"There’s a reason why this gilded palace feels so, well, rich: Evoking an updated spin on Hapsburg-era grandeur, the Golden Quarter hotel occupies the reimagined 1915 Austrian Monarchy Bank, an imposing sandstone structure with columns and carved embellishments. Throughout its 146 opulent rooms and suites, the space is dripping with sumptuous materials, like leather, mother-of-pearl, and Italian marble, with maximalist wall decorations inspired by blown-up brooches originally designed by Art Nouveau artist Carl Otto Czeschka. The central cashier hall now houses the Bank Brasserie & Bar, where you can order wiener schnitzel with mountain cranberries and goose-liver-topped burgers, while the former vault has been transformed into the Arany Spa, where gold-bar-shaped tiles line the nearly 50-foot-long swimming pool." - Nicholas DeRenzo
