I arrived in Luxembourg City via train at the Luxembourg Railway Station. Right outside the entrance, I hopped on the sleek—and free—tram. Before the approach to my destination three stops away, a soft three-second piano interlude preceded the announcement to my stop. I disembarked and walked the four blocks to my hotel on a gloriously sunny, comfortable spring day. It was the perfect way to begin my five-day stay in Luxembourg.

Perfection continued inside the Grand Hotel Cravat as I checked in. A welcoming reception greeted me. I was provided with a handy map of the city as well as an actual key to my room. While the receptionist processed my information, I looked around the lobby, noting the fine area rugs, the marble-top tables, and the green mosaic tiles covering a column with four light fixtures. Off to the side, I spied the friendly bar and the adjacent lounge, complete with fireplace and lovely curved staircase.

For more than a century, family-owned Grand Hotel Cravat has withstood the test of time, including two world wars and a global pandemic, retaining its charm of decades past while providing the modern technologies that today’s travelers want. Since its birthday in 1895, when the current owner’s great-grandparents started the business with a restaurant and six-room building, Grand Hotel Cravat has been expanding. Reaching its current size and shape in 1966, with 60 guestrooms on six floors, the hotel commands an enviable location in the city, directly across the street from Constitution Square, anchored by a monument dedicated to the thousands of Luxembourgers who volunteered for service in the Allied armed forces during both World Wars as well as the Korean War. The square overlooks the deep, bosky gorges below, with the lazy Pétrusse River meandering by, and crossed by the charming Adolphe Bridge—one of the most scenic views of any European capital.

I headed up to my room via the small elevator with a brass door, around which wraps a marble staircase. Here was another example of the hotel’s cherishing its own history: The elevator, from 1945, is the oldest working lift in the country, updated and brought up to current codes by the present Cravat family member/manager rather than being replaced by a modern elevator, which would have cost less. It’s attention and details like this that always win me over.

My room was comfortable and fairly basic, small but not overly so, and with a spacious bathroom. The windows sported the metal blinds that I had been seeing all over the city that effectively block out heat, cold, and light. I had a small balcony, big enough for two or three people, with views of Constitution Square and the nighttime marathon that passed right underneath my window one night, with entrants still chugging by after midnight.

Breakfast awaited me every morning in the elegant Le Normandy breakfast room with plenty of curtained windows. The generous spread included scrambled eggs, pastries and cakes, lots of breads and cereals, cold cuts and cheeses, a selection of fresh fruits, and a variety of more than a dozen teas—the rooibos tea with vanilla and honey is a particularly good choice.

While enjoying breakfast one morning, I noticed a dearth of traffic and pedestrians outside the windows. It was Ascension Thursday, a national holiday when just about everything is closed. This unanticipated blip altered my plans for the day, but, fortunately, the staff was quick to offer suggestions—and good ones, at that—to still enjoy the city while its residents were on a break. That was just one of many signs that Grand Hotel Cravat takes care of its guests with style and grace—exactly what you want in a four-star hotel.

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