Lumaveron

Index · Field I

Art Hotels

Three hotels where the collection is built into the stay, from a Milwaukee arts hotel to a Tokyo warehouse that stores art in plain sight.

What counts as an art hotel

A painting in the lobby is not enough. Each hotel here has art at the centre of how it runs: a gallery programme, a resident artist, a dedicated collection or a building designed around showing work.

None of the three is a museum. They are working hotels, and the entries describe the rooms and the neighbourhood as carefully as the art.

01

Saint Kate – The Arts Hotel

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States

Saint Kate sits on Kilbourn Avenue in Milwaukee's Theater District, steps from the city's main performing arts centre. The arts are the brief, not the decoration. Gallery spaces run through the ground floor and the hotel keeps an artist-in-residence programme going.

Rooms are set up for making things. Expect a record player with a small vinyl selection, and art supplies left out for guests to use. Downstairs, the lobby bar books live music and there are several places to eat without leaving the building.

It works best for a short city stay built around a show or an exhibition. The riverwalk and the downtown core are close on foot.

  • Theater District
  • Gallery floors
  • Artist residency
  • Record player in rooms
02

KAIKA Tokyo by THE SHARE HOTELS

Sumida, Tokyo, Japan

A 1960s warehouse in Sumida became this hotel in 2020. The idea is simple and unusual: it stores art and shows it at the same time. Open storage bays on the ground floor hold works lent by galleries and collectors, so the collection changes as pieces come and go.

Guest rooms are calm and plain, leaving the visual work to the floor below. A dining room and a guest laundry make longer stays easier.

The location is east Tokyo at street level. The Sumida River is a short walk away, Asakusa is within reach on foot, and the station links are good.

  • Former warehouse
  • Open art storage
  • Rotating loans
  • Sumida riverside
03

The Larwill Studio – Art Series

Parkville, Melbourne, Australia

One painter runs through this whole hotel. The Larwill Studio belongs to Australia's Art Series group, where each property is dedicated to a single artist, and this one follows David Larwill, born in Victoria and known for bold figures in strong colour.

Original works hang in the rooms and public spaces. The interiors borrow his shapes and colours and set them against pale walls. Art tours and a small art library fill in the background.

Parkville is just north of the city centre, beside Royal Park and the hospital precinct. Trams run into town, and Queen Victoria Market and Lygon Street are both close.

  • Single-artist hotel
  • Original works in rooms
  • Art library
  • Next to Royal Park

The other fields

Capsule Hotels3 entriesCasino Hotels4 entriesIce Hotels1 entry