Art Attack

Hotels are finding the way to their guests’ hearts is through a creative feast for the eyes

- Valerian Ho

The days of hanging a nondescript landscape print in each guestroom are over. Many luxury hotels now pay serious attention to art, both as a way to enhance the guest experience and in order to create their own personal identity – a means of standing out from the crowd. From massive collections of fine art to artist-in-residence programs, spending time in one of these properties is sure to stimulate your creativity.

Treasure Houses 

These days it’s not unusual for luxury hotels to boast art collections that would have a gallery director hissing with envy. In such properties, curated collections of unique works adorn the walls from lobby to corridor to room.

Palace Hotel Tokyo’s owner sank a seven-figure sum in US dollars into its 1,000-plus art pieces. “For some years now, it’s been evident that sophisticated travelers not only seek encounters with art during their hotel stays, but expect it. So our investment in putting together a well-curated, million-dollar collection was an instinctive one, as part of the evolution of our brand,” says Masaru Watanabe, the hotel’s executive director and general manager. “We set out to cater to the modern luxury traveler. Investing in quality art seemed like a natural part of the process.”

In other cases, the drive for art collections comes from passionate owners. George Wong, owner of Hotel Éclat Beijing (part of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World group) is one such example. His desire to share his love of art with guests has led to a collection of original sculptures and paintings by Salvador Dali, Andy Warhol and Pierre Matter, as well as Chinese masters Gao Xiao Wu and Zou Liang. Wong intends to continue growing the collection, with a particular emphasis on supporting up-and-coming Chinese artists.