La Residenza

Description:

• This is one of the best hotels in Romania (and the country's only member of Small Elegant Hotels of the World); the preferred destination for business bigwigs and visiting celebs. Behind the shuttered walls is a family of hoteliers with a discreet sense of luxury; you're made to feel as though you are in your very own intimate and stylish home, with plenty of added comforts. Accommodations are elegant, combining distinctive old-world styling with Italian mattresses, Spanish drapes, and Belgian carpets; select antiques and lovely decorative elements work to create a remarkably unaffected sense of luxury. Standard (comfort) rooms are quite spacious, but for an extra 93L ($40/£25) you can book a massive suite; if you're up for a splurge the Garden Suite is tops. Public spaces are like an old country mansion; along with the fine furniture and artworks, the "living room" has a small library, plasma TV, chess set, fireplace, and piano. The garden, centered on a pool with its own pavilion, features apricot, fig, and quince trees that provide fruit for the homemade jams served at breakfast. The charming German owners (very much a family affair) are a great source on the city's best places to dine or shop.

• © Frommer's 2013

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Very Highly Recommended 2010