The MICHELIN Guide now includes over 7,000 hotels across the world – and not a single one is simply a room for the night. These are places that significantly add to your experience as a traveller, each vetted by our hotel experts and judged as excellent across five categories: architecture and interior design; overall personality and character; quality and consistency of service; value between the level of the experience and the price paid; and the hotel's contribution within its particular locality.
Which brings us to the Keys. On 8th October 2025, The MICHELIN Guide Inspectors revealed their latest Global Key distinctions, highlighting what they consider to be the most outstanding hotels in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania for the first time. Just like the MICHELIN Stars for restaurants, the MICHELIN Keys represent our top hotels. In total, the first MICHELIN Guide hotel selection for the Baltic Countries includes 7 Key hotels, broken down into 1 Two-Key hotel and 6 One-Key hotels. Read on to discover more about them all.
Fringing the bracing Baltic Sea, Northern Europe’s Baltic countries – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – sit neatly beside one another. All three with a mutual independence and united strength, yet each with its own distinct individuality to be explored. And explore, you must. The diverse capitals of Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius may be widely known for their magical medieval quarters and UNESCO World Heritage statuses, but there are plenty of pristine sandy beaches, vast wild forests and glassy lakes to be discovered across these captivating countries too.
Estonia
Cusping the Gulf of Finland, Estonia’s sparsely populated landscapes of abundant woodlands and plains, glacial reservoirs and endless deserted beaches are ripe for adventure. The country's capital city, Tallinn, is a fairytale-like wonder with its pretty, cobblestoned Old Town, jaunty church spires and buzzy, cultural appeal that includes a progressive tech landscape.
The Burman Hotel, Tallinn
Award: Two MICHELIN KeysPerfect For: An ultra-luxe weekend away
Winner of the MICHELIN Special Award for Best New Hotel 2025, the small but mighty Burman Hotel is a 17-room luxury boutique at the epicentre of the UNESCO-recognised Old Town, which offers a fresh take on the city yet operates on a much higher level than a small hotel. Harking back 150 years, the hotel has been completely redesigned with a glossy makeover and it is now part of the Bombay Club casino – but, ditch your ideas of garish casino hotels at the door, this one is a new level of elite and offers guests unparalleled quiet luxury.
The gorgeous rooms are super-luxe but not showy, fancy instead of flashy, and the price point is incredibly accessible. The interiors are bright and sophisticated with a rich colour palette of blonde, pastel and scarlet hues, with more sultry tones being set aside for the beautiful dining spaces. There’s high spec and high tech: Amouage lotions and potions (the opulent Omani fragrance brand), dreamy Treca Vienne-Venise custom mattresses that mirror those on the Orient Express and splendid marble bathrooms. It continues, with a swish spa, as well as three restaurants and a bakery, including Cantonese Shang Shi and Japanese Koyo.
Schlössle Hotel, Tallinn
Award: One MICHELIN Key
Perfect For: A cosy, heritage stay; mod-Estonian cuisine
Schlössle Hotel, an upmarket luxury boutique with just 23 rooms, is set rather idyllically in an alluring 13th-century townhouse with a uniquely conserved limestone façade. The medieval maintenance runs throughout the interiors too: low-slung, mahogany timber beams, honey-stone walls and a warm neutral colour palette make the hotel feel homely and inviting – it’s a place that is as cosy as it is historically intriguing. There’s also a lovely summer garden, cigar bar and sauna too.
Latvia
Latvia’s natural appeal lies in its unspoilt patchwork of forested parklands, illuminated lakes and never-ending beaches. The small country has a wild and wonderful landscape, yet there is enough space to make it feel uncharted. Riga, its high-spirited capital, is a fascinating fusion of old and new with its rich history, medieval design and modern mindset. There’s the Old Town and compelling art nouveau architecture, yet a forward-thinking culinary scene and an avant-garde roster of cultural spaces and events. And, it also makes for an affordable city trip that won’t break the bank.
