Skip the museums and spend the night at one of these art-centric hotels that go beyond pretty paintings on the walls. Whether you’re an artist looking to make it big or a collector wanting to expand your collection, these luxury hotels have introduced new interactive art initiatives for every kind of art aficionado.
For the Artist
Le Meurice in Paris, France
Le Meurice is gearing up for its 6th Annual Le Meurice Prize for Contemporary Art, bringing up-and-coming artists to the world’s stage. Art has always been a focus at the hotel, which opened in 1835 in the heart of Paris and quickly became a magnet for artists and celebrities – most notably surrealist painter Salvador Dali, who checked in for at least one month each year throughout the 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s. Le Meurice founded the Annual Prize for Contemporary Art in 2008 to honor the next generation of great French artists.
Now in its 6th year of the non- profit competition, the Prize for Contemporary Art is seeking to elevate the next generation of French artists to compete on the international stage. The winner will receive a generous endowment of €20,000 ($26,226 USD). This international prize is open to all disciplines in the visual and plastic arts and the winner is announced just one week prior to the start of the Fiac International Contemporary Art Fair, which runs October 18-21 in Paris. The exhibition of the eight finalists will also be open to the public at Le Meurice starting December 2, 2013. Rates start at €640 (approximately $836 USD).
45 Park Lane in London, United Kingdom
45 Park Lane offers “A Brush with Art” guest experience, a curated peek into London’s art scene that caters to each guest’s personal interests. The experience includes individual exhibition tours led by 45 Park Lane artists themselves (Brad Faine, Martin Fuller, and Brendan Neiland, among others) plus exclusive perks such as private lessons with notable artists, face time with the current artist in residence during cocktail hour and access to additional works in the hotel’s permanent collection with a tour led by 45 Park Lane’s resident art curator, Roy Ackerman CBE. At Wolfgang Puck’s CUT at 45 Park Lane, guests can enjoy all 16 of Damien Hirst’s limited edition ‘Diamond Dust Psalms’ series hanging together for the first time.
Every October, 45 Park Lane secures tickets and organizes transfers for guests to highly regarded art fair October Frieze held in London’s Regents Park. Priced from £762 inclusive of VAT.
For the Art Collector
La Posada de Santa Fe Resort & Spa in Santa Fe, New Mexico
A local and guest favorite situated in the heart of historic Santa Fe, New Mexico, La Posada de Santa Fe Resort & Spa, encompasses “The Gallery Collection.” The collection consists of over 600 original pieces exhibited throughout the hotel’s public spaces and “Gallery Suites” and is all available for sale at the artist’s studio price. Part of the extensive La Posada art program, the “Gallery Suites” are appointed with original works from some of Santa Fe’s most prestigious galleries.
La Posada’s extensive collection of paintings is hand-selected and overseen by the resort’s onsite Art Curator Sara Eyestone. She rotates artwork frequently allowing the property to feature new pieces every couple of weeks. This summer, Sara will be hosting personalized art and history tours every Friday where she will share her passion for the town’s heritage and art culture. She will also teach weekly memoir-writing classes at La Posada and painting classes at the nearby Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. La Posada de Santa Fe has created the “Collectors Rate” program for guests who purchase art from the hotel, inviting them to return at half of the nightly rate, resort fees waived. Starting rates from $189.
Villas of Grand Cypress in Orlando, Florida
This February, the Villas of Grand Cypress in Orlando, Florida, completed a renovation of its 146 Villas. Investing more than $100,000 into each guestroom, the resort aimed to incorporate signature artwork and commissioned artist Bob Stedman to create 27 original art pieces inspired by the property’s iconic landscape. The pieces, which range from $44 – $230, are displayed throughout the resort and are available exclusively to guests for purchase.
The Omni Royal Orleans in New Orleans, Louisiana
The Omni Royal Orleans is one of the most historic hotels in the French Quarter. Because of its history, the hotel ensured that its recent $15 million renovation paid respect to the city’s culture. The hotel partnered with celebrated local artist James Michalopoulos to showcase an original piece of work in the hotel’s lobby.
Michalopoulos, who is known for his paintings of distinctive New Orleans’s architecture, created the oil painting entitled “Going Green” which is now on display in the hotel. Admirers of the work have the chance to take home the painting with the Michalopoulos “Going Green” package. The one lucky guest to book the package will enjoy two nights in the hotel’s Royal Suite, overnight parking, and ownership of Michalopoulos’ “Going Green” oil painting, which will be shipped directly to their home. Package starts at $35,000 for two nights.
For The Art Admirer
Dolder Grand in Zurich, Switzerland
With 124 pieces of stunning art work set around the property, the Dolder Grand in Zurich has launched a new iPad application for guests to create their own walking tours of the resort’s remarkable art collection, featuring pieces from the famed Andy Warhol and Salvatore Dalí. Guests can borrow an iPad from the reception desk and use a specially designed app to guide themselves through the hotel’s collection of work from 90 artists, which has been documented and sorted by location.
Guests are able to access more information about the artists and access a map showing the positions of the works of art throughout the hotel. For the art-centric guest looking to explore the Zurich art scene beyond the hotel, the Zurich Festival held around the Theaterhaus Gessnerallee in June and July offers musical theater, opera, plays, concerts, exhibitions, debates and more.
The Renaissance Blackstone Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
Art, history and the city that surrounds it are central to the experience at The Renaissance Blackstone Chicago. The hotel is helping travelers enjoy a cultural weekend this season with a Picasso package including two tickets to Art Institute Chicago’s special Picasso exhibit. The world-renowned museum was the first major U.S. art museum to showcase the artist a century ago and this will be the first Picasso-focused exhibit at the museum in nearly three decades.
The Blackstone Renaissance Hotel has an art collection of their own with artwork by numerous Chicago-based artists including cutting-edge new media art, contemporary photography, painting, and graphic works. Historically, The Blackstone Hotel exhibited local artists in its ornate fifth floor Art Hall and upon completion of the hotel’s $128 million renovation in 2008, the property revived the tradition of rotating art exhibitions by showing artworks by local artists.
Jessica Festa is the editor of the travel sites Jessie on a Journey (http://jessieonajourney.com) and Epicure & Culture (http://epicureandculture.com). Along with blogging at We Blog The World, her byline has appeared in publications like Huffington Post, Gadling, Fodor’s, Travel + Escape, Matador, Viator, The Culture-Ist and many others. After getting her BA/MA in Communication from the State University of New York at Albany, she realized she wasn’t really to stop backpacking and made travel her full time job. Some of her most memorable experiences include studying abroad in Sydney, teaching English in Thailand, doing orphanage work in Ghana, hiking her way through South America and traveling solo through Europe. She has a passion for backpacking, adventure, hiking, wine and getting off the beaten path.
