B Hotel, Barcelona

Smart and contemporary, this three-star hotel has a fabulous rooftop terrace, with a bar serving snacks, plus a long, narrow infinity pool and a view over the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya to the wooded hill of Montjuïc. Room decor is minimal and there is plenty of light from floor-to-ceiling windows. There is no restaurant, though there is a chain coffee store in the lobby and many restaurants nearby.

• Doubles from €80 room only, Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes 389-391, b-hotel.com

Sally Davies

Be Manos Hotel, Brussels

A renovated 1920s townhouse, this boutique hotel attracts an arty crowd and is a welcome arrival to the Gare du Midi environs, which has many chain hotels. Rooms are decorated in black, white, metal, glass and stone – without compromising on comfort – and the restaurant and bar are worth a visit in their own right. It’s less than 10 minutes’ walk from the station but the hotel offers a free shuttle service for guests in a hurry.

• Doubles from €119 B&B, Square de l’Aviation 23, bemanos.com

Emily Waterfield

Miss Sophie’s Downtown, Prague

Alongside the railway station park nicknamed Sherwood, on account of its former reputation for sheltering thieves, this new boutique hotel is part of a small chain (four in Prague, one in Olomouc). The design theme is retro chic – with rooms featuring custom-made furniture, an array of mirrors, lights and tiny red curtains – and conjures up the atmosphere of a theatre dressing room. It doesn’t yet have its own breakfast bar but organic teas and sweets on arrival make for a welcoming touch. Miss Sophie’s makes for an affordable and snug stop off.

• Doubles from £38 room only, Opletalova 39, miss-sophies.com

Mark Pickering

Hotel Hor, Paris

Its rather peculiar name to one side, this 47-room hotel has a spacious lobby lounge and garden terrace – and an excellent location just minutes from the Gare du Nord. It’s a good-value property and comes with a dose of style and a visual sense of humour, too. For example, tongue-in-cheek re-editions of the sort of boldly ugly wallpaper once common in small French hotels are used as decorative accents in well-lit rooms with oak parquet floors, desks, and baths with rainfall showers. Breakfast is served until noon.

• Doubles from €115 room only, 160 rue la Fayette, 75010, hotel-hor.com

Alexander Lobrano

Polonia Palace Hotel, Warsaw

Eight minutes’ walk from the station, the Polonia, built in 1913, is full of old-world charm. It is one of the capital’s few properties to have survived the second world war during which it was used as a field hospital by the Polish resistance in the midst of the Warsaw Uprising, after a period when it was home to occupying Nazi officers. It was reopened after a major refurbishment in 2004.

• Doubles from £57 room only, Aleje Jerozolimskie 45, poloniapalace

Keith Lockram

Amano Grand Central, Berlin

Much of the commercial development around the Hauptbahnhof has favoured large business hotels but opposite the station’s Europaplatz entrance is this mid-size option with a boutique interior full of fashion portraits and designer furnishings. The Hamburger Bahnhof contemporary art museum and Natural History Museum are just down the road, and it’s a 20-minute walk to the Brandenburg Gate and Reichstag. Rooms have minimal dark-brown and white palettes, plenty of natural light, and extra rooms and Nespresso machines in the superior rooms.

• Doubles from €57 room only, Heidestrasse 62, amanogroup.de

Paul Sullivan

Ecomama, Amsterdam

Fifteen minutes’ walk from Centraal Station, or a five-minute metro ride, Ecomama is a 19-room hostel, whose chill-out areas and cheerful live-in staff give the place a cosy, community feel despite the industrial styling. Upcycled accessories, such as lamps made out of cheese graters, reinforce Ecomama’s sustainability message, as do the timed showers and motion-sensor lighting. Accommodation options range from the “el cheapo” 12-bed dormitory (from €18), to a private double superior, with its own bathroom (from €99). Make breakfast in the shared kitchen or get a croissant and coffee for less than €5 in the cafe, The Fix.

• Valkenburgerstraat 124, ecomamahotel.com

Deborah Nicholls-Lee

Hotel Daniel, Vienna

It’s not hard to spot Hotel Daniel: just look for the boat that hangs over the roof of the building. The rooftop is also home to beehives and apple trees which provide produce for the onsite bakery, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, while vegetables are grown in the hotel’s front garden, where an Airstream trailer has been converted into a bedroom. Other rooms in the main building are calm havens with white walls, green-tiled bathrooms and, in some rooms, hammocks. Explore the city on an E-vespa or pushbikes (hire from €35 and €10 a day respectively). An onsite shop doubles as reception and sells both practical (forgot your toothbrush?) and beautiful things. Neighbouring the baroque palace grounds of Schloss Belvedere, it’s a 15-minute walk to the railway station.

• Doubles from €98 room only, Landstrasser Gürtel 5, hoteldaniel.com

Becki Enright

The Beehive, Rome

The Beehive is a mix of hostel and hotel and is helmed by American expats Steve Brenner and Linda Martinez. Their cosy, eco-friendly property is a mishmash of dorms (including female-only) and private rooms, plus a plant-filled courtyard. The vegetarian breakfast includes homemade sourdough bread, bagels, pastries and cakes, accompanied by fairtrade coffee. Expect a sense of community, too: The Beehive throws family-style dinners and cooking classes for guests, making it an intriguing option for solo travellers. €20-90 in low season to €35-120 in high season.

• Dorms from €15, rooms from €65, Via Marghera, 8, the-beehive.com

Alexandra Bruzzese

Generator hostel, London

The urban-design-led Generator hostel group’s King’s Cross branch is less than 10 minutes’ walk from the station and offers affordable beds, late-night bar and fun interiors. Communal spaces are colourful and industrial, with reclaimed timber, and exposed pipes and brickwork. There are leather egg chairs, a graffiti-print piano, chessboard-printed tables, a slice of a Routemaster bus serving as the DJ booth in the bar, and a cafe offering burgers and light bites. Dorms sleep 4-13, with shared bathrooms, or there are private rooms, some en suite. It’s within walking distance of the redeveloped Coal Drops Yard shopping and restaurant complex, as well as Regent’s Park and Camden.

• Dorms from £9, private rooms from £44, staygenerator.com

Antonia Wilson

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