Classic Hotels

A classic hotel earns its name through time — traditional architecture, considered style, and an old-fashioned approach to service the smoother modern version rarely matches. Our editors shortlist for all three: signature suites, regional cooking, and the occasional architectural marvel you didn't know existed.

The edit reaches across centuries and continents. Above Cagnes-sur-Mer, Château le Cagnard occupies a 13th-century building inside the medieval walls of Haut-de-Cagnes; on Spetses, the Poseidonion Grand Hotel has anchored the harbour since 1914, a Belle Époque grande dame modelled on the grand hotels of the Côte d'Azur. In Bruges, Hotel Heritage fills an 1869 Delacenserie townhouse with twenty-two rooms and the Michelin-listed Le Mystique; in Chester, The Chester Grosvenor pairs a landmark address with Michelin-starred cooking. Further afield, Casa Cody — Palm Springs' oldest hotel — keeps its historic adobe charm, and Dwaraka The Royal Villas brings classical grandeur to the heart of Ubud.

Smoother and shinier has its place. But you'll remember the trip you took in a classic.