Those who travel to see art know that some of the best collections aren’t found in museums. In fact, one of the most exciting and intimate ways to experience art outside of an institutional or gallery setting on your travels is in the place you choose to sleep. A growing number of hotels feature their own world-class on-property collections, while others have formed partnerships with art experts for private tours centered on famous artists.
For our Hotels We Love series of the best hotels and resorts of 2023, we rounded up the ten retreats that art aficionados will want to build an entire trip around. From a seaside bolt-hole in Cape Town with one of the country’s best private South African art collections to a classic retreat in Rome with one of the city’s most insightful private tours of Caravaggio, these hotels pay homage to creativity.
A guest room at the Hotel Eden in Rome.
Courtesy of the Dorchester Collection
1. Hotel Eden
- Location: Rome
- Why we love it: Posh digs and art historian-led city tours
- Loyalty program: Dorchester Collection Diamond Club
- Book now
This elegant 98-room hotel from the Dorchester Collection is housed in an 1889 apartment building, and the lobby, with its cozy nooks and honor bar, retains a residential feel. In 2022, the hotel launched “Caravaggio—Rebel and Rome,” a private tour with an art historian who leads guests on a two-hour experience of the city through the lens of the baroque-era artist’s paintings and his short but colorful life. From $1,610
The Merrion Hotel in Dublin.
Courtesy of The Merrion Hotel Dublin
2. The Merrion Hotel
- Location: Dublin, Ireland
- Why we love it: A museum-worthy art collection in a Georgian townhouse setting
- Loyalty program: LHW Leaders Club
- Book now
In four restored Georgian townhouses, the Merrion displays one of Ireland’s largest private art collections, on par with the National Gallery down the street. Browse a catalog in each of the 142 rooms and suites or take a self-guided audio tour to see paintings by Jack Yeats (poet W.B. Yeats’s brother), William Scott, Louis le Brocquy, and others. Every two years, the Merrion Plinth Award displays a contemporary artist’s work alongside the more historic paintings. An afternoon tea features desserts inspired by the collection. From $424
Le Royal Monceau, Raffles in Paris is a luxurious place to spend the night.
Le Royal Monceau, Raffles Paris
3. Le Royal Monceau, Raffles Paris
- Location: Paris
- Why we love it: A contemporary-feeling palace hotel with a dedicated art concierge
- Loyalty program: Accor Live Limitless
- Book now
At Philippe Starck–designed Le Royal Monceau, resident art concierge Julie Eugène leads complimentary tours of the 149 room hotel’s permanent and rotating exhibits. Works range from Salvador Dalí paintings to photographs by contemporary French artist Arlette Kotchounian (pieces are in the sprawling Gallery Suites too). Eugène can also arrange studio visits, private dinners at galleries, after-hours tours of the Louvre or the Picasso Museum, and art workshops for children. From $1,926
The design of the 21c St. Louis includes notable artworks from the hotel’s collection.
Courtesy of 21C Museum Hotels
4. 21c St. Louis
- Location: St. Louis, Missouri
- Why we love it: An art-focused hotel chain with a dedicated art exhibition space
- Book now
The U.S.-based hotel group 21c debuts its tenth hotel this summer, part of a citywide effort to revitalize downtown St. Louis through the arts. Located in a former YMCA building, the hotel dedicates more than 14,000 square feet to museum exhibition space that’s open to the public, featuring a rotating collection of works by acclaimed artists and permanent pieces from local talent. Look for public events and site-specific installations too, including a 20,000-pound orb filled with water by Turkish American conceptual artist Serkan Özkaya. From $220
Ellerman House dates back to 1906 and has a residential feel.
