Town Hall Hotel, London
Out in the East End of London, Singapore hotelier Loh Lik Peng's Town Hall Hotel is, in many respects, a work of art in itself. The interiors are meticulously put together, there are installation-like dentists chairs in the corridors while Nuno Mendes Viajante restaurant elevates food to a sort of gastro-art level.
Outside, whichever direction you head in, it's almost impossible not to bump into some ultra-cool little arts space or other: Resistance Gallery and Vegas Gallery are just on the other side of the road (on Poyser Street), while Between Bridges (223 Cambridge Heath Road), The Approach Gallery (47 Approach Road), Transition Gallery and MOT (8 Andrews Road) are all nearby, and Vyner Street is home to a whole host of little galleries. To cap off a weekend of arting it up out east, White Cube Hoxton Square and Whitechapel Gallery are also not far away.
Check out London's Town Hall Hotel Here
Post-gallery watering hole? Bistrotheque (23-27 Wadeson Street). As good a spot for lunch (accompanied by a pianist on weekends) as it is for dinner and one of London's best cabaret shows, or simply a quick early evening drink downstairs to start a night out.
Art Hotel, Santorini
This hotel is a delightful blend of comfort stay with cultural immersion, considering the award winning Aqua Gallery - a space dedicated to heroing local and international contemporary artists - is located within the lobby of the hotel itself. The show space showcases a mix of younger talent and bigger names, with exhibitions rotating regularly.
But the creativity doesn't stop there. This boutique hotel comprises of 10 suites, each with their own distinct personality, whether you choose to stay in the charminly names 'Evangeline's Maisonette' or the more luxe sounding 'Absolute Suite.' The 'Summer Mood' suite, as well as chic minimalist styling, also comes complete with a heated infinity pool on the verandah.
Post-gallery watering hole? Just a few minutes drive away, you'll discover Santo Wines winery, set amidst beautiful vistas, ideal for walking tours and tasting sessions.
Check out Art Hotel Santorini Here.
Continentale, Florence
There may be slightly nearer hotels to Florence's big-name art galleries (Gallery Hotel Art springs to mind), but the walk from the Continentale to the Accademia and the Uffizi is all of about five minutes. And if the round-the-block queues are a little off-putting? Luckily, Florence is also a pocket-sized city, which means you can pass on Michelango's David and make for the Bargello instead, where you can admire works from Donatello, Cellini and Gemito without being surrounded by anything like the same number of people.
Post-gallery watering hole? Libreria Cafe La Cite (Borgo San Frediano 20r). This Oltrarno institution is just across the river from Continentale. Part café, part bookshop, part art centre, they have regular jazz nights, poetry readings and even tango classes in the evenings.
Check out the Continentale, Florence, Here
No. 15 Great Pulteney, Bath
Bath is a grand old place, with well tended Roman institutions like the bath houses, stately Georgian architecture and vast, leafy spaces, it's hard not to feel like you're slipping back in time, as a bit character in an Austen novel expecting at any minute to be picked up by a horse and carriage. Which is exactly why it pays to nose out the city's contemporary bolt holes, for a nice contrast.
Located within the eminent thoroughfare of Great Pulteney Street, which connects Bathwick with the centre of the city, for all the hotel's stiff-upper-lip exterior, to walk inside is quite a different story - it's a treasure trove of artworks big, small and miniscule, as well as oddities and curiosities encased in glass. In the lobby you'll discover a vintage clutch bag collection and a chandelier made of costume jewellery. The restaurant in the lower ground level is like a shrine to an old apothecary, with vintage pill containers and blue tincture bottles in display cases lining the walls. The top floor is considered the Artists' floor and many of the rooms on this level feature bespoke murals ranging from a Greek seascape to a lizard’s day out', as the hotel describes them.
And once you've explored every nook and cranny the hotel has to offer, you need only wander a few minutes up the road to the Holburne Art Museum to look at Dutch landscapes, porcelain and whichever special exhibition is currently on show (until January, it's Grayson Perry: The Pre-Therapy Years).
Post-gallery watering hole? Instead of a bar, why not go in for a little of what originally made Bath famous. The hotel has its own built-in spa, complete with four treatment rooms and a relaxation area featuring a gently flickering open fire. Ideal for a cosy wind-down after a day of browsing.
Check out No. 15 Great Pulteney Here
Hotel du Petit Moulin, Paris
The Paris art scene moves quickly. And the painfully cool can become the painfully uncool in the blink of an eye. The Marais, though, is still a reliable bet for a bit of culture vulturing. Right in the heart of the 3rd arrondissement, there arent many more artsily-inclined, fashion-forward hotels in Paris than Christian Lacroix Hotel du Petit Moulin. Its just around the corner from Rue Charlot, home to Galerie Chantal Crousel, Galerie Frederic Giroux and the Passage de Retz, while Galerie Michel Rein and Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin (42 and 76 rue de Turenne, respectively) are both well worth a visit. For something a little more formal, but only a little less avant-garde, the Musee Picasso is about a five-minute saunter from the hotel, while the Centre Pompidou is around 10 minutes away.
Post-gallery watering hole? La Perle (78, rue Vieille-du-Temple). Yes, this may be the place where the incident took place, and yes it may not, on the surface of it, be much to write home about style-wise. But it's a friendly and inviting little neighbourhood joint thats full to the gunnels with fashion and design folk at all times, and for people-watching, it's simply second-to-none.
Check out the Hotel du Petit Moulin Here
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