93 Unique Hotels in East Europe

You won’t wake to the sound of your neighbor’s obnoxious music blasting from their in-room iPod dock here. Nor will you hear anyone talking to their friends on their mobile phones. Because it’s all banned. All the annoyances of the modern world are left behind you so you can yourself …

So you’re fed up with anonymous hotel corridors, beige walls, and red carpets. And you have dined in too many dark-wood restaurants with leather-bound menus. So what you need to do is go to Athens and head over to the Baby Grand Hotel and get your mind blow-dried by some …

I’ve always wanted to see the Northern Lights. Now, you can view them in all their mystical glory whilst remaining in your bed, how? Because you are staying in a glass igloo, deep in the adventurous arctic circle, you lucky thing. Made from thermal glass, the igloo never spoils your …

This baroque chateau was built in the 17th Century. Originally intended as a hunting lodge, the chateau became the country residence of a succession of aristocratic families. The house hosted great ballets and balls until the communists took over in the 1940s and pooped the party. The chateau fell into …

‘You do not find yourself. You create yourself’ is the optimistic philosophy of this hotel. Owner and award-winning architect, Paris Liakos wanted to create a blank canvass for his guests. So they would have the freedom to create their own experience. When he started the hotel, his canvass was bare …

Hooray! Now we can finally combine Golf and modern art. This hotel might look like a giant coffin on stilts but inside you will find a flourish of top design to delight your eyes. Works by artists such as Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst, and Anish Kapoor hang in the private …

In Chinese tradition, the front façade of a building is highly important as it is the ‘face’ of the building. The lovingly restored entrance and red bricks of this converted textile mill give Hotel Lodz a classic and beautiful face, like that of Ava Gardner. The interior has been designed …

Located in a quiet Athenian suburb this hotel was designed down to the last detail by Karim Rashid who is regarded as the best designer of his generation with over 300 awards to his name. The idea was to create a vibrant, functional, and relaxing space. Lollypop colors create a …

You are enjoying Four Seasons luxury in a unique building in the historic district of Istanbul - what could be better? This converted prison was built by the Ottomans in 1918 and has housed many dissident writers over the years. It has even appeared in the literature of the famous …

You will be pleased to know your window does not have bars here. And you can check out whenever you like. When this unusual hotel was a prison, inmates would ask each other: ‘how long is your cake?’ ‘Cake’ was a term Finnish prisoners used to describe the length of …

Unchanged since Tsarist Russia, for 100 years this prison served to brutalize those who fell foul of the Tsar and Communist Party. The place is said to be haunted. Perhaps you feel brave enough to take their tour. Just don’t blame your captors… I mean hosts when you see a …

Sveti Stefan is a fortified village built on an island connected to the Montenegro mainland by a thin causeway. It was originally a Muslim settlement built in the 15th century. When it became Christian, the 12 families living there fortified the village to protect it from the expansionist Ottoman Empire. …

Ikies offers you the chance to stay in the traditional village houses of Oia on the Greek island of Santorini. Stunning little whitewashed domes with mosaic floors built on terraces carved from a cliff where the Mediterranean sea sings 1000 feet below. The Oia sunset is famous for its beauty, …