Sleek and modern have their place but cosy and old-fashioned can be so much more charming. While the trend for vintage looks has influenced the design of many newer hotel rooms, we're paying homage to the originals – the places that have barely changed (aside from necessary maintenance and refurbs) since they were first built decades ago. From gloriously kitsch 1950s motels to Art Deco classics, these are the rooms to check out if you want to do the time warp (again).
Click through this gallery to see amazing hotel rooms frozen in time...
This charmingly historic hotel, with its beautiful rooms, will transport you back to the early 1900s. Built in 1910 by the Sarkies brothers, who created a hospitality empire in South East Asia, and dubbed Hotel Oranje to reflect Dutch colonial rule, the hotel played a part in the country’s War of Independence. Known as Hotel Yamato after Japanese occupation in the Second World War, revolutionaries created Indonesia’s red and white flag in 1945 when they tore away the blue stripe of the Dutch one flying above the hotel.
In the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, you’ll find Hotel Thoumieux and its chaotic mishmash of furniture and patterns. Occupying the premises of a historic hotel and 1920s brasserie, it’s the place to be if you like room design that doesn’t just nod to the past but fully embraces it. Immerse yourself in the Paris of the Roaring Twenties and enjoy influences from the Forties, Fifties and Seventies – all of which seem to reflect a bygone age of cinema and celebrity in France's capital – while you’re at it.
This dreamy French Riviera hotel inspired F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel Tender is the Night, part of which is set on its pale sandy beach. Hotel Belles Rives takes its role in preserving that history seriously, with quotes by the author and photos of him displayed in the lobby. The rooms of this Antibes hotel also recall the Roaring Twenties with their period furnishings, frescos and gilded Art Deco design elements.
Love this? Follow our Facebook page for more travel inspiration
This isn’t so much camping, more like sleeping in a luxury hotel that happens to be under canvas. And this Kenyan safari base, just outside the Maasai Mara, was offering glamping before there was a name for it. The name is a little confusing as the camp was actually established in the 1970s, but the style hasn’t changed. The decor is in muted tones of beige, stone, caramel and resin.
You don’t mess with a true classic. Since being built in 1929, LA's Chateau Marmont has seen countless celebrities and luminaries enter its Gothic splendour – and has, we suspect, discreetly averted its eyes as overindulgence unfolded. It was painstakingly restored in the 1990s, with fresh appliances, paint and carpets, yet the apartment-style suites and cottages remain true to their original, grandly elegant style.
Hotels don’t come much more Art Deco than Burgh Island in Devon, designed to look like an ocean liner and reached only via sea tractor at high tide. It opened in 1929 as an exclusive, invitation-only retreat, with Coco Chanel and Winston Churchill among the lucky few guests. Now anyone (who can afford it) can book one of the old-school rooms, decorated with the unmistakable geometric patterns and bold colour schemes of the original period.
Pinker than candy floss, a flock of flamingos and Miss Piggy put together, the Madonna Inn could never be accused of being understated. But that’s not really the look this charmingly kitsch hotel, on the outskirts of San Luis Obispo on California’s Central Coast, is going for. It’s been a classic stop for road trippers since it opened in 1958 and its guest rooms, from the Madonna Suite – the pinkest of the pink – to stone-strewn Jungle Rock, would be right at home in Graceland.
Famous as the birthplace of the Singapore sling cocktail, invented in the hotel’s Long Bar in 1915, Raffles is equally renowned for the timeless elegance of its suites, with plush textures of velvet, wool and dark mahogany that hark back to another era. The hotel underwent a big renovation in August 2019 but has retained its style and charm.
The Shady Dell, in brilliantly named Bisbee, looks like your typical slice of retro-cool hipster heaven. Look beneath the surface though and it gets even better. This cluster of repurposed trailers started in 1927, catering to road-trippers travelling between San Diego, California and Savannah, Georgia, along Highway 80. Highlights include the 1940s Tiki Bus and a vintage 1950s trailer complete with black-and-white television.
Built in 1953, The Saugatuck has been thoughtfully restored to reflect its roots and recall the bygone era of motor lodging in style. Rooms with patterned blankets and Adirondack patio chairs are steps from the shores of Lake Michigan. The chance to play shuffleboard by the fire pit or go for a splash in the pool simply add to the charming old-fashioned vibe.
The current owners of this 1960s hotel, designed by famed desert-modernist architect Albert Frey, made a radical decision when they reopened in 2016: they left much of it untouched. Elements were restored to bring it up to scratch and up to date in terms of conveniences, but many original features such as tiles and bathroom fixtures remain; a whisper of Palm Springs' golden age.
Legend has it that Oscar Hammerstein began writing The Sound of Music in one of the villas at this old-world Caribbean resort in Jamaica’s Montego Bay. Fading photographs around the outdoor bar also boast about other starry guests from Bing Crosby to Michael Douglas. The rooms, with mahogany four-posters and shutters, blend with the timeless vibe.
