10 Ljubljana Hotels, from a 1905 Grand Dame to an Army Prison
The Art Nouveau grand hotel built as the city rose from the 1895 earthquake, an inn named for an elephant that passed through in 1552, a bohemian family hotel by Plečnik’s Križanke, and a Metelkova prison with artist-designed cells.
Ljubljana rebuilt much of its centre after the 1895 earthquake, and its hotels carry that history alongside older houses and one army prison. This list has the Grand Hotel Union, opened in 1905 to Josip Vancaš’s Art Nouveau design, the Slon, named by its own account for an elephant that passed through in 1552, Hotel Mrak, once home to a playwright and a sculptor, and Hostel Celica in the old Metelkova military prison.
The list is grouped by character, not ranked. Each hotel’s name links to its own site, so you see the current rate and book direct.
Grand hotels, 1905 to 2017
Grand Hotel Union Eurostars · Center / Prešeren Square
The Union opened in 1905 to an Art Nouveau design by Josip Vancaš, during the city’s rebuilding after the 1895 earthquake. Its Union Hall ballroom is catalogued as a cultural venue in its own right. Spain’s Eurostars Hotel Company has run it since 2022.
Best Western Premier Hotel Slon · Center / Slovenska cesta
The Slon stands on Slovenska cesta, on a spot where, by the hotel’s account, an inn took the name At the Elephant after Archduke Maximilian’s elephant Suleiman passed through in 1552. Its restaurant carries the date in its name, Slon 1552.
Exe Lev · Center / Tivoli
The Lev opened in 1964 at the edge of Tivoli Park. Slovenian press lists its guests from Agatha Christie to Bob Dylan. Eurostars now runs it under the Exe Lev name.
InterContinental Ljubljana · Center / Bavarski dvor
The InterContinental opened in 2017 as Ljubljana’s first five-star hotel, in a tower on Slovenska cesta that is billed as one of the tallest buildings in Slovenia.
Old Town houses and palaces
Vander Urbani Resort · Old Town (Krojaška ulica, Ljubljanica embankment)
Vander Urbani joins four historic Old Town buildings beside the Ljubljanica, by the hotel’s account. The Ljubljana architects Sadar+Vuga redesigned it and added a rooftop pool above the Old Town roofs.
Antiq Palace · Old Town (Gosposka ulica / Novi trg)
Antiq Palace occupies what the hotel describes as a sixteenth-century city palace on Gosposka ulica, and it counts a stretch of Roman Emona’s wall as part of the property’s history. It is a member of Historic Hotels of Europe.
Barbo Palace · Center
Barbo Palace lets rooms and apartments inside Barbova palača, a listed historic city palace named for the Barbo noble family.
Bohemian Ljubljana
Hotel Mrak · Center / Križanke (Rimska cesta)
Hotel Mrak is the former Pri Mraku inn, owned and run by the Mrak family, near French Revolution Square and Plečnik’s Križanke. The city’s tourist board tells of its bohemian residents, the playwright Ivan Mrak and the sculptor Karla Bulovec Mrak.
Zlata Ladjica Boutique Hotel · Old Town (Jurčičev trg)
Zlata Ladjica stands on the Ljubljanica in the riverside house that held the Zlata ladjica pub, a legendary bar for the owners’ generation, by their own account. They revived the name when they opened the hotel.
Hostel Celica · Metelkova
Celica occupies the former military prison of the Metelkova barracks, used by the Austro-Hungarian and later the Yugoslav army. It opened as a hostel in 2003, with its cells redesigned by different artists and architects.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are these hotels ranked?
No. The groups sort them by character, and the order within each group carries no meaning.
Why ten and not fifteen?
Ljubljana is a small capital, and ten of its hotels had a real story to tell. The rest qualified on comfort or location alone, so they were left off rather than added to round out the list.
Why are there no prices?
Rates change daily and a priced list goes stale in a month. Each hotel’s name links to its own site, so you see the current rate and book direct.
Where should I stay?
The Old Town and centre hotels all sit within ten minutes’ walk of Prešeren Square and the Triple Bridge. Metelkova is fifteen minutes north-east by the railway station, with the city’s alternative cultural centre on the doorstep.
Which hotel puts me closest to the day trips on this site?
Most day trips from Ljubljana run to Lake Bled, to Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle, to Piran on the coast, or up the Soča valley. The hotels on Slovenska cesta and near the station sit closest to the coach pickups and the trains.