5 of the World’s Finest Art Hotels

London

Sculptural Delight
At The Beaumont, you can sleep inside a cuboid sculpture, Room, a multistorey work created by British artist Antony Gormley as an extension to the hotel. From the outside it resembles a crouching man. The 72 art deco-style rooms have lots of polished hardwood and vintage art, and are a stone’s throw from Oxford Street and Selfridges. The hotel was opened last year by Chris Corbin and Jeremy King, the restaurateurs behind The Ivy and The Wolseley, so its own restaurant, The Colony, is a must-visit. It features murals by San Francisco artist John Mattos and offers a 1920s-inspired menu of delectable comfort food. The spa’s Moroccan-style treatments include a body mask of clay from the Atlas Mountains. Book here.

Zurich

Warhol Welcome
Andy Warhol’s 11m masterpiece Big Retrospective Painting, which hangs over the reception counter, gives arrivals at The Dolder Grand a taste of things to come. Works by Keith Haring, Damien Hirst, Henry Moore and Anish Kapoor, among others, are spread around the 178-room Zurich icon. Two wings designed by Foster & Partners opened in 2008, joining the fairy-tale spires and gables of the original 1899 building. The hotel boasts the city’s only two-Michelin-starred dining room, The Restaurant, where works by Dalí, Richter and Pissarro complement chef Heiko Nieder’s modern take on European cuisine. Suites in the original building are traditionally styled with hand-painted wallpaper and white marble bathrooms, while those in the new wings have floor-to-ceiling windows that take full advantage of the panoramic views of the Alps and Lake Zurich. Past guests include Winston Churchill and Elizabeth Taylor. Book here.

New York

Private Retreat
A large Chuck Close tapestry of Kate Moss greets guests arriving at The Surrey, an Upper East Side retreat that feels like the private townhouse of a billionaire art collector. A Jimmie Martin cabinet scrawled with graffiti and a William Kentridge video installation are two more treats in store for art lovers. The hotel, on the corner of Madison Avenue and 76th Street, is just a short walk from the Met, the Guggenheim and other galleries. Its 189 room options include the spaciously lavish penthouse and presidential suites, which have access to the hotel’s private roof garden. The ground floor’s Cafe Boulud serves contemporary French cuisine to a cool, artsy crowd, and the rooftop is the perfect spot for cocktails and delightful views. Book here.

France

Village Treat 
Picasso, Matisse and Chagall number among the guests to have stayed at Provence’s La Colombe d’Or since Paul Roux switched from farming to hospitality in 1920. In the picturesque village of Saint Paul de Vence, his hotel became a meeting place for artists, who often left their work behind as payment. The dining room, decorated with still lifes by Picasso and Braque, celebrates traditional Provençal dishes. The pool, in a sunlit leafy courtyard, is watched over by an Alexander Calder sculpture, and the rooms have a rustic charm. Run by Roux’s grandson François, the hotel also retains its link to simpler times by taking bookings only by phone or snail mail. Book here.

Italy

On the Water's Edge
Situated on Sicily's rocky North East coast, the Atelier Sul Mare is a modern art project on a monumental scale. Fourteen of the fourty rooms were designed by some of the world’s greatest modern artists. In order to make art fun, the hotel’s lobby has a massive kiln where guests are encourage to make their own plates which are then used to serve lunch. Guests would then decide to either wash or break the plates. In the morning, guests would also have their keys placed in a massive bowl at the reception desk — other guests can then take themselves on a tour of the art installation rooms.