A22 Hotel, Riga
Award: One MICHELIN Key
Perfect For: Exclusivity; gastronomy; Mad Men aesthetics
Dating back to the 1930s, with just 20 rooms, the A22 Hotel is housed in the former American Embassy. After a design overhaul, it’s morphed into a modish, new-fashioned classic. Inside, the remastered rooms and suites have been thoughtfully transformed with bold, ritzy, masculine hues and rich features – not dissimilar to a Mad Men set minus the nostalgic touch. The Presidential Suite was created to pay homage to John F. Kennedy and his past visit, and both the hotel’s restaurants, JOHN and four-table One-MICHELIN-Starred JOHN Chef’s Hall, are named in his honour.
Related Read: Follow in The Footsteps of John F. Kennedy at the A22 Hotel
Dome Hotel & Spa, Riga
Award: One MICHELIN Key
Perfect For: A petite, romantic, Riga bolthole
A 17th-century home, Dome Hotel is as boutique as they come with a mere 15 rooms: it resides in Riga’s practically perfect Old Town and fuses legacy with modern luxury – sheer comfort being a key part of it. Milky-white, cream and earthy tones pervade the rooms and suites, melding traditional luxury with more voguish design sensibilities. The hotel’s Finnish sauna is a magnet after a day's sightseeing, as is its cute roof terrace on warmer days, with its inspired views of the Dome Cathedral. The hotel’s restaurant, Le Dome, meanwhile, is the perfect spot to enjoy classic French dishes at any time of year.
Grand Poet Hotel and SPA by Semarah, Riga
Award: One MICHELIN Key
Perfect For: A colourful, artful Riga trip
The snazzy and flamboyant Grand Poet Hotel and SPA by Semarah sits just moments away from the beautiful Bastejkalna Park and the Old Town, making it an ideal city stay. A wonderful 19th-century spot, it’s big on bold colours, statement wallpapers and creative murals. There are 168 rooms with a lively, plush design ethos, as well as a full-service spa, and the hotel also exhibits works from upcoming artists from the Art Academy of Latvia – a lovely local touch that gives it a great sense of place.
Lithuania
Lithuania is the biggest and most southerly of the Baltic republics, and it has copious natural assets, besides its cultural highlights and Art Deco buildings. It’s a beautiful country with sandy sweeps and giant dunes, mammoth lakes and wild woods. and ancient, heritage-rich castles. Vilnius, its capital, has a dynamic hospitality landscape – including a creative, future-thinking restaurant and hotel scene.
Hotel Pacai, Vilnius
Award: One MICHELIN Key
Perfect For: The Design Hotel experience
Hotel Pacai has a storied history: the smart, dapper hotel is based in a compelling, 15th-century noble home. Heritage meets modernity here, with place masterfully refashioned and restored to reflect its life through the ages – the parquet wooden flooring has tales to tell. There are 104 rooms in a chic black, slate-grey and classic-white colour scheme, balanced well with warm exposed brick walls, deep neutral bedheads and colour-bright art. Stop by the sleek, herbaceous spa with high-tech skincare treatments and the glam, experimental cocktail bar before sampling the inventive, seasonal Lithuanian dishes at Pacai. This is a luxuriously handsome hotel to its core.
Esperanza Lake Resort, Trakai
Award: One MICHELIN Key
Perfect For: A great natural escape; going slow
Esperanza Lake Resort is just 40km from Vilnius, in the stunning Aukštadvaris Regional Park bordering Ungurys Lake. Though not far from the capital’s attractions, the location and ambience are vastly different – and the exceptionally freeing, deeply forested journey is serene. The grand yet cosy Ozark-like lodge resort houses 30 stylish rooms, blanketed by trees along the water’s edge, and design-wise there’s a brilliantly grounded minimalism with contemporary clean lines and soothing natural textures and tones. With the amplified, wraparound nature and soundtrack at Esperanza, this is the ultimate in slow living, so be sure leave your devices at home. An added bonus is that it’s also very economically priced for accommodation of this calibre.
Hero Image: Stunning views over the water from the Esperanza Lake Resort in Trakai, Lithuania, one of the Baltic Countries' first MICHELIN-Key hotels (© Esperanza Lake Resort)
