the Clarins spa The Glow House and 47 rooms and…
Royal-Riviera in Cap-Ferrat – a Belle Époque hotel from 1904
The Royal-Riviera on Cap-Ferrat: a 1904 Belle Époque hotel with 94 rooms, a private sandy beach, Villa l'Orangerie and La Table du Royal.
The Riviera's small hotels – seven hideaways with history
Seven small Riviera hotels with a story: La Colombe d'Or, Hôtel Welcome, Château Eza, La Chèvre d'Or, La Ponche, La Réserve Ramatuelle and Belles…
Hôtel Byblos in Saint-Tropez – a village of pastel houses since 1967
Hôtel Byblos in Saint-Tropez, opened in 1967 with Brigitte Bardot as godmother: Les Caves du Roy, the Floirat family, Laura Gonzalez's new rooms and…
Hôtel Martinez – art deco on the Croisette and Cannes' first Palace
Hôtel Martinez on La Croisette: opened in 1929 by Emmanuel Martinez, renovated for €150 million and in June 2026 the first hotel in Cannes with…
Château Saint-Martin in Vence – the Knights Templar's hill became a palace
Château Saint-Martin & Spa above Vence: a Templar hill, a hotel since 1954 and today an Oetker Collection Palace with a La Prairie spa and sea views.
La Colombe d'Or – the inn where artists paid with paintings
La Colombe d'Or in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, opened in 1920 by Paul Roux, where Léger, Braque, Matisse, Chagall and Picasso paid with art that still hangs…
Carlton Cannes – the domes on La Croisette and the hotel after 2023
Carlton Cannes on La Croisette: Grace Kelly, Hitchcock and Elton John, the domes of La Belle Otero and a €300 million renovation that reopened it in…
Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat – the palace at the very tip of the headland
Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat's palace hotel since 1908: Eiffel's rotunda, the 1939 saltwater pool, Club Dauphin, Le Cap's Michelin star and three Michelin…
Belles Rives in Juan-les-Pins – Fitzgerald's summer by the sea
Hôtel Belles Rives in Juan-les-Pins: the villa where Fitzgerald began Tender is the Night, a 1930 Art Deco hotel with 43 rooms, a private beach and a…
The Negresco in Nice – the pink dome on the Promenade des Anglais
Le Negresco in Nice since 1913: Niermans' palace, the Baccarat chandelier made for the Tsar, Jeanne Augier's art and Le Chantecler's Michelin star.
Le Cap Estel in Èze – a private headland between Nice and Monaco
Le Cap Estel in Èze-bord-de-mer: a 19th-century manor on a private two-hectare headland, 20 rooms, its own beach and a Michelin-starred restaurant.
La Réserve de Beaulieu – from fish pond to Belle Époque palace
La Réserve de Beaulieu began as a fish restaurant in 1880 and won three Michelin stars in 1933. The story of the pink palace and its 2026 reopening.
Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc – the hotel that invented the Riviera summer
From a writers' villa in 1870 to the Riviera's most famous palace: Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc on Cap d'Antibes, its 1914 rock pool and the Fitzgeralds.
Paris10 · France & Monaco
Le Pavillon de la Reine – a hidden courtyard on place des Vosges
Le Pavillon de la Reine on place des Vosges in the Marais: 56 rooms by Didier Benderli around a shaded garden, the Spa de la Reine by Codage and…
The Peninsula Paris – the Majestic, restored to its original purpose
The Peninsula Paris: the 1908 Hôtel Majestic on avenue Kléber, restored over four years, with 200 rooms and the two-Michelin-starred L'Oiseau Blanc…
L'Hôtel, Paris – twenty rooms and Oscar Wilde's last address
L'Hôtel on rue des Beaux-Arts in Saint-Germain-des-Prés: the former Hôtel d'Alsace where Oscar Wilde died, now twenty rooms by Jacques Garcia and a…
Prince de Galles, Paris – an Art Deco courtyard on avenue George-V
Prince de Galles, Paris: André Arfvidson's 1928 hotel on avenue George-V, restored by Pierre-Yves Rochon, with its mosaic patio, 159 rooms and Akira…
Saint James Paris – a château in the city, once a balloon field
Saint James Paris: the 1892 Thiers Foundation mansion in the 16th, now 48 rooms, a library bar, a Guerlain spa and Bellefeuille, with a Michelin star…
Le Royal Monceau – Raffles Paris: the art hotel on avenue Hoche
Le Royal Monceau – Raffles Paris: a 1928 hotel redesigned by Philippe Starck, with 300 artworks, a gallery, a 99-seat cinema, Il Carpaccio and…
Hôtel de Crillon – the royal palace at Place de la Concorde
Hôtel de Crillon in Paris: Gabriel's 1758 palace where France recognised the USA, a hotel since 1909, restored with Lagerfeld suites and reopened in…
Le Bristol Paris – a hundred years on Faubourg Saint-Honoré
Le Bristol Paris turned 100 in 2025: the largest garden of any palace hotel, a rooftop pool facing Sacré-Cœur, three-star Épicure and its own flour…
Ritz Paris – the story of the hotel on Place Vendôme
The Ritz Paris opened in 1898 behind a Louis XIV façade on Place Vendôme: César Ritz, Escoffier, Chanel's thirty years, Hemingway's bar, the 2016…
The Palace Hotels of Paris – the history behind the city's grand establishments
The stories behind the Paris palace hotels: the Ritz, Crillon, Le Bristol, Plaza Athénée, Le Meurice, George V, Shangri-La, Cheval Blanc and Lutetia.
