Hotel Goldene Rose Dinkelsbühl

Queen Victoria of England stayed at the historic Hotel Goldene Rose in 1891, but you wouldn’t guess it from a look at the sleek, understated Queen Vicky Suite. The room where she once slept, like the rest of the hotel, has since seen a thorough modernization. The project, which involved stitching together the old hotel with its adjacent buildings, was an ambitious one, especially considering its location in Dinkelsbühl, one of Germany’s most picturesque medieval towns, where tradition and history are especially revered. Designers NOA carried it off with style, keeping many of the property’s best original features — the quaint half-timbered facade, a romantic staircase, antique mirrors — while breathing new life into a landmark.

Rooms have an open layout, with original dark wood beams, pale parquet flooring, and a subdued color palette of white and gray. Some suites are bi-level, with a lofted sleeping area framed by vaulted trusses and a living area with a hanging swing-style sofa. Each features a large, intricate tapestry, a nod to the town’s medieval past, but the bathrooms are almost futuristic. Plenty of interesting old-world details await discovery throughout the hotel, from the fireplace-warmed bar, Vicky, to an antique ballroom that’s now used as a modern cinema. But perhaps the best of all is the attic-level infinity pool, with views of the cathedral through the original gables of the hotel’s roof.