Hotel Esplanade Zagreb

Built in 1925 specifically for passengers disembarking the Orient Express, the legendary train stopped at Zagreb's station next door, and the Esplanade was designed to give travellers a reason to break their journey rather than simply pass through. The Art Deco interiors, the grand ballroom, and the Zinfandel restaurant (named for the grape variety that originated in Croatia, whatever California might claim) all reflect the ambition of a hotel built explicitly for an international clientele passing through on the world's most storied railway. 208 rooms, and a lobby that still feels faintly like a departure lounge for somewhere much more glamorous than wherever you're actually headed.