If you’re an art aficionado, visiting art galleries and museums are likely high on your to-do list whenever traveling to a new city. These hotels have such special and extensive collections that you might not even need to leave the lobby to enjoy world-class masterpieces.
Whether it is Alan LeQuire's "Dream Forest" sculptures at the Four Seasons Hotel Nashville or Lionel Smit’s work at Ellerman House in Cape Town, South Africa, here are nine hotels with museum-worthy collections.
The Ameswell Hotel | Mountain View, California
A Hyperspace Bypass Construction Zone sculpture greets hotel guests — Photo courtesy of Douglas Lyle Thompson, The Ameswell Hotel
The Ameswell Hotel is a luxury hotel in California’s Silicon Valley that is so art-focused that it has its own art gallery with museum-worthy pieces. The Hangar One Art Gallery features art inspired by the region’s natural landscape.
The hotel's entrance is graced with a 10-foot-high, powder-coated steel sculpture by The Hyperspace Bypass Construction Zone (HYBYCOZO), founded by artists Yelena Filipchuk and Serge Beaulieu. It was partly inspired by the Kepler mission of NASA’s Ames Research Center, which helped inspire the hotel itself. Other artwork on display includes "Three Circles" by Chul-Hyun Ahn, Ala Ebtekar's "Azimuth" series and "The Fluid" by Chris Doyle.
CIVILIAN | New York, New York
The Blue Room at CIVILIAN showcases Broadway-focused art and memorabilia — Photo courtesy of Nikolas Koenig for Rockwell Group
With more than 350 Broadway-focused art pieces on display, CIVILIAN in New York City pays homage to art theater. Artworks at the hotel include murals, custom furnishings, costume pieces, sketches and photographs.
The hotel's low-key lounge, The Blue Room, features a rotating exhibit of theater art and memorabilia from original Broadway productions and revivals, such as "Hamilton," "Cabaret," and "Kinky Boots." Even the elevators are artfully appointed with a custom Maya Romanoff theater-themed wallcovering.
Ellerman House | Cape Town, South Africa
The collection at Ellerman House spans two centuries of artistic expression — Photo courtesy of Ellerman House
In the heart of Cape Town, South Africa, Ellerman House's dedicated art gallery and property features almost 1,000 pieces. There’s such a wide variety that you may find the work of an artist who lived in the 1800s alongside the art of contemporaries like South African Lionel Smit.
The art on display is purposeful too. It shows how artists have expressed their unique South African experience. Some of the artwork also explores the artistic and social shifts that have happened in South African art over the past century. Not only is art showcased in the gallery and other public places, but it is also on display in the hotel suites and villas. Guests can arrange a private tour of the hotel's collection, as well as tours of Cape Town's best art galleries.
Four Seasons Hotel Nashville | Nashville, Tennessee
Andy Harding is one of many artists featured at the Four Seasons Hotel Nashville — Photo courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel Nashville
The carefully curated art collection at the Four Seasons Hotel Nashville helps guests discover both established and emerging artists, many hailing from Nashville and some as far away as Berlin. The collection honors Tennessee’s natural beauty and the city's world-renowned music scene.
Nashville-based Alan LeQuire's "Dream Forest" sculptures greet guests at the hotel entrance. These majestic works of art leave quite an impression. The sculptures, which reimagine the human torso as a tree, are more than 10 feet tall. Nashville-based Andy Harding's sculptures from his "Philae’s Descent" series are on display in the hotel lobby.
Four Seasons Hotel Seattle | Seattle, Washington
The Four Seasons Hotel Seattle focuses on works by artists in the Pacific Northwest — Photo courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel Seattle
With the Seattle Art Museum as a close neighbor, the Four Seasons Hotel Seattle is perfect for art lovers. You can start your art tour at the hotel, which claims to have the largest collection of art by Pacific Northwest artists outside a museum.
Be sure to scope out significant works from Mark Tobey, Morris Graves and Alden Mason.
Grand Velas Los Cabos | Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
The Grand Velas Los Cabos has an art collection valued at nearly $1 million — Photo courtesy of Velas Resorts
With an art collection valued at close to $1 million, the Grand Velas Los Cabos showcases art in nearly every corner of the luxury resort. The hotel's dedicated gallery, which features hallmarks like a Sergio Bustamante sculpture and two white oak benches handcrafted by American artist Mathias Plessing, sets the scene for the art pieces guests will enjoy during their stay here.
Throughout the property, guests can enjoy lithographs, serigraphs and acrylic paintings by some of Mexico's leading artists, such as Rosendo Pérez Pinacho and Amador Montes of Oaxaca.
Historic Hotel Bethlehem | Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
George Gray murals are on display at the Historic Hotel Bethlehem — Photo courtesy of Historic Hotel Bethlehem
The Historic Hotel Bethlehem could serve as a museum of the late muralist and military artist George Gray. He spent the summer of 1936 painting the large-scale murals that showcase the hotel’s early history. These large murals now hang in the hotel's Mural Ballroom.
Each one of George Gray’s murals tells a story. Among the murals on display are "The Liberty Bell in Bethlehem," "Iron and Steel," and "Asa Packer, founder of Lehigh University."
Iceland Parliament Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton | Reykjavík, Iceland
You'll find original Icelandic art throughout the Parliament Hotel — Photo courtesy of Iceland Parliament Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton
The Iceland Parliament Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton offers visitors a chance to see highlights from the largest, privately owned, Icelandic art collection in the country. With more than 200 pieces of contemporary art displayed in and around the hotel, a museum-like experience is part of the stay.
Egill Sæbjörnsson's animated art can be viewed in the hotel lobby. Other renowned artists whose work can be found in the hotel include Jóhanna Kristbjörg Sigurðardóttir, Hörður Ágústsson and Sigurður Árni Sigurðsson.
Wyoming Inn of Jackson Hole | Jackson, Wyoming
Wildlife photography and bronze sculptures can be found at the Wyoming Inn of Jackson Hole — Photo courtesy of Darren Edwards Photography
It's only fitting that the Wyoming Inn of Jackson Hole, a boutique hotel near Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks, is home to one of the world’s largest private collections of renowned wildlife photographer Thomas Mangelsen. Mangelsen is a conservationist and artist who has lived in Jackson for more than 40 years. His work has been displayed in The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Some of his photographs on display at the hotel include "Dreamcatcher" and "Flaming Aspens."