The furniture might be (thankfully) mostly new and the cons might be mostly mod, but the Austin Motel in Texas stays true to its roots. Open since 1938, there are charming touches everywhere, from the mid-century chairs around the kidney-shaped pool to the bright yellow and red vinyl beds and pop-art wallpaper in the colourful rooms.
Many visitors heading to Havana arrive with dreams of dusty streets, tiny jazz bars and pastel-hued vintage cars. The elegant 1930s Hotel Nacional de Cuba slots in perfectly within this vision. It hasn't messed too much with the classic style that has attracted guests including Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner.
Not all Las Vegas hotels are head-spinningly large and lavish. Fremont Street, a couple of miles from the Strip, was the original heart of Sin City and many of the hotels here maintain a retro vibe. El Cortez opened in 1941 and was sold to mobster Benjamin ‘Bugsy’ Siegel four years later. While there are modern rooms and suites available, guests looking for an old-school Vegas experience should pick one of the Vintage Rooms. They're practically unchanged since Bugsy’s day.
This landmark London Mayfair hotel is as timeless as they come. Concierges first held open the doors in 1856 and it was remodelled in an Art Deco style in the 1920s. Since then, Claridge’s has stayed true to that elegant period, with a restoration in the 1990s based on archive photographs. Tired furnishings have been replaced with luxurious fabrics and pieces that reflect the opulent glamour of the era that made it an icon.
This blazingly white Art Deco beacon is as Cannes as they come. From its sign, stencilled against a typically cloudless sky, to its private beach (the largest in the city, don’t you know), Hotel Martinez screams exclusivity and elegance. Its breezy blue and white rooms have been renovated over the years but have kept the original Cote d'Azur charm Grace Kelly would surely have adored.
Take a look at these vintage photos of Hollywood stars on vacation
Any hotel overlooking a landmark so imposing as the Gateway of India – the 20th-century archway built to commemorate George V’s visit to the country – should show suitable respect for history. The storied Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai goes above and beyond though. Royals, dignitaries and global stars have stayed in the Florentine-inspired palace since it opened in 1903. Its old-world charm remains in the rooms with silk rugs, four-poster beds and marble bathrooms, adding fitting dashes of luxury.
This Art Nouveau time capsule, in the centre of Berlin, was the home of silent film star Asta Nielsen. The decor has been kept reminiscent of her era – the 1910s and 1920s – with chintzy floral wallpaper, vintage telephones, net curtains, and peach, butter and peppermint shades.
One of the world’s kitschiest hotels is tucked away unassumingly in the town of Broken Hill, in Australia’s Outback. The Palace Hotel had a flash of fame as a location in cult 1994 film Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, and now hosts regular drag bingo nights and shows. Many of the rooms are pretty standard but the Priscilla Suite – where the characters stayed – still shines in all its glittery, glitzy glory.
The Edgewater Hotel was built for the 1962 World’s Fair but this waterfront Seattle property has an even better claim to fame. The Beatles stayed here two years after the hotel opened and the group famously fished from the window of their suite, while special cordons had to be erected to keep fans at bay. The Beatles Suite, all Brit rock style, primary colours and clashing tartan carpets, has been maintained in its original style.
This blue and white hotel, on the Greek island of Mykonos, is the ultimate in 1960s seaside glam. Jackie Kennedy Onassis, first lady of the United States between 1961 and 1963, once stayed here. Hotel Theoxenia has been spruced up to maintain luxury standards but pays homage to its swinging past with pop art and soft pastel furnishings straight from the era.
This 1930s hotel in Palm Springs was renovated in the 1950s and it’s pretty much stayed the same way ever since. Rooms are in one-storey buildings dotted about the courtyard and pool area, in typical mid-century style. Inside, the retro-glam is dialled up even further. Marilyn Monroe fans should book Pretty in Pink (pictured), a candy-hued suite where the actress stayed in the 1950s. The Andy Warhol print came later.
As the name suggests, this Cape Town hotel has that old-school cool vibe that so few manage to pull off. It opened in 1895 and has undergone quite a few refurbs since then. Grand Daddy hasn't forgotten its Renaissance-style beginnings though. Rooms are plush havens with jewel-hued velvet sofas, chandeliers and vintage suitcases.
This lavish London hotel has too much class to worry about trends and fads. This kind of timeless beauty just needs a little sprucing and freshening up every now and again, not an entire facelift. Since opening in 1906, The Ritz has ushered luminaries from Paul Getty and Charlie Chaplin to... erm... Anna Scott (Julia Roberts’ character in Notting Hill) through its gilded lobby. The rooms, with fresh pastel shades and plush furnishings, are straight out of a Neoclassical manor house.
The Dive Motel in Nashville, Tennessee, is home to 23 unique rooms. From far-out wallpaper and retro furniture to log cabin vibes the lumberjack in your life will love, there’s an old-school flavour to suit every taste here. Looking to have some fun? All rooms come with a ‘party switch’ that activates a disco ball and radio. Take your pick from four stations: Sex, Drugs, Rock ‘n’ Roll and Sleep. For extra levels of groovy, be sure to check out The Dive Motel’s suites. The yellow shag carpet will stay in your mind forever.