Travel
The Top 15 Art Hotels Around The World
Slide Nr 1The days when ‘hotel art’ was a byword for ‘boring’ are long over. These high-design hotels not only let you stay among world-class works by artists past and present – in some cases, you can sleep inside the installations themselves.
Photo © BnA Alter Museum. Photo by Tomooki Kengaku 0/15
Travel
The Top 15 Art Hotels Around The World.
Slide Nr 221c Museum Hotel Louisville, US – In the two decades since Laura Lee Brown and Steve Wilson opened their first 21c Museum Hotel in downtown Louisville, Kentucky – housed in two restored warehouses on Main Street’s historic Museum Row – the collector-preservationist duo have debuted seven further US locations. Whether in Cincinnati or Durham, Lexington or St Louis, each property maintains its own character, serving distinctive local specialities in the restaurants and displaying unique collections of art from 21st-century creatives. The lineup in Louisville features names such as James Bridle, Serkan Özkaya, Whitney Bradshaw and Anne Peabody. Worth special mention is the Asleep in the Cyclone suite (pictured), which immerses guests in an installation by Jonah Freeman and Justin Lowe.
Photo © 21c Museum Hotels 1/15
Travel
The Top 15 Art Hotels Around The World.
Slide Nr 3IZZA Marrakech, Morocco – Past, present and future collide at this boutique riad within the city’s medieval medina. Nostalgic interiors throughout the public spaces and 14 individually appointed rooms lean heavily on the philosophy of American designer Bill Willis, who helped give rise to Moroccan modernist aesthetics in the 1960s and ’70s. The art, on the other hand, looks squarely forward. The hotel is home to more than 300 pieces of contemporary art, ranging from works by Moroccan artists like Leila Alaoui, Hassan Hajjaj and Khadija Jayi to Ethiopian prodigy Yatreda, as well as avant-garde digital creations; one of Refik Anadol’s AI-generated Mars landscapes undulates across a two-metre screen on the leafy rooftop terrace.
Photo © IZZA 2/15
Travel
The Top 15 Art Hotels Around The World.
Slide Nr 4Wythe Hotel, New York City, US – Wythe’s billing as “the first hotel built in and for Williamsburg” rings true. When it debuted in 2012, it was a microcosm of Brooklyn cool, all lofty ceilings, concrete floors, exposed wooden beams and room-height Crittall-style windows from the original 1901 factory building, with each space animated by contemporary art from local New York talent. Ultra trendy? Yes, but always authentic – just like Williamsburg itself. The art collection has continued to expand, now featuring hundreds of works across the common areas and 69 guest rooms. You’ll encounter pieces by artists like Katherine Bradford, Marina Adams, Chris Martin and Jason Stopa, as well as a specially commissioned large-scale Duke Riley drawing in which eagle-eyed viewers can spot references to more than 40 Brooklyn-based events.
Photo © Wythe Hotel. Photo at left by Lucas Vasilko 3/15
Travel
The Top 15 Art Hotels Around The World.
Slide Nr 5Le Negresco, Nice, France – Located on the coastal road leading from the Nice airport to the old town, Le Negresco looks out across the famed Promenade des Anglais. The hotel has been here since 1913, and its palatial architecture alone has rendered it a sought-after destination for more than 100 years. Today, however, more than 6,000 artworks and five centuries’ worth of period furniture make it a Mecca for aesthetes across the globe. The hotel also hosts various live music events, has a Michelin-star chef and features the refined La Rotonde Brasserie with elements of an 18th-century carousel – not forgetting Le Bar 1913, replete with original wooden features and a tapestry dating to 1683.
Photo © Le Negresco 4/15
Travel
The Top 15 Art Hotels Around The World.
