A converted Oxford bank has made it into a top-10 list of converted hotels published today.

The list, from travel information company TripAdvisor, shows The Lighthouse in Llandudno, North Wales, in fifth place, with the Old Bank Hotel in Oxford sixth.

The Lighthouse, where the average nightly rate is about £75 per person, is built of Canadian pine and limestone and was converted in 1985. The Victorian dining room overlooks a 100m vertical drop.

One TripAdvisor traveller said: "It was a unique experience amidst dramatic scenery with the most welcoming hosts you can imagine. This was more of a dream than reality."

With an average nightly rate of around £230, the Old Bank Hotel, with an 18th-century facade, was converted in 1999 from what was Oxford's first bank.

One TripAdvisor traveller said: "The Old Bank is a small and intimate delight in a stunning location. We were very well treated by the staff and enjoyed the lively sense of humour of the head porter."

TripAdvisor European communications manager Ian Rumgay said: "Innovative and unusual, hotel conversions are becoming increasingly popular. And from this list it would appear that Europe is leading the world in this sector.

"Travellers tell us that the best conversions are those that retain the theme and atmosphere of the building's original use and seamlessly integrate it with amenities and services expected of a contemporary hotel."

The top 10 are:

  • 1. Hotel Im Wasserturm, Cologne, Germany - a former water tower
  • 2. Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace, Budapest, Hungary - a former palace
  • 3. K+K Hotel Central, Prague, Czech Republic - a former theatre
  • 4. Chateau de Trigance, Trigance, France - previously a medieval fortress
  • 5. The Lighthouse, Llandudno, North Wales
  • 6. Old Bank Hotel, Oxford, England
  • 7. Hotel Pulitzer, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Amsterdam, Holland - converted from two canal houses
  • 8. Krolewski Hotel, Gdansk, Poland - an ex-granary
  • 9. Langholmen Hotel and Hostel, Stockholm, Sweden - formerly a prison
  • 10. Mandarin Oriental, Prague, Czech Republic - converted from a 14th-century Dominican monastery.