Khiva, Uzbekistan

Currently our favourite hotel in Uzbekistan, the Orient Star occupies a former madrasa in the heart of Khiva’s walled city, the Itchan Kala. It’s wonderfully atmospheric, with 60 double rooms off arcaded walkways surrounding a capacious inner courtyard. The building has been expertly restored using gorgeous glazed tilework and traditional mud bricks. Gracefully arched alcoves indent the thick walls of the rooms. None are very large, but the bathrooms open on to little balconies where you can sit and watch the swifts circling over the domes and minarets outside. Meals are served in a grand banqueting hall just across the street.