Courtesy of Ellerman House
5. Ellerman House
- Location: Cape Town, South Africa
- Why we love it: A residential-style retreat with ocean views and a notable South African art collection
- Book now
Set on a cliff overlooking the ocean, Ellerman House has 13 individually designed rooms. It doubles as an art gallery, thanks to owner Paul Harris’s collection of South African art from the 19th century to the present day, including pieces by the late social realist painters George Pemba and Gerard Sekoto. The hotel’s art guide Talita Swarts arranges private textile, painting, and printing workshops with contemporary artists, such as Kimathi Mafafo, who incorporates embroidery into her paintings. From $742
6. The Langham Boston
- Location: Boston
- Why we love it: A historic building housing American art icons
- Loyalty program: 1865 Privilege
- Book now
Housed in the former Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, the Langham emerged from a renovation in 2022 with a collection of 290 works—many from the Copley Society of Art, the country’s oldest artist-focused nonprofit. Pieces by colonial-era portraitist John Singleton Copley and contemporary painter Mary Hughes complement the bank’s original murals of Abraham Lincoln and Alexander Hamilton by N.C. Wyeth. Scan a QR code for a self-guided tour with video interviews of contemporary artists. From $806
John Cox is the executive director of arts and culture at the Baha Mar Resort.
Courtesy of Rosewood Baha Mar
7. Rosewood Baha Mar
- Location: Nassau, Bahamas
- Why we love it: A secluded-feeling beach resort with meaningful ties to local artists
- Book now
On the sandy white shores of Cable Beach in Nassau, the 226-room Rosewood Baha Mar offers seclusion and ocean views, plus artwork by the likes of Damien Hirst and more than 100 pieces by John Cox, a prominent Bahamian mixed-media artist. Cox is also the executive director of arts and culture at the Current, a creative center at the resort complex that organizes art exhibitions, lectures, and workshops. Guests can also snorkel through a coral reef sculpture garden made by local artists. From $815
More than 80 percent of the rooms at Rosewood Hong Kong have views of Victoria Harbour.
Courtesy of Rosewood Hotel Group
8. Rosewood Hong Kong
- Location: Hong Kong
- Why we love it: An elegant vertical estate with a prime position on the Kowloon waterfront and world-class art
- Book now
Not only is this 413-room bastion of glamour designed by Tony Chi in the Victoria Dockside district surrounded by art institutions—see M+, Hong Kong Palace Museum, and K11 Musea. The Rosewood Hong Kong’s interiors are brimming with gallery-worthy artworks across residential-feeling spaces, where wide picture windows frame Victoria Harbour views. Throughout, the likes of Thomas Houseago, Clarita Brinkerhoff, Wang Keping, and Damien Hirst sit next to the works of notable local artists including Wing Chan. Hour-long tours, led twice weekly by a resident art ambassador, bring it all to life, while Asaya Spa’s offering of private Expressive Art Therapy sessions allows guests to tap into their own creativity. From $958
The Liberty Suite at the Capella Sydney.
Courtesy of the Capella Sydney
9. Capella Sydney
- Location: Sydney
- Why we love it: An exciting new luxury retreat in the heart of Sydney’s historic district with meaningful Aboriginal connections
- Book now
The 192-room Capella Sydney opened in 2023 with neutral-hued interiors in a restored century-old building that was once the Department of Education headquarters. The hotel’s on-site art collection offers a way for guests to meaningfully connect with Aboriginal and Australian art. Interiors showcase textiles and photography sourced and commissioned by online gallery the Artling. Standouts include a trio of color-saturated canvases by Waanyi artist Judy Watson, a Max Berry landscape, and First Nations contemporary artist Otis Hope Carey’s graphic swirling mural in McRae Bar, which represents the artist’s Gumbaynggirr people’s spiritual emblem. Aesthetes can join the hotel’s complimentary Sydney Architecture Walk through the historic Central Business District. From $483
10. Dolder Grand
The Dolder Grand sits next to Lake Zurich.
Courtesy of the Dolder Grand
- Location: Zurich, Switzerland
- Why we love it: Palatial five-star digs, two-star Michelin dining, and a focus on wellness
- Book now
The 173-room Dolder Grand’s sumptuous interiors were partially designed by architect Norman Foster and filled with sparkling chandeliers and shapely contemporary furniture. It’s decorated with some world-class canvases, too. The 100 piece–strong collection found throughout the circa 1899 property—which looks more like a castle than a hotel—includes Salvador Dalí, Joan Miró, Keith Haring, Fernando Botero, and Takashi Murakami. The best way to take it all in is to borrow an art iPad for a self-guided tour. From $890