Provence1 · France & Monaco
The Alps4 · The Alps
Andermatt reborn – how a Gotthard garrison town became a five-star resort
Andermatt reborn: from Gotthard garrison town to The Chedi Andermatt, a concert hall and a ski area linked to Sedrun and Disentis. Our guide.
Property prices in the French Alps – VERA PI's figures area by area
Property prices in the French Alps, resort by resort: Val d'Isère, Courchevel, Méribel, Megève, Chamonix and more, from every DVF sale since 2021 by…
The great hotels of the Alps – nine palaces from Courchevel to St Moritz
From Badrutt's Palace and the Kulm in St Moritz to Gstaad Palace and Courchevel's Cheval Blanc and Les Airelles: nine grand hotels that defined the…
Méribel – the chalet village in the heart of Les 3 Vallées
Méribel's wood, stone and slate rules date from 1936. The Roc de Fer Olympic piste, chalet life, Michelin tables and Les Allues prices from VERA PI.
Milan1 · Italy
Lakes, coasts & cities4 · Italy
Hotel Cipriani on Giudecca – Venice's garden hotel since 1958
Belmond Hotel Cipriani on Giudecca: Giuseppe Cipriani's hotel from 1958, the Guinness sisters, the only pool in central Venice and Palazzo Vendramin.
Belmond Hotel Caruso – the palace in Ravello that became a guesthouse in 1893
Belmond Hotel Caruso in Ravello: the 11th-century Palazzo d'Afflitto, Pensione Belvedere from 1893 and the 18th-century frescoes found under the…
Villa d'Este in Cernobbio – the cardinal's villa that became a hotel in 1873
Villa d'Este in Cernobbio: built 1565–1570 for Cardinal Gallio, named by Caroline of Brunswick, a hotel since 1873 and home of the Concorso…
Rome's grand hotels – six addresses and their history
Rome's grand hotels, from the Hassler at the Spanish Steps and Hotel Eden to Hotel de Russie, St. Regis, the Excelsior on Via Veneto and Bulgari…
London10 · United Kingdom & Ireland
Brown's Hotel, Mayfair – where Kipling spent his wedding night
Brown's Hotel on Albemarle Street, Mayfair: founded in the 1830s, Kipling's wedding-night hotel, with Charlie's, the Donovan Bar and afternoon tea in…
The Stafford, St James's – the hotel above London's old wine cellars
The Stafford on St James's Place: three 17th-century houses made a hotel in 1912, with wartime cellars holding 8,000 bottles, the American Bar and…
DUKES London – the martini, the courtyard and Ian Fleming
DUKES London on St James's Place: a hotel of 90 rooms since 1908, with the bar where Ian Fleming chose Bond's martini, a drawing room and the…
Rosewood London – an insurance palace of 1914 on High Holborn
Rosewood London on High Holborn: the 1914 Pearl Assurance headquarters, restored for £85 million, with Scarfes Bar, Holborn Dining Room and a suite…
The Lanesborough – from hospital to Regency palace at Hyde Park Corner
The Lanesborough at Hyde Park Corner was St George's Hospital for 250 years. The duke who bought it back for £6,000, Pinto's Regency rooms and the…
The Connaught – the hotel on Carlos Place that changed its name in 1917
The Connaught on Carlos Place opened in 1815 as the Prince of Saxe-Coburg Hotel. Today: Hélène Darroze's three stars and twice the world's best bar.
The Savoy – the hotel that Gilbert and Sullivan built by the Thames
The Savoy on the Strand opened in 1889 on operetta profits: Ritz and Escoffier's kitchen, Monet at the window, Kaspar the cat and the American Bar.
