The Vibe: Minimalism meets Art Nouveau.

The Area: Brăila is a city on the Danube in Eastern Romania.

The DNA: Casa Popeea’s storied, albeit tumultuous, history laid the groundwork for its revival. The Art Nouveau-style mansion was built in 1900 by a Greek merchant, partially destroyed in a fire in 1923, and eventually confiscated by the Socialist regime after World War II. The structure was then left largely unattended and, in turn, suffered severe neglect up until 2005, when a number of emergency renovations were conducted to save it from collapse. In 2015 a three-year transformation resulted in an 11-room boutique hotel. Mixing old with new, the design team imagined a carefully considered—and predominantly neutral—material palette that “complements both the building’s historic context and its contemporary use”. The original grand oak staircase was dismantled and sent to a carpentry workshop in Transylvania for repair before being reinstalled. Terrazzo on the external staircase and main entrance was restored, as well as hand-molded plaster in the hallway. Additionally, the hotel features Café Popeea, an artisanal coffee shop and brasserie on the raised ground level, and a spa on the lower ground level.

Suite-Me-Up: The hotel intimate and serene guest suites feature white ceilings, herringbone parquet floors, generous wooden beds accompanied by neutral-toned sheets and blankets, minimalist lighting including Flos brass pendant lights. The atmosphere is sleek and elegant. The bathrooms are clad in smooth concrete.

Seen: archello, archilovers, dezeen, Hospitality Design, Wallpaper*

✅ free Wi-Fi • size matters: 11 rooms (15-24m2) (161-258 sq ft) • hotel opened: 2019 • architecture & interior design: Manea Kella ✅ free street parking • no pets allowed • 24-hour front desk