Turn your next stopover into a private view with these carefully curated destinations.

Art is a language that, when spoken without proper consideration, loses its beauty as a living, breathing form of communication. The hotel lobby is somewhere in which this becomes abundantly clear. More often than not, while checking into a hotel, I have found myself at the front desk, looking around at all the props masquerading as art. Some of these are equivalent to easy-listening, ambient music, created to please but also to be forgettable. At other times, such items function as bombastic, high-testosterone set design. Either way, they often seem to miss the mark.

On the other hand, there are the hotels that I have highlighted below. Each of these, by virtue of carefully chosen or commissioned artworks, in tandem with intuitive design choices, offer a rich and highly rewarding aesthetic experience. Here, the owners and designers share a certain amount of connoisseurship and a deep, well-intentioned desire to share the artistic journey with their guests.

It is not just the art on the walls that makes a compelling case for this hotel’s inclusion on our list, it’s the quieter intention of this joint venture of the largest watch company in the world, Swatch Group, and one of China’s largest hotel and tour operators, the Jin Jiang Group. Nothing is more valuable and essential to an artist than studio space. The Swatch Art Peace Hotel has 18 of these spaces, with an ever-changing roster of artists chosen for three-to-six-month stints by a panel that includes art collector Mr François Pinault, the driven owner of Christie’s, and Mr George Clooney, whose art expertise I can’t really confirm, but is definitely smart and politically correct.

There is an active exhibition space on the ground floor, currently displaying “Mother River”, an extraordinary work of contemporary art by the British-Chinese photographer Yan Wang Preston. Four suites, each named like destinations on a cosmic compass, are for laymen like us and reflect a communal reverence for artistic practice. My favourite is the Happiness Suite, which features a nest-like structure around the bed, reminiscent of a Mr Martin Puryear sculpture. If you want to leave your own personal “trace”, a paint set and other materials are available at the front desk.

Visit the Long Museum West Bund, a marvel of poured concrete designed by Shanghai-based architecture practice Atelier Deshaus, evocative of the great architect Mr Louis Kahn. It houses the impressive private collection of billionaire collectors Mr Wang Wei and his wife Ms Liu Yiqian. Trip the light fantastic by making a reservation for dinner with nine friends at Ultraviolet (it only serves 10 guests at a time) by Mr Paul Pairet for a full-on evening of blissful sensory overload.

swatch-art-peace-hotel.com

In the 1980s, the streets of Pigalle (the area in Paris, between the 9th and 18th arrondissements) had the same grit, grime and gumption that rumbled through New York City. I remember lurking in a urine-soaked doorway with a French girlfriend and a short, heavily-tattooed man named Elvis as we barely avoided being caught up in a police sweep of a favourite local bar. Times have changed, but the walls of Le Pigalle (the hotel) still bear witness to the neighbourhood’s colourful past, while celebrating its vibrant present. Here, a visual and highly personal display of artwork includes illustrations and collages by local artists, photographers and whomever else the skateboarding owner, Mr Valéry Grégo, admires. It’s sexy and very French, in an eclectic, Gainsbourg-ian way. And there is a merry band of players who make it all happen, from Gwladys, the mixologist, to Camille, the “flavour assembler” whose “official” portrait on the website has her sitting on a banquette and peering up at a black-and-white framed photograph of a perfectly formed saucisson.

Lose yourself to find yourself in this kaleidoscopic, labyrinthine neighbourhood. When it starts to get dark, find your way back to Le Pigalle for a great cocktail, savoury food and groovy tunes, in the company of good people.

lepigalle.paris

I don’t doubt that there was a quiet rumbling of editorial scepticism in the MR PORTER office about the merit of including a hotel in Cincinnati on this list. But, although the central states of America are not famed for their cultural capital, a meandering gold vein of great collections, private and public, runs through them, unperturbed by the bright lights of the ego-driven art markets of the biggest cities. And in the 21c Museum Hotel, art fills the foyer, restaurant, and bar. Part of the 21c hotel group – the brainchild of Ms Laura Lee Brown and her husband Mr Steve Wilson, whose other museum hotels are located in Louisville, Durham, Lexington and Bentonville – the hotel’s art is curated with intelligent bravura by Ms Alice Gray Stites, with installations guided by a programme of provocative, changing themes. When checking in, take a moment to read a label or two – they are as entertaining and informative as the art itself.

