From creative countryside retreats to cultural gems in the city, these artful hotels offer boundless inspiration

When it comes to picking hotels on your travels, some luxurious properties can be artsy destinations, where one can wholeheartedly immerse themselves in the artwork that the place presents. While you don't need to be an art aficionado to enjoy these places, rest assured that these hotels will leave you with a host of inspiration and renewed energy as you feel refreshed with a memorable artful living experience. 

VILLA LA COSTE, AIX-EN-PROVENCE

Set within a classic Provençal landscape of olive trees and lavender fields near Cézanne’s home town, this low-slung hotel—an exhilarating collision of art, architecture, and nature—is at the highest point of Château la Coste’s grounds. The estate champions creatives such as Annie Morris, who was the first artist to occupy its Oscar Niemeyer-designed pavilion, and is home to site-specific commissions by Alexander Calder, Louise Bourgeois and Tracey Emin. Sun-lit interiors with huge terraces make the most of the views—yet for all the monastic tranquillity, there is no stinting on luxuries, which include complimentary bottles of the famous bone-dry rosé.

BOATH HOUSE, INVERNESS

From afar, Boath House appears to be a traditional Highlands manor: a walled kitchen garden thrives, the artichoke-green lake gleams and Ionic columns frame the grand front entrance. However, thanks to the vision of the team behind London’s Sessions Arts Club—owned by the painter Jonny Gent, with menus by 
Florence Knight—this 10-bedroom Palladian house is now a hotel with art at its heart: minimalist interiors provide a calm backdrop to works by Ryan Gander, Kate Friend and Julian Schnabel, while hands-on creativity is encouraged, whether painting, writing, or recording in the on-site studios.

LE MEURICE, PARIS

Alongside its status as one of Paris’ grandest hotels, Le Meurice has long been associated with art. Situated on the Rue de Rivoli, just a stone’s throw from the treasures of The Louvre, it once hosted Picasso’s wedding banquet, and for many years funded a contemporary-art prize (the first winner’s sculpture is still displayed in the lobby). Today, guests can book onto a series of private guided tours highlighting the lives and works of Picasso, Rodin, and Monet, while at the hotel’s gorgeous Dalí restaurant, there’s the chance to feast on the exquisite trompe-l’oeil creations of the famed in-house pâtissier Cédric Grolet.

HÔTEL BARRIÈRE FOUQUET’S, NEW YORK

This New York outpost of HÔtel Barrière Fouquet’s transports Parisian chic to the cobbled streets of Tribeca. Art aficionados should book the pent-house suite, a lavish two-bedroom residence with three separate terraces, art deco-inspired interiors designed by Martin Brudnizki and pieces on display by artists including Richard Serra. There’s a peaceful underground spa, a rooftop restaurant, a cinema and an opulently decorated brasserie with a divine menu designed by Pierre Gagnaire, while the city’s major cultural attractions, including the Whitney Museum of American Art, are all within easy reach. 

PULITZER, AMSTERDAM

After admiring the light-filled elegance of the domestic interiors portrayed by Vermeer in the nearby Rijksmuseum, Pulitzer Amsterdam is the perfect hotel to maintain the mood. This chic, art-filled retreat, which occupies 25 interconnecting Golden Age townhouses, offers its guests a glorious variety of amenities, ranging from a moodily stylish cocktail bar and a lively restaurant to a peaceful garden retreat. The artist himself would have recognised the picture-perfect canal views from the rooms

This piece originally appeared in the November 2023 print edition of Harper's Bazaar UK