The Directory

The world’s finest hotels.

Every property researched and profiled by the Browntravels editorial team. Sponsored placements are always clearly labelled.

22 hotels found

Rationalist stone facade of Bulgari Hotel Roma overlooking Piazza Augusto Imperatore

City Hotel

Rome, Italy

9.3

Bulgari Hotel Roma

The Roman jeweller's 2023 homecoming: a rationalist landmark on Piazza Augusto Imperatore turned into a temple of marble, mosaic and Niko Romito cooking.

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The Peninsula Istanbul's restored art deco terminal and clock tower on the Bosphorus waterfront

City Hotel

Istanbul, Turkey

9.3

The Peninsula Istanbul

Four buildings on the Galataport waterfront—including a restored 1930s ferry terminal—giving Peninsula's Istanbul debut a front-row Bosphorus stage.

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Curved white facade of The Fontenay hotel on the tree-lined shore of Hamburg's Outer Alster lake

City Hotel

Hamburg, Germany

9.3

The Fontenay

A sculptural 2018 lakeside build on the Outer Alster with curving white architecture, a rooftop pool and two-Michelin-star dining.

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Modern classical facade of The Peninsula London at Hyde Park Corner

City Hotel

London, United Kingdom

9.3

The Peninsula London

Peninsula's long-awaited London flagship at Hyde Park Corner, a purpose-built palace of craftsmanship, rooftop dining and a superb subterranean spa.

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Edwardian Baroque turrets of the Old War Office building on Whitehall

City Hotel

London, United Kingdom

9.1

Raffles London at The OWO

Whitehall's Old War Office reborn as Raffles' first British address—Churchillian history, Mauro Colagreco dining and a Guerlain spa deep below.

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Restored 1930s Art Deco facade of Sommerro, the former electricity headquarters in Oslo's Frogner district

City Hotel

Oslo, Norway

9.1

Sommerro

A 1930s Art Deco power company headquarters in Frogner reborn in 2022 with restored public baths, a rooftop pool and neighbourhood soul.

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Earth-toned Cycladic suites of Kalesma on the Aleomandra hilltop above Ornos Bay

Resort

Aleomandra, Greece

9.0

Kalesma Mykonos

A hilltop hamlet of suites and villas above Aleomandra, whose earthy Cycladic design and sunset terraces reset expectations for Mykonos hotels.

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Historic bank building facade of Rosewood Vienna on Petersplatz facing the baroque dome of St. Peter's Church

City Hotel

Vienna, Austria

9.0

Rosewood Vienna

Rosewood's 2022 Vienna debut in a former bank headquarters on Petersplatz, pairing residential calm with a rooftop over the old town.

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Jacobethan gables and manicured lawns of Estelle Manor in Oxfordshire

Country House

Witney, United Kingdom

9.0

Estelle Manor

A Jacobethan Oxfordshire mansion reborn as a country club-hotel, with lavish interiors and vast Roman-inspired baths in the woods.

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Classical stone facade of Gleneagles Townhouse on St Andrew Square, Edinburgh

City Hotel

Edinburgh, United Kingdom

8.9

Gleneagles Townhouse

The famous Perthshire estate's city sibling: a former banking hall on St Andrew Square turned intimate, clubby Edinburgh bolthole.

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Neoclassical façade of The Dolli mansion with the Acropolis rising behind Athens rooftops

City Hotel

Athens, Greece

8.8

The Dolli at Acropolis

A restored 1920s neoclassical mansion on Mitropoleos Street whose rooftop pool stares straight at the Parthenon.

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Restored nineteenth-century facades of Hotel Maria in Helsinki's Kruununhaka quarter

City Hotel

Helsinki, Finland

8.8

Hotel Maria

Helsinki's new standard-bearer in Kruununhaka: four restored 19th-century buildings, butler-serviced suites and a lavish spa near the harbour.

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