You won't find any fjords, and a view of the Northern Lights is unlikely, but this hip hotel does sit in the thick of sundry dining and drinking establishments, and within walking distance of funky Fremont, the Ballard Locks (one of Washington's top tourist attractions) and scenic Golden Gardens Park, which offers splendid views of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains.

BBC: Daily deal: A night in Seattle

With shape-shifting scenery reminiscent of an eerie moonscape or the gnarled mountains of Caucasia, Durmitor offers visitors the most splendid of isolation, all just three hours from the coast.

BBC: An adventurer��s paradise in Montenegro