Part Hotel, Part Art Gallery: 15 Art-Forward Hotels Celebrating the Best of Human Creativity
Where else can you see Salvador Dali’s extraordinary painting “Femmes métamorphosées – Les sept arts” on your way to dinner or pass by Ai Weiwei’s psychedelic statue, the Tianwu Dragon, in the lobby? As it turns out, there’s more than one way to see world-class art than reserving an afternoon to wander a museum. Today’s leading hospitality concepts prioritize local and global creative communities just as much as room service and thread count.
We pulled together 15 art-forward hotels that have made it their mission to bring guest amenities to the next level with their impressive art collections, artist-in-residence programs, and art-centered events.
All listings featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by our editors. If you book something through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
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Marina Denisova/Villa LenaVilla Lena, Tuscany
Part creative commune, part agritourism project, Villa Lena’s accommodations include converted 19th-century-estate farmhouses and stables sprawled across more than 1,200 acres of rolling hills, woodlands, and olive groves. The hotel’s residency program hosts artists like the Italian-English textile designer Chiara Leto and Singaporean contemporary video artist Min-Wei Ting, who are also exhibited at the property. Guests can participate in creative retreats and artist-led workshops, ranging from perfume-making to truffle-hunting and drawing.
Courtesy The SiamhotelThe Siam, Bangkok
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Gold List 2019 
Readers' Choice Awards 2018, 2019Dubbed “a unique animal: part hotel, part museum, part resort” by the iconic architect Bill Bensley, The Siam features collectors’ items throughout. The property’s gems were handpicked at antique stores and weekend markets around Bangkok by owner Krissada Sukosol Clapp—who is also a prominent Thai singer and actor. In addition to perusing private art collections in each room (some of which are for sale), guests can participate in workshops like vintage photography with 100-year-old cameras, sketching with Bensley himself, Sak Yant tattoo ceremonies, and more.
Courtesy Hotel ZenahotelHotel Zena, Washington, D.C.
$$ | Readers' Choice Awards 2021, 2022, 2023The 191-room Hotel Zena in D.C.’s Logan Circle pays tribute to female empowerment through an ongoing art exhibit titled “Her.” One of the highlights is a commanding lobby mural from artists Andrea Sheehan and Julie Coyle that features the portrait of the late Supreme Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg—made with 20,000 hand-painted tampons. The rest of the collection is scattered throughout the hotel and centers women’s experiences and perspectives.
Bluegr Hotels/Minos Beach Art HotelMinos Beach Art Hotel, Crete
This waterfront property with 125 bungalows and villas stretched across a 1.5-mile coastline of Crete’s Mirabello Bay doubles as an open-air art museum. Curated by the home-grown G&A Mamidakis Foundation, the Minos Beach Art Hotel’s Sculpture Garden features installations by Greek and international artists, including an underwater sculpture and sound exhibit by multidisciplinary artist Kostas Ioannides.
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JOE CHUA AGDEPPAhotelThe Ned, Doha
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Hot List 2023Housed inside Qatar’s former Ministry of Interior—a fine example of the 1970s brutalist architecture by Lebanese architect William Sednaoui—The Ned Doha was recently reimagined by the Pritzker-winning architect David Chipperfield. Its main draw for art lovers, however, is the hotel-wide permanent collection of 350+ artworks by over 100 Middle-Eastern artists, most of them women. Curated by Wadha Al-Aqeedi and Elina Sairanen, the co-founders of Mathqaf Arab Museum of Modern Art, it features hand-dyed wool art by Qatari textile artist Maryam Al-Homaid alongside paintings by Afghan-Canadian artist Hangama Amiri, and many other treasures.
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Andrew Beasley/The LondonerThe Londoner, London
This social and creative hub on Leicester Square features a permanent art exhibit in partnership with The National Gallery and The Serpentine Galleries. At The Londoner, guests can expect to find hand-painted murals by New York-based En Viu studio, goddess sculptures by Glasgow artist Zachary Eastwood-Bloom, and in-room surprises like cleverly redacted letters from celebrities and politicians. The hotel also offers additional perks for guests, like discounted access to London Fashion Week events and tickets to sold-out West End shows like Macbeth.