Slide Nr 6BnA Alter Museum, Kyoto, Japan – Many art-centred hotels display the bulk of their collections in public areas, for obvious reasons. At this cutting-edge property in central Kyoto, however, the art is not only in the rooms – the art is the rooms. Each of the 31 guest rooms is a life-sized, live-in art installation created by one of 15 Japanese artists specifically for the space, from Mon Koutaro Ooyama’s kaleidoscope of colour to Mina Katsuki’s spare white slate with its head-turning single-stroke wall painting, and Lulu Kouno’s dramatic net-like canopy bed surrounded by her whimsical deep-sea imaginings. While you’re here, attend music and art events at the happening bar and explore the one-of-a-kind Staircase Gallery (SCG), a 10-storey vertical museum of contemporary Japanese works. You can also revel in the knowledge that your stay helps financially support the artists who brought the hotel to life.
Photo © BnA Alter Museum. Photo by Tomooki Kengaku 5/15
Travel
The Top 15 Art Hotels Around The World.
Slide Nr 7The Cullen, Melbourne – When it first appeared in 2009, The Art Series Hotels group – now part of Accor – had two complementary aims: to open high-class hotels and to highlight some of the finest talent in Australian contemporary art. It quickly established a reputation for doing both. The first to open was The Cullen, in Melbourne, and it was immediately clear that the art was centre stage, not an add-on. Curator Jane O’Neill went as far as to say that “The art is the springboard for all other decisions.” Artist Adam Cullen died in 2012, and since then, the hotel has served as a tribute to his work.
Photo © The Cullen/Accor 6/15
Travel
The Top 15 Art Hotels Around The World.
Slide Nr 8The Watson, Adelaide – Adelaide’s The Watson is named after the late Aboriginal artist Tommy Watson, a remarkable creative who only began painting at age 66. As a showcase for his art, the hotel’s open-plan suites, upscale restaurant, 25m lap pool, gym and conference facilities are all meant to complement Watson’s oeuvre, which is the focal point of a stay here. Guests can join a guided Watson tour, browse the art library and even watch a dedicated art channel on their room TVs. The Series now comprises seven hotels across Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.
Photo © The Watson/Accor 7/15
Travel
The Top 15 Art Hotels Around The World.
Slide Nr 9Casa Malca, Tulum, Mexico – Looking to spruce up your seaside holiday? Look no further. Casa Malca offers the kind of bohemian-beach-escape-in-a-drug-lord’s-former-mansion-surrounded-by-eccentric-art that you never knew you needed. When New York gallerist Lio Malca converted this Tulum estate, once owned by the infamous Pablo Escobar, into his own beachfront bolthole, it was initially only for family and friends. Now, the snazzy design-forward resort encompasses 40 rooms and suites, three restaurants, a spa and a beach club, with eclectic works by some of the art world’s biggest names scattered about. An iconic KAWS Companion adorns a quiet staircase. Kenny Scharf’s Scary Guy stretches across the pool. Sunil Gawde’s giant lightbulbs lie among loungers on the white-sand beach, while Jianguo Sui’s Mao-esque Legacy Mantle stands guard by the hammocks.
Photo © Casa Malca 8/15
Travel
The Top 15 Art Hotels Around The World.
Slide Nr 10Hotel Arts Barcelona, Spain – The 56-metre-long fish-like sculpture of the Frank Gehry-designed El Peix outside Hotel Arts Barcelona is only a prelude to what guests can expect inside this towering 44-storey, 432-key exposed glass-and-steel hotel currently undergoing a major 220-million-euro facelift. On top of its much-vaunted architecture by Bruce Graham and its enviable location just steps from Somorrostro Beach, guests can enjoy a significant array of Catalonian, Spanish and international art. Wander the lobbies, restaurants and halls to discover its treasures, before retiring to the swimming pool in the shade of El Peix.
Photo © Hotel Arts Barcelona 9/15
Travel
The Top 15 Art Hotels Around The World.
Slide Nr 11The Slate Phuket, Thailand – Environmentalism meets artistry at this island hideaway designed by hospitality legend Bill Bensley with sustainability in mind. ‘Local’ is the name of the game, from the handcrafted decor to the garden-fresh cuisine, botanical spa treatments and, of course, much of the art; the on-site Shades gallery provides a platform for sculptures, paintings and photography by contemporary Thai artists alongside international creators. Three swimming pools, seven dining/drinking establishments, a restorative spa, a kids’ club and an array of stunningly designed suites and villas complete the picture of paradise.