October is a good time to be in Cincinnati: this is the month of FotoFocus Biennial, a (yearly, despite the name) celebration of photography and lens-based art, masterminded by exceptional curator Mr Kevin Moore. Last year, the special guest speaker was cult film-maker Mr John Waters. 21cmuseumhotels.com/cincinnati

Berlin is one of the undisputed hot houses for emerging talent in the art world and boasts a plethora of important historical venues, world-class museums and architecture that runs the gamut from classical revival to Bauhaus. Das Stue was originally built in the 1930s, and the magnificent lobby flaunts its legacy as the Royal Danish Embassy. Its current incarnation as a luxury hotel is the inspired work of interior designer and architect Ms Patricia Urquiola. There is a distinctive collection of 20th-century, black-and-white photography installed throughout the hotel, including iconic works by Mr Edward Steichen, Horst and Messrs Helmut Newton and Cartier-Bresson. I can attest to the fact that there is nothing discomforting about one of Mr Richard Avedon’s muses keeping you company while you take a long, luxurious bath.

Mr Gregor Schatz, Das Stue’s marketing and PR manager and the hotel’s walking entertainment database, has a string of contacts around Berlin and can ensure that you are booked into the current food and culture hotspots in the city. But if you are having one of those anti-social days, the best cure is to make your way through the ornate 19th-century Elephant Gate of the Berlin Zoo, close to the hotel, for an extended moment of silent communion with the resident orangutan. das-stue.com

When the larger-than-life industrialist and fervent art collector, Mr Dakis Joannou, who tools around the Mediterranean in a 115-foot yacht called Guilty, decides to build a hotel, serenity and solitude are not necessarily his priorities. Architect Mr Karim Rashid designed this cacophony of colours as a reflection of a joie de vivre and the owner’s desire to feed a spirit of happiness. From the customisable LED “Do Not Disturb” door tags (a nod to US artist Ms Jenny Holzer) to the extensive installation of high-profile names, the hotel collection is curated with the panache and savvy of this world-class collector, who revels in unconventional connoisseurship. A stay here will lift your mood better than most pharmaceuticals.

If you are not jazzed-up enough by an afternoon spent poolside, leave the hotel, and within walking distance is Athens’ only answer for addicts of Belgian chocolate. Established in 1913, Leonidas in Kifisia is the place to go for a local fix.

yeshotels.gr/category/hotels/semiramis

Arriving at the front steps of the Byblos Art Hotel, having negotiated a larger-than-life, heart-shaped floral bed that frames a baroque fountain of happy putti, you half expect Mr Laurence Fishburne, wearing an embroidered faux-alligator Byblos trench coat, to ask you whether you want the red pill or the blue pill. In this case, it’s fine to stick with the fantasy – this is a world created by the incomparable Italian designer Mr Alessandro Mendini. The contemporary art choices here are staggeringly good, with historically significant artists such as Mr Alighiero Boetti going mano a mano with a spin painting by Mr Damien Hirst. Ms Vanessa Beecroft, whose work I placed many years ago in the Refco Collection, is a particularly strong presence here. Several of her photographs line the circumference of a room, which features Mr Marc Quinn’s famous, gilded sculpture of Ms Kate Moss. What’s more, this is all installed against the walls of a perfectly restored 16th-century villa. Mr Quinn’s sculpture will put you in the mood to head back (hopefully with a partner in tow) to one of the 60 designer rooms, each as fanciful as a Mr Baz Luhrmann set, with original furniture by some of the brightest design stars in the firmament, such as Messrs Ron Arad, Ettore Sottsass and Eero Saarinen.

Buy a local bottle of the Amarone della Valpolicella from the Zenato family and pay the corkage fee at Byblos Art Hotel’s exquisite restaurant.

byblosarthotel.com

Contemporaneity is not the be-all and end-all of art. I will be the first to admit to having a warm spot for ancient art, too, as long as the choices are handled with attention to authenticity and aesthetics. The Claris Hotel fits the bill in this respect. Mr Carlos Picón, the head curator for Greek and Roman at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, put this boutique hotel on my radar with the words, “Darling, they have a truly fabulous Egyptian collection in a special room on the first floor… not to be missed.” And with a Gaudi building within an easy walk of the hotel, I was all in. Each room conjures up the fantasy of staying in the home of a favourite wealthy uncle whose multicultural tastes extend to pre-Columbian, Asian and 19th-century Spanish portraits. The furniture is as carefully chosen as the art, and with late nights de rigueur in Barcelona, sleeping in will feel like the right thing to do.

Though buzzing bazaar La Boqueria gets all the press, it also gets all the tourists, so it's better to take a 20-minute walk to the more expansive Sant Antoni Market. As loud and boisterous as the locals make it here, I remember a reverential hush coming over the crowd when a large trolley of black truffles entered the market on its way to a lucky vendor.

hotelclaris.com

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