Art Hotels

21c Museum Hotel Louisville occupies a row of old warehouses on West Main Street. The buildings were converted into a hotel with exhibition rooms on the lower floors. Contemporary work is shown there and changes over time. The galleries are open to visitors as well as guests. Admission to the exhibition rooms is free, and the doors stand on the street.

The ground floor holds the galleries, a restaurant and public passages between the old warehouse bays. Works are also placed in corridors, stairwells and other shared areas above. Brick structure and cast-iron fronts remain visible in the converted rooms. Exhibitions rotate, so what is on view depends on the visit.

Ask the hotel about current gallery hours, which shift with exhibitions and events. Confirm whether any rooms are closed for installation during your dates. The operator runs houses in several cities, so name Louisville when writing. Send parking and arrival questions to the house itself.

Hotel Puerta América on Avenida de América in Madrid gave each guest floor to a different architect. The interiors change as the lift passes from one level to the next. Designers and architects from several countries worked on the building. Public rooms, the garage and the facade were also given to named authors. Corridors read as separate projects rather than one scheme.

Materials and colours differ sharply between floors, so the house has no single interior. The lobby, bar and restaurant were designed apart from the guest levels. Because rooms are tied to a floor, layout and fittings vary across the building. The exterior carries printed text across its balconies. Signage and lighting were treated as part of each floor's design.

Ask which floors are in use when you write, since rooms are assigned by level. Send requests to see a particular floor well in advance. Confirm what parts of the building visitors may enter without a booking. Group visits to the public rooms may need arrangement.

Byblos Art Hotel Villa Amistà is a fifteenth-century villa in the hills west of Verona. The house was restored and now holds contemporary works through its rooms and grounds. Frescoed ceilings sit beside recent pieces. It stands away from the city, among vineyards. Gardens and terraces surround the building at Corrubbio di Negarine. The house stands in the Valpolicella country.

Historic plasterwork and painted ceilings were kept during the restoration, and modern furniture was set against them. Works from the collection stand in halls, corridors and the park. A restaurant, a bar and a pool occupy the grounds. The layout follows the old villa plan rather than a corridor of equal rooms.

Ask which works are on view, as the collection is shown in rotation. Confirm how the villa is reached, since it lies outside Verona. Check what parts of the garden and the historic rooms are open during your stay. It is worth requesting directions by car before arrival.

The Dolder Grand opened above Zurich in 1899 and still stands on the wooded Adlisberg slope. The old house was later joined by wings from a modern extension. Works from a private collection are placed in the public rooms. A funicular runs up from the district beneath it. The city and the lake lie below the terrace.

The historic building keeps its turrets and long facade, while the newer wings hold further rooms and a spa. Sculpture and paintings stand in halls, corridors and the garden rather than in a separate room. Restaurants and a bar occupy the ground floor. The grounds face open slopes toward the ridge.

Ask which works are currently on display, since parts of the collection move. Confirm whether the spa and restaurants are open to visitors who are not staying. It is worth checking how the funicular and the road approach work on arrival.

Hotel Unique rises over the Jardins district of São Paulo in a curved copper-clad form. The building was designed by the architect Ruy Ohtake. Its shape is often described as an arc set on two supports. Round windows are cut through the walls. It faces a park across the avenue, and a pool sits on the roof.

The curve of the structure runs the length of the house, so upper floors are shorter than lower ones. Public rooms, a restaurant and a bar sit at ground level under the arc. The roof terrace is used for a bar and a restaurant as well. Guest floors are reached from a lobby beneath the curve.

Ask whether the roof terrace is open to visitors, as access can depend on events. Confirm which room types follow the curve, since the plan differs by floor. Send questions about arrival by car ahead of the stay. Ask also which public rooms take reservations.

Kruisherenhotel Maastricht occupies a fifteenth-century monastery and its church in the centre of the city. The complex served as a religious house before later uses, and was converted into a hotel. The nave now holds reception and a restaurant. Its Gothic vaults and windows were left in place. Guest rooms fill the former monastery wings.

A copper structure was inserted into the church to carry a mezzanine above the floor of the nave. Reception, the bar and the restaurant sit within the old walls rather than in added rooms. Windows, vaulting and stonework remain visible from the guest corridors. The cloister garden lies beside the building.

Ask whether the church interior can be seen by visitors who are not staying. Confirm which wing holds your room, since the old plan gives rooms of different shapes. Raise access questions with the hotel before arrival. The city centre is a short walk from the door.