A traveler’s hideaway tucked in the 2,000-year-old German city of Cologne, the QVEST is a beautifully designed hotel that expertly blends old and contemporary and can be found within a gothic building behind St. Gereon's Basilica. Built in 1897, the building was formerly home to the Historical Archive of Cologne.

Thanks to the owner of QVEST magazine (of which the hotel gets its name), Michael Kaune, a large part of the hotel is furnished with Kaune’s personal collection of furniture and photographs. Guests can even take home a souvenir from an exclusive on-site boutique selling the hotel’s curated furniture and design objects. QVEST even offers a small library of art, design, and fashion literature in every room, in lieu of television sets.

All 34 rooms and suites at The Qvest are furnished with high-end vintage and original mid-century design pieces. The Historic Suite boasts an impressively tall ceiling, while the spacious Salon Suite features Gothic windows in the living room, original stuccoes, and a bar. The rooms showcase original photographs by George Holz, Roxanne Lowit, Marina Gadonneix, and many others—a reflection of Kaune’s passion for contemporary art.

Lying next to the mythical Rhine river, The QVEST is the perfect gateway to Cologne’s old town with many places of historic interest and museums, and its younger, more vibrant side in the neighboring Belgian and Friesen quarters.