Life of luxury: Ten European cities with cheap five-star hotels

WHO said luxury travel was expensive? Check out these cities where you can stay in five-star hotels without breaking the bank.

WE LOVE a good dose of luxury when we travel — especially when that luxury involves fluffy white robes, top-notch room service and bellhops at our beck and call.

What, do we sound like we’re high maintenance or something?

When hostel life has you ready to call it quits, it’s time to book a night in a luxury hotel. And thankfully, it doesn’t have to cost your entire travel budget.

The folks at KAYAK analysed thousands of travel queries to determine which European cities offer the highest-quality hotels at the lowest prices — and what they found could change the way you approach Europe travel forever.

For example, they found you could stay at a five-star hotel in Warsaw for about ONE FOURTH the price of the average five-star room in London.

We’re talking $US134 ($A165) versus $US513 ($A632), according to KAYAK estimates.*

Check out KAYAK’s top European cities for cheap five-star accommodations (which also happen to be ridiculously beautiful, and some of our favourites).

*Prices listed were the average KAYAK prices for five-star rooms as of August 2014.

1. WARSAW, POLAND

Plac Zamkowy, Warsaw.

Average price of five-star room: $US134 ($A165) per night

2. THESSALONIKI, GREECE

View over Thessaloniki.

Average price of five-star room: $US139 ($A171) per night

3. BUCHAREST, ROMANIA

Bucharest, Romania.

Average price of five-star room: $US156 ($A192) per night

4. ATHENS, GREECE

The Acropolis of Athens.

Average price of five-star room: $US166 ($A204) per night

5. LISBON, PORTUGAL

Sunrise over the rooftops of Alfama, Lisbon.

Average price of five-star room: $US180 ($A222) per night

6. BUDAPEST, HUNGARY

Szechenyi Thermal Baths, Budapest.

Average price of five-star room: $US182 ($A224) per night

7. BRUSSELS, BELGIUM

Grand Place at dusk.

Average price of five-star room: $US195 ($A240) per night

8. PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC

Stare Mesto Square, Prague.

Average price of five-star room: $US220 ($A271) per night

9. BERLIN, GERMANY

A tour boat on the Spree River.

Average price of five-star room: $US231 ($A284) per night

10. MADRID, SPAIN

Terrace in Plaza Mayor.

Average price of five-star room: $US246 ($A303) per night

This article originally appeared on Huffington Post and was republished with permission.