During your travels, you don't have to go to the Louvre or The Met to see a masterpiece. At these 9 hotels, art is everywhere and in all forms, including original sculptures that greet guests in the lobby, hands-on photography workshops and full-on museums that are open to the public.
Almanac Barcelona, Spain
No two Art Suites are alike at Almanac Barcelona
(Image credit: Almanac Barcelona)
Almanac Barcelona gives you the chance to play the ultimate game of hide-and-seek. Through the Hidden Art package, guests stay in one of the hotel's Art Suites, which feature works by emerging Spanish creatives. In every suite, artist Catherine Parra conceals an original abstract piece of art, and if you find it, you can take it home.
Hotel Ranga, Iceland
Hotel Ranga's game room paints an Icelandic scene
(Image credit: Hotel Ranga)
Nearly every wall tells a story at Hotel Ranga. Murals by local artists depict scenes from Icelandic sagas, like the Story of Burnt-Njal, but the focus is not just regional. Several suites are also "designed with themes inspired by the world's continents," Travel and Leisure said, "adding a fun, unique flair."
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Saddle up next to this sculpture at One Aldwych's Lobby Bar
(Image credit: One Aldwych)
Art is an "integral" part of One Aldwych in London, Condé Nast Traveler said, the common thread that ties together the suites, the grounds and even the Lobby Bar's Gallery Cocktails menu. The hotel's impressive modern art collection includes 400 pieces, with an original work in every room. As part of One Aldwych's Curator program, guests can tour Covent Garden with royal silhouette portraitist Charles Burns and walk away with their own paper silhouette as a keepsake.
Quintessence Hotel, Anguilla
Quintessence Hotel has the largest collection of Haitian artwork outside of Haiti
(Image credit: Quintessence Hotel)
The Haitian art collection at Quintessence Hotel rivals any you could find in a gallery. Carefully curated by owner Geoffrey Fieger, this colorful assembly of more than 600 artifacts and works is spread across the manor and on-site art gallery. The view of Long Bay Beach's "white sands and sparkling blue waters" also wows guests, Forbes said.
Solaz Los Cabos, Mexico
Solaz Los Cabos is the first resort in Mexico with its own museum
(Image credit: Solaz)
The art at Solaz Los Cabos is not confined to Gabinete del Barco, its museum and gallery filled with Indigenous artifacts, tool replicas and a suspended grey whale skeleton.
Mexican visual artist César López-Negrete created more than 400 pieces that dot the property, including massive marble forms and gold sculptures. They take inspiration from Baja California's natural beauty and history.
The Memphian, US
The hotel's Tiger and Peacock bar boasts a celestial ceiling
(Image credit: The Memphian)
The Memphian Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee, was a blank canvas for artist Mary Loeb. With her team, she selected its playful art and decor, amplifying the work of 15 local creatives (with some of her pieces sprinkled in). The result is a "one-of-a-kind lodging experience," National Geographic said, with "nods to the city's heritage." Example: The chandelier in the lobby made of bobbins acknowledges the Mississippi River and Memphis' "love for fishing."
The Siam, Thailand
The Siam sits alongside the Chao Phraya River
(Image credit: The Siam)
All of The Siam in Bangkok is infused with art. Every suite is "furnished around one specific theme and outfitted with artwork, antiques and other decorative pieces," Forbes said, and guests can even get a traditional Sak Yant tattoo at the on-site tattoo studio. For a different type of permanent memory, sign up for the collodion wet plate photography experience. This process dates to the 1850s and results in a photo that lasts forever.
21c Museum Hotel Lexington, US
A former bank vault is now a dining space at 21 C Museum Hotel Lexington
(Image credit: 21 C Museum Hotel)
Come here to live out your "Night at the Museum" dreams. Housed in a former bank building, 21c Museum Hotel Lexington has 88 rooms and a contemporary art museum with more than 2,000 works. Accommodations in the Lexington, Kentucky, hotel are "adorned with original artwork that's well-lit with natural sunlight," Condé Nast Traveler said, and guests can take free guided tours of the museum or do a yoga session in the main gallery.
Villa Bokeh, Guatemala
Eclectic art is in every corner of Villa Bokeh
(Image credit: Villa Bokeh)
Villa Bokeh looks like a work of art. The "palatial" villa is in the middle of a six-acre garden, Elle said, with a "glittering pond" in the backyard. The owners' art collection is on display throughout the property, with paintings, photographs and sculptures in every room. Guests can unleash their own inner artist during Paint and Sip events held outside, with French wine serving as a conduit.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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