Atix HotelAtix Hotel, La Paz
Set in the upscale Zona Sur neighborhood of La Paz, the city’s first boutique hotel is on a mission to share the cultural richness of Bolivia with the rest of the world. In addition to using 100-percent local products in the design—like Comanche stone on the floors and Amazon wood in the rooms’ interior—Atix Hotel doubles as a live-in art gallery featuring photographs, sculptures, and artworks by Gaston Ugalde, a Bolivian artist known as the Andy Warhol of the Andes.
Courtesy Hotel St. GeorgehotelHotel St George, Helsinki
$$With its origins as the print house for Finland’s first newspaper, it’s no wonder the 148-room Hotel St George in Helsinki’s downtown is obsessed with art. Over 300 artworks can be found throughout the property: Ai Weiwei’s Tianwu Dragon of silk and bamboo greets guests at the entrance hall and a 20-feet brass-wire bird—“Learning To Fly” by Finnish sculptor Pekka Jylhä—floats above the hotel’s Wintergarden restaurant. Being able to take home some of the standout Nordic design is a bonus: the hotel’s St. George Collection ships worldwide.
Courtesy The Dolder GrandhotelThe Dolder Grand, Zurich
$$$ | Readers' Choice Awards 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023While the views of the Alps and Lake Zurich may be the first thing to put The Dolder Grand on your radar, this spa hotel has an art collection dotted with names like Salvador Dali, Keith Haring, Takashi Murakami, Joan Miro, and even Sylvester Stallone. Curated by Zurich-based Galerie Gmurzynska, the collection includes a digital art guide where guests can dive deeper into the background of each piece.
Courtesy AzulikAzulik, Tulum
Self-described as “a creative circle with initiatives around reconnection, hospitality, gastronomy, wellness, fashion, innovation, and art,” Azulik features private villas set amid sculptures rooted in Mayan culture, an on-site gallery, and the Zak Ik boutique where clothing by designers like Benito Santos are arranged in multi-sensory displays. The hotel’s biggest draw, however, lies off-property at the SFER IK contemporary art museum. The space features interdisciplinary exhibits like Pharmakon, a three-part exhibit by Colombian artist Cristina Ochoa dedicated to sacred Mayan medicinal plants and their rituals.
Courtesy Node HotelNode, Kyoto
Staying at Node feels like stepping into an art collector’s residence, where guests can encounter museum-level art throughout the property from globally renowned names like Barry McGee, Robin Williams, and Eicoh Hosoe. The hotel also features rotating events like KyotoGraphie, an international photography festival, and exhibits by artists like the Kyoto-based contemporary artist Hanaoka Nobuhiro, who builds sculptures from everyday-use items like clothing, magazines, and tatami mats.
Courtesy CHAO Sanlitun BeijingChao, Beijing
Founded by a hotelier with a background in art printmaking, the minimalist Chao hotel can be found in the popular Beijing entertainment district of Sanlitun. The property features a soaring 30,000-square-foot art center on-site, dedicated to a year-round avant-garde cultural program—past events included a sensory nighttime exhibit by contemporary artist Yan Lei and a guest talk by Japanese designer Kenya Hara. The hotel also runs one of China’s few high-end art printmaking studios with workshops on etching, silkscreen, woodcutting, and more.
Courtesy Majestic Hotel & SpahotelMajestic Hotel & Spa, Barcelona
$$ | Readers' Choice Awards 2018, 2019A grand hotel from the 1920s, the Majestic Hotel & Spa was once frequented by the likes of Picasso, Miro, and Hemingway. Throughout the property, an impressive 1,000-piece art collection features works by artists such as Antoni Tàpies and Anish Kapoor. The hotel’s “Made In Barcelona” program arranges private visits for guests with Barcelona creatives like Lupo, a century-old leather atelier, and Ornamante, a whimsical designer duo creating handmade objects for the home described as “friendly humanoid bipeds.”
Catherine MeadhotelJoali, Maldives
$$$ | Readers' Choice Awards 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023Situated on the Muravandhoo island in the Maldives’ Raa Atoll, the chic Joali resort features island-wide art pieces by a rotation of artists-in-residence like South-African functional artist Porky Hefer or German multimedia artist Maja Rohwetter. The hotel also runs regular workshops for guests with local and international artists at the Joali Art Studio.
Courtesy Bushman CafeBushman Cafe, Abidjan
Much more than an art-forward boutique, The Bushman Cafe’s walls are laden with artworks from around Africa and the space serves as a cultural meeting point for local creatives. The property features pop-up events like live music performances, textile workshops, and exhibits curated by Abidjan-based Donwahi Foundation for Contemporary Art.