Photo © The Slate Phuket 10/15
Travel
The Top 15 Art Hotels Around The World.
Slide Nr 12Rome Cavalieri, Rome, Italy – The claim by the Rome Cavalieri hotel to be one of the best art hotels in the world has considerable merit. Of course, these things are subjective, but with artworks that include masters from the 16th century and stretch to Rudolf Nureyev’s ballet garb, who’s to argue? Especially when, on wandering through the hotel entrance, you are met by the stunning sight of Giambattista Tiepolo’s three-piece 1725 cycle featuring Achilles and Ulysses. And then there are the hugely significant Beauvais tapestries. It’s not all about the distant past, however – works by Andy Warhol and Robert Indiana feature among the more than 1,000 objects of art design here, including, of course, Nureyev’s ballet costumes.
Photo © Roma Cavalieri, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel 11/15
Travel
The Top 15 Art Hotels Around The World.
Slide Nr 13The Exhibitionist Hotel, London, UK – London’s South Kensington is home to an array of cultural attractions: the Royal Albert Hall, the Saatchi Gallery and some of the city’s premier museums, starting with the Victoria and Albert. Tucked away at 10 Queensberry Place is the self-styled Exhibitionist, which – as the name suggests – is upfront about its intentions. A sculptured bull greets guests at the entrance, setting the tone for the interplay between space and art. From slickly modern chandeliers and flowered sculptures to pop art wall frescoes and temporary exhibitions, creative expression is integral to every facet of the hotel. Indeed, guests in The Exhibitionist can rely on eight gallery spaces with constantly changing displays to get their fix.
Photo © The Exhibitionist 12/15
Travel
The Top 15 Art Hotels Around The World.
Slide Nr 14Clara Arte, Brumadinho, Brazil – The largest open-air contemporary art museum in the world, Instituto Inhotim is a destination unto itself. Here, art pavilions and installations by formidable international names like Yayoi Kusama, Steve McQueen and Anish Kapoor dot 140 hectares of subtropical forest and botanical gardens populated with rare, exotic flora. Unsurprisingly, those who make the trek – about an hour from Belo Horizonte in the state of Minas Gerais – will want to stay a while, and the newly opened Clara Arte offers the unique opportunity to overnight within the borders of this vast museum. Daily art talks and exclusive twice-weekly access to the gallery sweeten an already enticing deal that involves lush tropical pools, exquisite bungalows, local cuisine and a luxe spa.
Photo © Clara Arte 13/15
Travel
The Top 15 Art Hotels Around The World.
Slide Nr 15W South Beach, Miami, USA – Unlike most landmark Miami hotels, it’s not the postcard sea views or frequent celebrity sightings that steal the show at this instant South Beach institution – it’s the USD-100-million art collection that could put many a professional gallery to shame. Part-owner Aby Rosen curates the cache of sought-after modern and contemporary works, which ranges from Basquiats and Schnabels to an impressive 21 Warhols. Tongues have been wagging about this swank 357-key glass tower and its high-concept design since it opened in 2009, but a 2020 overhaul upped the ante even further with sleeker, chicer room designs, a new spa and even more big-time art.
Photo © W South Beach 14/15
Travel
The Top 15 Art Hotels Around The World.
Slide Nr 16Ace Hotel Sydney, Australia – Australia punches well above its weight in art-minded hotels per capita, and the 2022 arrival of the uber-hip Ace Hotels’ first southern hemisphere outpost only added to the options for culture enthusiasts Down Under. Revitalising a former brick factory in Surry Hills, Ace Hotel Sydney takes many a design cue from the current art scene, particularly in its extensive collection of works curated by Flack Studio. The pieces they selected for the property – including Aboriginal artist Albert Namatjira’s paintings, Glenn Barkley’s terracotta wall hanging and James Lemon’s variegated brick sculpture – reflect the unique perspectives of the country’s creatives; an Artist in Residence programme keeps the juices flowing with quarterly showcases of fresh new works.
Photo © ACE Hotel Sydney 15/15
Share with your friends
