Famous elusive British street artist Banksy hit an auction record earlier this month when his satirical painting representing England’s House of Commons run by chimpanzees sold at Sotheby’s London for $12 million. A similar sum (or much more) would be needed if you wanted your own Banksy, or perhaps a Picasso to hang in your bedroom, or a Kusama to plant in the garden. But for a much friendlier price, it East possible to live with multi-million dollar works of art, even if only for a few days. A select group of hotels around the world, from Cape Town to Colorado, have some truly magnificent collections in their arsenal. You can dine among Warhol portraits in Bermuda, for example, or have your nightcap under a Mel Bochner painting in Santa Barbara. Here are 11 of our favorite hotels with serious artistic flair.
1
The Fife Arms, Scotland
Read reviews From $325 per night, thefifearms.com
When you ask two big names in the art world to take over a historic hotel and redesign it, how can art not take center stage? In 2014, Iwan and Manuela Wirth, the married duo behind Hauser and Wirth, bought the Fife Arms, a stately but dated hotel in the Scottish Highlands. After a five-year renovation, the new and improved hotel was unveiled earlier this year with a ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla. Among the decadent furnishings are 14,000 works of art, ranging from a late painting by Picasso to a piano designed by Mark Bradford, to a giant spider by Louise Bourgeois that stands in the courtyard. Even Queen Victoria (the Fife Arms was built during her reign in the 19th century, just when she bought nearby Balmoral Castle and turned Braemar into a popular destination) contributed to the art collection of the hotel – a watercolor of a stag shot at Balmoral by John Brown, his favorite personal assistant.
2
The Silo, Cape Town
Read reviews From $897 per night, theroyalportfolio.com
Art is literally at the base of the Silo in Cape Town. The hotel is built in a former grain silo from the 1920s, and its lower floors house the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art, which houses the largest collection of contemporary African art in the world. Hotel owner Liz Biden has also focused on advocating for mainland artists to complement her downstairs neighbor, adorning guest rooms and public areas with works by young talent and artists established as Cyrus Kabiru and Mahau Modisakeng. The Silo has also recently appointed an in-house art concierge who will organize guided tours of the Zeitz MOCAA, take guests through the hotel’s 300-piece private collection, and arrange visits to local galleries and artists’ studios. .
3
The Hamilton Princess, Bermuda
Read reviews From $492 per night, thehamiltonprincess.com
The Hamilton Princess, Bermuda’s oldest hotel, has been around since 1885, but when the Green family bought it in 2012, they brought 300 pieces of modern and contemporary art. There are 40 Warhol pieces, including a series by Mick Jagger, hanging in the private dining room of Marcus Samuelsson’s eponymous restaurant. Other highly Instagrammable artists and works include a giant KAWS Mickey Mouse sculpture in the courtyard, an edition of Banksy’s girl with ball in the lobby (a version of this is the one that shredded after selling for over a million dollars at Sotheby’s last year), and many more by Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst, David Hockney, Ai Wei Wei and Yayoi Kusama. Even the gymnasium walls are not bare.
4
Belmond La Residence, Majorca
Read reviews From $412 per night, belmond.com
Deià is one of the most artistic towns on the island of Majorca and its resident hotel taps into this spirit by paying homage to the Spanish painter Joan Miró, whose wife and mother were from the island, and who s was established in the capital, Palma, in 1956. Until September 2020, Belmond La Residencia will host the largest hotel exhibition of works by the artist in the world. Thirty-three of them will be on display throughout Café Miró, the hotel’s Spanish restaurant. Can’t resist sitting outside on the picturesque terrace with its panoramic views? A Miró will also be there, a bronze sculpture titled Head, 1975.
5
The Merrion, Dublin
Read reviews From $324 per night, merrionhotel.com
The hotel houses one of the most important private collections of 19th and 20th century Irish art. You can dine and sleep among the works of William Leech, Paul Henry, Martin Mooney, Mainie Jellett and Ireland’s greatest painter, Jack B. Yeats, whose brother was the poet WB Yeats and father was the portrait painter John Butler Yeats. Even the afternoon tea service is artistically slanted, with desserts and treats that have been designed to mimic the masterpieces on display.
