Esplanade Zagreb Hotel

Surely it won’t be long before the contemporary-design boutique hotels move in to Zagreb, but there’ll never be anything in the Croatian capital to match the historic appeal of the Regent Esplanade. It dates back to the Twenties, to the heyday of the Orient Express, and its Art Deco interiors have been renovated, but not updated — just looking around these rooms (and ignoring the satellite television) you could easily convince yourself it’s still 1924.

Of course those old-fashioned good looks are compatible with modern luxury-hotel comforts. Goose down pillows and duvets on the beds, oversized towels in the modern marble bathrooms, and above all plenty of space, always a luxury in a city-center grand hotel.

Elegance in the guest rooms is certainly nice, but in a classic luxury hotel like the Regent Esplanade, it’s the public spaces that really shine. The lobby is stylish, in the same gorgeous and impeccably maintained Art Deco style as the rest of the hotel, and the cocktail lounge and the French bistro have atmosphere to spare. But it’s the fine dining restaurant and the grand ballroom that are truly monumental — the Regent is the European grand hotel at its best.