Hotel 1898 once housed the headquarters of the Phillipines Tobacco Company (the name refers to the year Spain lost the Philippines as a colony) and the company's initials are still engraved on the revolving glass doors onto La Rambla

Owned and run by Eric and Petra Toren since they took over from Eric's father in 1991, this opulently-decorated hotel prides itself on its excellent customer service: staff have been praised for being helpful but never intrusive, and the atmosphere here is friendly and relaxed rather than cool and trendy.

This luxury boutique hotel is in the trendy Norrebro and Frederiksberg areas of Copenhagen, next to the Tivoli Gardens, and housed in a classic 19th century building.

This stylish, contemporary design hotel is located in Lisbon's Alfama district, or old town.

In a quietish street near the Piazza del Popolo, this Art Deco hotel opened in 1925 and later increased its size by extending into an adjacent building.

'Romantically set' in the Marais, on one of Paris's loveliest squares, this handsome 17th-century building, with creeper-draped facade and pretty front courtyard, is an elegant hotel.

John Ruskin stayed in this pensione on the Dorsoduro in 1877. Now owned by Marc Sibuet and Regina Segre Amar, who promise 'discreet service and peace', it faces the Giudecca canal.

This charming boutique hotel is located on the Plaza de la Independencia, and within walking distance of major sights such as the Prado Museum, Reina Sofia Museum and the Cybeles Fountain.