Raffles Europejski Warsaw – a Royal Route legend reborn

Raffles Europejski Warsaw stands on Krakowskie Przedmieście, the Royal Route that runs from the Old Town to the Presidential Palace, inside a palace built in 1857 by the Italian-Polish architect Enrico Marconi, designed to be the most extravagant hotel of its kind in the Russian Empire. It became Warsaw's creative salon, survived the devastation of the Second World War, was requisitioned as a military academy under communist rule, and reopened for decades as the state-run Orbis Europejski before heirs and new investors began a long restoration in 2005. A further renovation between 2013 and 2017, supervised by the City of Warsaw's conservator of historic buildings, returned it as Raffles Europejski Warsaw. Today the hotel holds 144 rooms and suites, a restaurant terrace over Piłsudski Square, a spa built into the old cellars, and a 500-piece collection of Polish contemporary art. The MICHELIN Guide gives it Two Keys, and its dining is anchored by Europejski Grill and by its link to NUTA, the one-MICHELIN-starred restaurant of chef Andrea Camastra.

01The house

The hotel's story begins in 1857, when the Italian-Polish architect Enrico Marconi designed the original Hotel Europejski to be the most extravagant building of its kind in the Russian Empire. Its halls quickly became Warsaw's intellectual drawing room: the intellectual elite who lived and worked in the hotel turned it into a hub of creativity, and influential politicians and crowned heads of state stayed here. Painters had their own corner of the building — Chełmoński also had his studio on the top floor in the 1880s, and Adam Chmielowski later worked in the same studio, as did the well-known painter and architect, Stanisław Witkiewicz.

After the Second World War the hotel was converted to a military school known as the Military Political Academy, a bleak chapter for a building built for champagne and piano recitals. It later reopened to the public, and following major reconstruction work in 1961, it became, once more, one of Warsaw's finest hotels. The heirs of the former owners eventually got the Europejski back from the state, and together with external investors and the French hotel group Accor began the latest restoration in 2005. A second, more extensive renovation ran from 2013 to 2017 under the supervision of the City of Warsaw's Conservator of Historic Buildings, after which the hotel reopened as Raffles Europejski Warsaw — a 25-minute drive from Warsaw Chopin Airport, with interiors by the Slovak set designer and architect Boris Kudlička working alongside WWAA and the Lázaro Rosa-Violán studio.

02Rooms and suites

The hotel counts 144 rooms and suites behind its Royal Route façade, graded from Deluxe rooms up through Executive, Prestige and Heritage suites to the Raffles Royal Suite, a 228 sq m apartment with panorama or park views and a king bed. At the top of the house sits the Presidential Suite, installed in the space that once hosted grand piano concerts for Hotel Europejski's 19th-century guests: accenting its 3,154 square feet of modern interiors and sweeping views of the Presidential Palace and Old Town Warsaw is an authentic 19th-century piano and walk-in study, a direct nod to the building's glittering past.

Insider tip

25 minutes by car from Warsaw Chopin Airport; Old Town and Royal Castle within walking distance.

Bathrooms throughout are sophisticated bathrooms etched with the Warsaw skyline, paired with bespoke furniture and art drawn from the hotel's own Polish collection. Four Memory Rooms, scattered through the building, explore different chapters of the Europejski's history through replicas, photographs and memorabilia, while 24-hour Raffles Butler Service is included across every category.

03Where to eat

The hotel's own restaurant, Europejski Grill, has its own terrace offering a fine view of Piłsudski Square. Poland's heritage is referenced in the Grill's blue and white décor, accented by internationally inspired touches, and the kitchen's thoughtful blend of local and international is reflected in the menu which uses the best local ingredients to create contemporary interpretations of Polish and international classics — from a platter of blini with Polish caviar to charcoal-grilled mains. Breakfast runs from 7am on weekdays and 7.30am at weekends, lunch is served at midday, and dinner is taken daily from 5.30pm to 9.30pm.

A short walk away on Plac Trzech Krzyży sits NUTA, the one-star dining address the MICHELIN Guide links to this hotel's listing. Its chef and founder is Andrea Camastra, who hails from southern Italy and who, over the course of his career, has worked all over Europe, finally settling in Warsaw, having previously run Senses, another restaurant that was awarded one star by the MICHELIN Guide before it closed during the pandemic. In June 2023, after only 13 months of operation, NUTA became the only restaurant in Warsaw — and only one of three in Poland — to win a MICHELIN Star, a distinction it has held ever since. There is also Lourse Warszawa, the hotel's own patisserie: in the early 20th century, the cream of Warsaw society met over tea and exquisite confections at Lourse Warszawa, and the hotel's 21st-century reinvention invites guests to do the same amid surroundings designed to reflect that heritage.

04The bar

The Long Bar features a dazzling selection of cocktails, inspired by the famous Raffles Long Bar in Singapore, making it a must-visit for cocktail lovers — order the house Singapore Sling or a Warsaw Sling, the city's own take on the Raffles classic. For something slower, Humidor is an intimate cigar lounge for connoisseurs of single malts, Cognacs and Armagnacs, tucked away from the bustle of the lobby.

05Spa and wellbeing

Below street level, Raffles Spa is a calm retreat for relaxation and well-being with its six soothing treatment rooms and the state-of-the-art indoor pool, open daily from 7am until 10pm. Treatments draw on Aromatherapy Associates and Sisley Paris products, blending Asian, Middle Eastern and European traditions, and a luxury VIP suite offers treatments for couples who want to share a special experience of relaxation together. The hotel's fitness area, fitted with Technogym equipment, operates around the clock for guests keeping to a schedule between meetings or sightseeing.

06The neighbourhood

Raffles Europejski Warsaw is ideally located on the Royal Route, neighbouring the city's magnificent Old Town and just steps from the Polish National Opera and the Presidential Palace, with Piłsudski Square and the Saxon Garden within view of the Grill's terrace. The hotel is a 25-minute drive from Warsaw Chopin Airport, putting the restored Old Town market square, the Royal Castle and the opera house all within easy walking distance for guests who prefer to explore on foot rather than by car.

07Making the most of a stay

Ask at the desk for a tour with the hotel's Art Concierge Manager: experience the history, architecture, and artwork of the Raffles Europejski Warsaw by embarking on an on-site tour led by the Art Concierge Manager, taking in the collection of roughly 500 contemporary works by more than 120 Polish artists hung throughout the public rooms and corridors. Pair that with an evening at NUTA on Plac Trzech Krzyży for the one-star tasting menu, a sunset drink on the Europejski Grill terrace over Piłsudski Square, and a quiet nightcap in the Humidor before retiring upstairs to a suite still haunted, pleasantly, by the ghosts of 19th-century piano recitals.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.