In today’s world where the Arts and Culture sector is receiving rapidly growing awareness, a luxury hotel can no longer be defined by traditional dictates of spiffy service and quality linen – the value of artwork in its treasure chest and how well they are displayed are also important.
Let us take a look at some of the extraordinary art hotels around the world.
BENESSE HOUSE, JAPAN
Benesse House is on the island town of Naoshima within the Seto Inland Sea. The region is home to jaw-dropping contemporary art museums and well-known sculptures. At Benesse House, there are only 10 guest rooms spread across four buildings. Most distinctive among these is the Oval hilltop building, accessible only by monorail. Rooms there are among the hardest accommodations to book.
THE THIEF, NORWAY
As its name would like to have us believe, The Thief in Oslo showcases art that curator Sune Nordgren “stole” from the nearby famed Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art. It also samples the collection of Norwegian hotel mogul Petter Stordalen. Guests can see 150 contemporary pieces by artists such as Julian Opie and Jeff Koons.
HOTEL ECLAT BEIJING, CHINA
The Hotel Eclat Beijing is not just a luxury hotel but also a gallery of contemporary art. The hotel’s rich and valuable art collection is on display in both the guest rooms and public spaces. Over a hundred artworks, including sculptures and paintings by masters such as Salvador Dali, Chen Wenling and Andy Warhol are on show.
LA COLOMBE D’OR, FRANCE
La Colombe d’Or in Cote d’Azur was originally a bar opened by Paul and Baptistine Roux in the 1920s. As patrons started lingering after hours, they decided to turn it into an inn. In the 1940s, it became a famous hangout among artists visiting the region, who gave their works to the owners in lieu of payment. The works of artists such as Miro, Matisse and Chagall now adorn the walls of the inn.
21C LOUISVILLE MUSEUM HOTEL, US
21c Museum Hotels is a chain of contemporary art hotels founded by Laura Lee Brown and Steve Wilson. The collectors opened their first hotel in Kentucky to display their possessions and followed up with three more. Works include Camille Utterback’s video work Text Rain, and a piece made up of light bulbs and mirrors by Ivan Navarro.
HOTEL 12, BODENSDORF, AUSTRIA
In the depths of Austria, where every view is like that of a postcard, you will find the Hotel 12 Bodensdorf – a new alpinechic hotel where the owner, Walter Junger, insists on making every guest feel like a close friend. Art played a significant role in the conception of Hotel 12 Bodensdorf and amidst its surrounding mountain scape, stands Chinese contemporary sculptor Ren Zhe’s monumental warrior sculpture…
THE DOLDER GRAND, SWITZERLAND
The Dolder Grand in Zurich, built in 1899, has over a hundred paintings and sculptures from the Impressionist school as well as the contemporary period. In the hotel’s restaurants are paintings by Camille Pissarro, Salvador Dali, Fernando Botero and Joan Miro, and works by Damien Hirst, Keith Haring and Takashi Murakami.
ELMA ARTS COMPLEX LUXURY HOTEL, ISRAEL
This Fauvist-style hotel houses an art gallery and two performance spaces. The majority of works on display at the hotel are post-Impressionist works by the likes of Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque and Jim Dine, as well as works by Israeli artists such as Sigalit Landau.
ONEHOME ART HOTEL, CHINA
The Shanghai Onehome Art Hotel claims to be the largest art hotel in the world and seeks to create an experience of “Comfort and Art All Day Long”.
The 14-storey hotel with a floor area of 55,000 sq m has 319 guest rooms and four restaurants. The 15 themed suites are each modelled after the work of a particular master like Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, Gustav Klimt and Salvador Dali, and sketches and prints by the corresponding artists are displayed.
*This article is adapted from The New Paper. All photos courtesy of the internet.