The Goring – the family hotel behind Buckingham Palace since 1910
The Goring on Beeston Place opened in 1910 and is still run by the Goring family: a Royal Warrant, a Michelin-starred dining room and a private…
Claridge's – Mayfair's art deco hotel with roots dating back to 1812
The story of Claridge's on Brook Street: Mivart's in 1812, the 1898 building, the art deco wing, an exiled king in suite 212 and a basement dug by…
The Ritz London – César Ritz's palace on Piccadilly since 1906
The Ritz London opened on Piccadilly in 1906: tea in the apricot Palm Court, the Rivoli Bar, guests from Churchill to Coward and a two-star…
Stockholm12 · The Nordics
Berns, Stockholm – a hotel inside the city's house of entertainment
Berns on Berzelii Park in Stockholm: the boutique hotel in the 1863 salons, the Clock Suite, Berns Asiatiska, Strindberg's Red Room and the stage.
Hotel Reisen, Stockholm – the maritime hotel on Skeppsbron since 1819
Hotel Reisen on Skeppsbron in Gamla stan: a sea captains' coffee house in the 1750s, a hotel since 1819, 1690s vaults below and harbour views from…
Bank Hotel, Stockholm – sleeping in a bank palace from 1910
Bank Hotel on Arsenalsgatan in Stockholm: a 1910 Art Nouveau bank palace with Bonnie's under the glass ceiling, Papillon, Le Hibou and rooms in the…
Hotel At Six, Stockholm – the art hotel in the 1970s bank
Hotel At Six on Brunkebergstorg in Stockholm: a brutalist 1970s bank turned art hotel, with Plensa, Eliasson and LeWitt, a brasserie and a rooftop…
Nobis Hotel, Stockholm – the Gold Bar and the bank palace on Norrmalmstorg
Nobis Hotel on Norrmalmstorg in Stockholm: 201 rooms by Claesson Koivisto Rune in the 1886 bank palace, with NOI, Bino and the gold-mirrored…
Hotel Skeppsholmen – Tessin's wings on Stockholm's green island
Hotel Skeppsholmen in Stockholm: 78 rooms in two 1699 wings by Nicodemus Tessin the Younger, with Långa Raden restaurant, a kitchen garden and sea…
Lydmar Hotel, Stockholm – photography, jazz and a view of the palace
Lydmar Hotel on Blasieholmen: Stockholm's first design hotel, now in an 1880s house by Nationalmuseum, with jazz brunch and photography in the lobby.
Hotel Diplomat, Stockholm – inside the Art Nouveau palace on Strandvägen
Hotel Diplomat at Strandvägen 7C: the 1911 Art Nouveau palace that housed embassies, run by the same family since 1966, with views over Nybroviken.
Villa Dagmar, Stockholm – the city villa by Östermalms saluhall
Villa Dagmar on Nybrogatan: Hotel Diplomat's sister hotel by Östermalms saluhall, with 70 rooms, a glass-roofed garden bar, a spa and Restaurang…
Hotel Sven Vintappare – seven rooms in a house from 1607 in Gamla stan
Hotel Sven Vintappare in Stockholm's Gamla stan: seven rooms in a narrow house from 1607, a spiral staircase, a ground-floor café and a quiet square.
Grand Hôtel Stockholm – staying opposite the palace today
Grand Hôtel on Blasieholmen since 1874: suites facing the Royal Palace, the Veranda smörgåsbord, Cadierbaren, Mathias Dahlgren's kitchens and Nobel…
Ett Hem, Stockholm – the villa in Lärkstaden where guests stay at home
Ett Hem in Stockholm's Lärkstaden: a 1910 brick villa by Ilse Crawford with 22 rooms across two houses, a kitchen open to all, a library and a garden.
Copenhagen1 · The Nordics
Oslo1 · The Nordics
Norway1 · The Nordics
Lapland1 · The Nordics
The Douro1 · Spain & Portugal
Comporta1 · Spain & Portugal
United States 3
New York2 · The Northeast
Fifth Avenue's grand hotels – from The Plaza to The Pierre
Fifth Avenue's grand hotels in New York: the history of The St. Regis, The Peninsula, The Plaza and The Pierre, and the bar where the Bloody Mary…
The Breakers, The Plaza and The Carlyle – three American grand hotels
The histories of three American grand hotels: Flagler's Breakers in Palm Beach, The Plaza on Central Park and The Carlyle with its Bemelmans Bar…
