Art hotels of the world | Travel | guardian.co.uk
The Hotel Chelsea, New York: One of the original 'art hotels'. In the 50s and 60s artists, writers and musicians took up cheap lodgings here, leaving works of art in lieu of rent, which decorate the hotel today. The roll call includes Sir Arthur C Clarke, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Stanley Kubrick, Arthur Miller, Dee Dee Ramone, Larry Rivers, Dylan Thomas, and Tennessee Williams. Rooms from £96 a night. +1 212 243 3700hotelchelsea.com
Photograph: Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images
Hotel du Petit Moulin, Paris: French designer Christian Lacroix has transformed the interior of this former bakery. The 17 rooms represent 17 ways to discover the area Le Marais, from rustic history to zen spaces. Doubles from €190, room only (+33 1 42 74 10 10; paris-hotel-petitmoulin.com).
Propeller Island Hotel, Berlin: One of several art hotels in Berlin, at Propeller Island even the hotel music is part of the art experience. Some rooms are more user-friendly than others. Shown here is the Freedom room, which one suspects might inspire the need to escape. Rooms from €69-115pp pn. +49 (0)30 891 9016, propeller-island.de
21c Museum Hotel, Louisville, Kentucky: The hotel is housed in what were five abandoned tobacco and bourbon warehouses and displays works of art in elevators, courtyards, roof, and even the toilets. Visitors can see installations and exhibitions by emerging and recognised artists, such as Bill Viola, Tony Oursler, Sam Taylor-Wood and David Levinthal. Doubles from $165 (low season), +1 502 217 6300, 21cmuseumhotel.com
Broomhill Art Hotel and sculpture garden, North Devon: This six-bedroom Victorian hotel has its own contemporary art gallery and 10-acre sculpture park, displaying over 300 sculptures which guests are free to view during their stay. Doubles from £75 a night B&B, +44 (0)1271 850262, broomhillart.co.uk
Gramercy Park Hotel, New York: The hotel's design is the creation of Julian Schnabel, whose painting Suddenly Last Summer (Picasso Painting No. 2) hangs above the fireplace. In the back corner is Andy Warhol's Rorschach. Doubles from £240. +1 866 784 1300, gramercyparkhotel.com
Hotel des Arts, San Francisco: Leading emerging artists from the around the world were given full artistic control to turn rooms into individual art spaces. The results range from full installations, to pop art or graffiti. Doubles from £39 a night. sfhoteldesarts.com
The Colombe D'Or, St Paul de Vence, Provence: An art hotel where great artists like Picasso and Matisse really did hang out, and left their work for future guests to enjoy. Here an Alexander Calder mobile stands next to the swimming pool. Doubles from £283 a night, +33 4 93 32 80 02, la-colombe-dor.com
Fox hotel, Copenhagen, Denmark: Manga cartoons, street art, whimsical fantasy creations or graphic designs adorn the rooms at Fox Hotel. In this room UK designers Container have used a royal theme based on the suits in a pack of cards 'to emphasise the feeling of being special that one gets when one stays in a hotel'. Doubles from about £89 incl breakfast (depending on season). +45 33 95 77 55, hotelfox.dk
Atelier Sul Mare, Sicily: Sitting right on Sicily's coast at Castel di Tusa, Atelier Sul Mare sets out to be a hotel-museum where guests wake up among the art works. This room recreates a fairytale by Sicilian author Vincenzo Consolo about the fall of the moon (represented by the bed). Nineteen olive tree sculptures represent wisdom. Art rooms from €80 (£69) a night B&B, regular rooms from €60pp pn. +39 (0)921 334 295, ateliersulmare.it
Gladstone Hotel, Toronto: The 37 individually artist-designed rooms are not the only draw of Toronto's oldest continuously operating hotel. It's home to a buzzing cultural scene, hosting gig nights in the bar, regular exhibitions and has a lively cafe and various function rooms. Rooms range from classical to theatrical and start at C$195 (£107) a night. +1 416 531 4635, gladstonehotel.com
Photograph: PR