The Best Hotels in Europe

Coasts and islands

Il San Pietro di Positano sits built into the rock above Positano on the Amalfi Coast, with a private beach club and a shuttle into town. Le Sirenuse, also in Positano, has antique furniture and dinners at La Sponda. Canaves Oia Suites stands on the cliffs of Oia, Santorini, above the caldera, and Stella Island in Analipsi, Crete, is adults-only. Amanzoe, a stone-pavilion resort in Kranidi, looks over the Argolic Gulf, while Amathus Beach Hotel in Limassol has a private beach, and Lopesan Baobab Resort in Meloneras, Gran Canaria, has many pools. Terra Nostra Garden Hotel in Furnas, Azores, is housed in a 1930s art deco building.

Mountains, lakes and rivers

Forestis Dolomites in Bressanone is a timber and stone resort in the South Tyrolean Dolomites, and Interalpen-Hotel Tyrol in Telfs stands high among pine forest. Kempinski Hotel Berchtesgaden sits on the Obersalzberg with views of the Eagle's Nest. Hotel Alpen Tesitin in Tesido is family-run, and Das Edelweiss in Grossarl has pools and a water park. On the water, Villa d'Este in Cernobbio lies on Lake Como, Heron Live Hotel stands on the Rożnów Reservoir near Gródek nad Dunajcem, and Ashford Castle is on the shore of Lough Corrib near Cong. Adare Manor, in County Limerick, lies beside the River Maigue, and The Killarney Park is a short walk from Killarney National Park.

City hotels

Four Seasons Hotel Firenze occupies two Renaissance palaces in Florence and has a large private garden. Four Seasons Hotel Madrid is in the restored Palacio de la Equitativa complex near Puerta del Sol. The Ritz Paris stands on Place Vendôme behind an 18th-century townhouse façade. Corpo Santo Historical Hotel is a boutique hotel in a historic building in Lisbon, and Raffles Europejski Warsaw is on Krakowskie Przedmieście. Hotel Arts Barcelona has a tall tower built for the 1992 Olympics, and Kronwell Brașov stands beside the train station, opened in 2013.