6
Rosewood Miramar Beach, Montecito
Read reviews From $595 per night, rosewoodhotels.com
Santa Barbara County’s latest luxury hotel opened earlier this year and owner/developer Rick Caruso has overseen an art collection that rivals that of Montecito’s most affluent residents (Oprah, Netflix’s Ted Sarandos and his ambassador wife Nicole Avant, and talent manager Scooter Braun among them). The program includes works by Frank Stella, Fernando Botero, Georges Braque, Hunt Slonem, Marc Chagall, Mel Bochner, Norman Rockwell and Helen Frankenthaler. Of the 600 pieces that make up the hotel’s entire collection, half were commissioned specifically for the Rosewood Miramar Beach.
7
Hotel Lungarno, Florence
Read reviews From $513 per night, lungarnocollection.com
The Ferragamo family owns Florence’s Hotel Lungarno (among many others) and have used the property as a showcase for their impressive 20th century art treasure. With over 450 works, this is one of the largest collections and, coupled with the fact that the hotel only has 65 keys, staying here would actually be like sleeping in a private museum. Rooms, suites, and public areas are adorned with Picasso and Cocteau, as well as many great Italian names, like Marino Marini, Ottone Rosai, Mario Sironi, and Antonio Bueno. Guests are given iPads to take a virtual, immersive art tour through the hotel. It doesn’t hurt that it offers spectacular views of the Arno.
8
Dunton Hot Springs, Colorado
Read reviews From $695 per night, duntondestinations.com
True to its name, hot springs are a major feature at this resort located just over an hour from Telluride in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado. It also happens to be the site of a 19th century ghost town and several artefacts from this period have been preserved, such as the original miners’ cabins, the lounge (which has been upgraded with modern appliances) and the bar who was reportedly signed up by Butch Cassidy after he stopped for a drink after he robbed a bank in Telluride. Owners Christoph Henkel and Katrin Bellinger (he is the scion of a German chemical company and she is a noted art dealer and collector – their museum-like London townhouse has been featured in T&Cs four years ago) hired their friend Annabelle Selldorf to design the library and filled the rooms with works that fit perfectly into the 1,600 acre western estate (like William Eggleston) and are also a high artistic surprise level (like David LaChapelle).
9
From England, Copenhagen
Read reviews From $493 per night, dengland.com
Since 1755, this grand dame of a Danish capital property has hosted royalty and celebrities. Hans Christian Andersen was a frequent guest, as were members of the Danish monarchy. The hotel’s art collection has a strong focus on Danish artists. Each year, the current owner, the Remmen Foundation, awards grants (known as the Hotel D’Angleterre Art Award) to promising local artists to help them gain greater exposure. to an international audience. There are also heavyweights in the portfolio, like Joan Miró and Andy Warhol, whose portrait of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark hangs behind the reception desk.
ten
Grand Dolder, Zürich
Read reviews From $572 per night, theoldergrand.com
The breadth and scope of this 120-year-old Zurich hotel’s art collection is evident as soon as you enter the lobby. Overlooking the reception desk stands a 36-foot-wide work by Andy Warhol, aptly titled Large retrospective painting. More than 100 other works adorn the majestic property, such as that of Fernando Botero fruit woman sculpture and others by heavyweights like Keith Haring, Takashi Murakami and Salvador Dali. To start your artistic tour of the Dolder Grand, stop by reception for an iPad which will provide a detailed map of where everything is. What’s more, this hotel also has architectural credibility – its four-year renovation, which took place from 2004 to 2008, was led by Lord Norman Foster.
11
ARIA Resort & Casino, Las Vegas
Read reviews From $129 per night, aria.mgmresorts.com
It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Sin City, land of excess, is home to a fair share of big-ticket art. The Chihuly glass hanging above the Bellagio lobby is iconic. And almost everyone manages to break away from the blackjack tables to go to Ugo Rondinone Seven Magic Mountains in the Nevada desert. The ARIA Resort & Casino has one of the most ambitious collections in town, led by Jim Murren, president and CEO of MGM Resorts (owner of ARIA, Bellagio and others). In 2016, he oversaw the launch of MGM Resorts Art & Culture to help manage the group’s extensive acquisitions. On the talent list: Claes Oldenburg, Isa Genzken, Jenny Holzer and Maya Lin.
Associate Editor
Leena Kim is an associate editor at Town & Country, where she writes about travel, weddings, arts and culture.
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