Plovdiv & Southern Mountains
From sleeping to sipping to enjoying spa treatments, your every movement can be in reverence to juicy Thracian wines at this fabulous winery-hotel in…
Must-see hotels in Eastern Europe
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Olkhon Island
Occupying a sizeable chunk of Khuzhir, this intricately carved timber complex has grown (and continues to grow) into one of Siberia’s top traveller hang…
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Ulan-Ude
So central is this high-ceilinged apartment hostel, you might even catch a glimpse of Lenin’s conk from one of the windows. The 14 beds are divided…
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Vilnius
Staying at luxurious Pacai, in a restored 17th-century palace, you slumber beneath the same timber beams as past nobles – except nowadays there's modern…
Belgrade
This evocative two-room guesthouse offers more than a comfortable bed; it's also a vessel for time travel. Billed as a 'stayover museum', Yugodom (dom…
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North Macedonia
It's worth detouring from the tourist trail just to stay at this utterly lovely village hotel, which offers four rooms in a chalet-style house and lip…
Belgrade
This brilliant B&B is all early-1900s charm out the front and nouveau-Savamala graffiti-murals out the back. As hip as you'd expect from its location in…
Belgrade
Art nouveau icon and proud symbol of the best of Belgrade, the majestic 123-room Moskva has been wowing guests – including Albert Einstein, Indira Gandhi…
Belgrade
Guests at the modern, brightly painted and meticulously maintained Bongo can take their pick: plunge into the tonnes of attractions, bars and restaurants…
Belgrade
Bend-over-backwards staff, a homey atmosphere and super location make this award-winner popular for all the right reasons. Dorm beds are all floor level …
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North Macedonia
A remarkable guesthouse, Villa Dihovo comprises three traditionally decorated rooms in a historic house that's home to former professional footballer…
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Tuva
Cupped by bare hills at an attractively sacred site by the Yenisey River, the luxury yurts at this upmarket complex have flushing toilets, air…
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Moldova
Located in southwest Moldova just 12km from the Oancea/Cahul border crossing with Romania, this is a wonderful place to experience countryside living…
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Valbona
Pioneering tourism in Valbona since 2005, the Albanian-American–run Rilindja is a fairy-tale wooden house in the forest 3km downhill from Valbona village…
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Pristina
Pristina's best hostel is run by a group of well-travelled locals who took a derelict house into their care, painted the tree in the courtyard white and…
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Serbia
Regional Serbia's best hostel gets a thumbs-up for being environmentally conscious, with furniture made of recycled material, solar-energy panels, waste…
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Bulgaria
This friendly campground snoozes among green meadows in Dragizhevo village, a 15km drive east of Veliko Târnovo. Efficiently run by cheerful British…
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Bulgaria
In a quiet residential area 500m east of Shipka village square, this friendly, family-run guesthouse has attractive, modern rooms with great views of…
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Western Estonia & the Islands
Built in 1905, the Villa Ammende is an art nouveau masterpiece, and now one of Pärnu's best hotels. Original stylistic touches such as colourful tiles and…
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Sighişoara
This dazzling boutique hotel is hived out of an old burgher's house at the northern end of the citadel. The restoration left period details like wood…
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Northern Dalmatia
Now here's something really special. This beautiful sandstone compound, first built 370 years ago, is like an ancient caravanserai (inn) and is one of the…
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North Macedonia
Sensitively designed in the image of a traditional Macedonian (Ottoman) house, Hotel Teatar is without doubt one of the loveliest hotels in the country…
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Transylvania
Brimming with charm and colour, this former barn has been transformed into a welcoming guesthouse with unique hand-painted decoration, firm beds and…
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Skopje
In a converted residential house with a sociable front garden for summer lounging, Urban is an excellent budget option on the outskirts of the leafy Debar…
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North Macedonia
In Demir Kapija village, this is North Macedonia's most aesthetically pleasing winery, with great views over vineyards and the village's gorge. It has the…
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Zagorje
This rural inn has a scenic location in the village of Škarićevo, 4km from Krapinske Toplice. The five traditional cottages (featuring rooms and suites)…
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St Petersburg
Soul Kitchen blends boho hipness and boutique-hotel comfort, scoring perfect 10s in many key categories: private rooms (chic), dorm beds (double-width…
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Belgrade
Belgrade is just the seventh city worldwide to receive one of Philippe Starck's whimsical designer Mama Shelter hotels – the city's hottest – this one…
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Plovdiv & Southern Mountains
Retreat from civilisation in isolated Kosovo (population 10), a 50km drive south of Plovdiv. Three houses in this 16th-century village have been…
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Gjirokastra
This hostel is a fantastic conversion of an Old Town house, created and run by Dutchman Walter. The attention to detail and respect for traditional…
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Western Estonia & the Islands
If money’s no object, here’s where to part with it. This manicured bayside estate encompasses the restored manor house (14 rooms and a fine-dining…
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Ohrid
By far the most charming place to stay in Ohrid, this 1856 mansion offers nine rooms in the heart of the Old Town. There are old-world furnishings, creaky…
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Tirana
Albania's first-ever hostel continues to go from strength to strength. Housed in a charmingly decorated house, with a 1970s air of hazy hippy backpacker…
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Lviv
Lviv’s first real boutique hotel is a delightfully intimate 29-room place, accessed through an inconspicuous entrance in the historical centre. Rooms ooze…
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Kyiv
Kyiv's most happening hostel is this gleaming 100-bed affair superbly located at the bottom of Andriyivsky uzviz. An attached cafe-bar, a basement kitchen…
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Kharkiv
This freshly minted, extravagantly fashioned boutique hotel hides away on a tranquil courtyard just off traffic-plagued vul Sumska. The 24 rooms are a…
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Skopje
Accessed through an alley just off the main square, this is a stylish, beautifully designed place, with modern and elegantly decorated rooms, and an…
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Plovdiv & Southern Mountains
This dreamy villa is by far Borovets' most charming place to stay. The Swiss-style building is enclosed by a private garden, which bursts with…
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Cluj-Napoca
A labour-of-love restoration project has transformed a 1920 building, abandoned for a decade, into something between a hostel and an ecotourism retreat…
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Ohrid
This property has two studio apartments, both of which sleep four, set in the heart of the Old Town. Each is well equipped and comes with a shady balcony…
