Some hotels weren’t always hotels. They started as castles, palaces, and family homes—buildings made to last forever. Now they welcome travelers into spaces where every stone has a story.
1. Riad Fès – Fès, Morocco
Behind a simple door in Fès, a 300-year-old house opens into a peaceful courtyard. Colorful tiles cover the walls in patterns that took months to make. A fountain sits in the center, cooling the air just like it did centuries ago.
The rooms circle around this courtyard—the traditional Moroccan way of building. Carved wooden ceilings, thick walls that keep out the heat, and that constant sound of water. This is how Moroccan families built their homes when they wanted privacy and shade from the desert sun.
Fès, Morocco | 17th-century traditional house with original tilework and courtyard
Book your stay at: Riad Fès – Fès, Morocco
2. Castello di Casole – Tuscany, Italy
A thousand-year-old castle sits on a Tuscan hill surrounded by olive trees. It was built as a fortress when this area wasn’t safe, with thick stone walls and a tower that still looks out over the Chianti countryside.
Inside, you’ll find vaulted stone ceilings and arched doorways—all original. The rooms are where Italian nobility once lived. High ceilings to handle summer heat, small windows for protection, stone walls that stay cool even in August.
Casole d’Elsa, Tuscany | 10th-century castle with medieval stone architecture
Book your stay at: Castello di Casole – Tuscany, Italy
3. Pousada Palácio de Estoi – Algarve, Portugal
In southern Portugal, a pink palace from the 1800s shows off what Portuguese aristocrats loved—decoration everywhere. The gardens have walls covered in blue and white tiles. Painted ceilings, tall windows, and ornate details fill the public spaces.
Inside the rooms, the approach is different. Minimal and modern design lets the palace architecture speak for itself. It’s a contrast that works—historic grandeur outside, clean contemporary comfort inside.
Estoi, Algarve | 19th-century palace with Portuguese tiles and modern interiors
Book your stay at: Pousada Palácio de Estoi – Algarve, Portugal
4. Museum Hotel – Cappadocia, Turkey
This hotel is carved right into the rock. Cappadocia’s landscape is full of these fairy chimney formations—volcanic rock shaped by wind over millions of years. People have been hollowing them out and living inside for thousands of years.
Some rooms here were once caves where Byzantine monks lived. Others were expanded into homes over the centuries. The rock keeps rooms naturally cool in summer and warm in winter. It’s architecture that’s literally part of the landscape.
Uçhisar, Cappadocia | Cave hotel carved into volcanic rock
Book your stay at: Museum Hotel – Cappadocia, Turkey
5. Château de la Treyne – Dordogne, France
A 600-year-old château sits on cliffs above the Dordogne River. It started as a fortified manor during medieval wars—built to be defensive. Over time, owners added Renaissance windows, gardens, and softer touches that made it less fortress, more home.
You can see the layers of history. Medieval stone base, later additions on top. Guard towers that became bedrooms with river views. A great hall where nobles once gathered, now serving dinner with the original stone walls all around.
Lacave, Dordogne | 14th-century château overlooking the river
Book your stay at: Château de la Treyne – Dordogne, France
6. Belmond La Residencia – Mallorca, Spain
Two 500-year-old manor houses sit in a village on Mallorca’s coast. They’re built the traditional island way—thick stone walls for summer heat, small windows for privacy, courtyards for outdoor living.
Everything here connects to the landscape. Local stone, gardens that follow the hillside, building techniques passed down through generations. This is what Balearic architecture looks like when it’s done right—made to belong exactly where it is.
Deià, Mallorca | 16th-century manor houses with traditional island architecture
Book your stay at: Belmond La Residencia – Mallorca, Spain
Why These Hotels Matter
These places aren’t special just because they’re old. They matter because they show how people built for their world—riads with courtyards for desert heat, castles on hills for safety, palaces to show off wealth.
When you stay here, you’re inside buildings that were made to last. And they did.
Discover more hotels where history shapes the experience. Explore the Historic Soul collection.
