Art Hotels

Rome, Italy

Villa Spalletti Trivelli stands on a quiet street below the Quirinal, in a part of central Rome given over to ministries and embassies. The house was built as a private residence for a single family and later opened to guests, and it is run as an independent hotel rather than as part of a chain. A walled garden sits behind the building, screened from the street by the neighbouring walls.

The ground floor keeps the plan of a private house: a library, a drawing room and a dining room open off one another, and the original furniture, panelling and framed work remain in place. Guests use these rooms as common rooms rather than as display rooms. The garden is reached from the back of the house, and a smaller sitting area faces it.

Write ahead if the garden or the ground floor rooms matter to your stay, since parts of a listed house can be closed for maintenance. The hotel can also confirm which common rooms are open to guests during the day and whether any of them are held for private use.

• Category Art Hotels
• Location Rome, Italy
• Checked July 2031

Norcia, Italy

Palazzo Seneca occupies a stone palazzo in the centre of Norcia, a walled town in the mountains of southern Umbria. The building dates from the sixteenth century and has been held and run by the same family business for several generations, so the hotel is independent rather than part of a group. It sits within the historic centre, a short walk from the main square.

Behind the front door the plan is that of an old town house: vaulted ground floor rooms, a stone stair and a sitting room with a fireplace. The house was repaired after the earthquakes that struck the region, and the work is visible in the stonework. A dining room and a small cellar room are used by guests in the evening.

Ask the hotel directly about the state of the town centre and about which routes to the building are open, since repair work in Norcia has changed access from time to time. Opening hours for the dining room and the cellar room are also worth confirming before you travel.

• Category Art Hotels
• Location Norcia, Italy
• Checked July 2031

Lisbon, Portugal

Palacio Belmonte stands high in Alfama, the oldest quarter of Lisbon, against the wall of the castle. The palace grew over centuries on foundations that include Roman and Moorish work, and sections of that earlier stonework are still visible in the fabric of the building. It is run as a single independent house with a small number of suites rather than as a branch of a chain.

Rooms are reached through courtyards and stairs rather than corridors, and the house keeps its tiled panels, timber ceilings and stone floors. Common areas include a library, terraces above the roofs of the quarter and a garden with a pool. The hotel describes the building as a listed structure, and much of the interior is unchanged.

Confirm with the house how the entrance is reached on foot, because the streets of the quarter are steep and narrow. It is also worth asking which terraces and garden areas are open to guests during your stay, and whether any part of the palace is held for private events.

• Category Art Hotels
• Location Lisbon, Portugal
• Checked July 2031

Paris, France

Hôtel Costes sits on rue Saint-Honoré in the first arrondissement of Paris, between the Tuileries and place Vendôme. The hotel was opened by the Costes brothers and is run independently. Its interiors were designed by Jacques Garcia, and the design of the public rooms is the thing the house is usually described by, rather than the plain street front behind which it stands.

The plan turns inward. A covered passage leads from the street to an enclosed courtyard, and the bar, the dining rooms and the sitting rooms are arranged around it in deep colours, with heavy fabric, painted panelling and low light throughout. A spa and pool sit below ground. The courtyard is used for meals when the weather allows.

The public rooms here are busy in the evening and are used by people who are not staying, so ask the hotel about access and about whether tables need to be held in advance. The hours of the spa and pool are worth confirming in the same message before arrival.

• Category Art Hotels
• Location Paris, France
• Checked July 2031

Los Angeles, United States

Chateau Marmont stands above Sunset Boulevard on the edge of the Hollywood Hills. The building was completed in 1929 as an apartment house and was converted to a hotel a short time afterwards, and it has been run as one ever since. Its front is modelled on a French château, and the mass of the building steps up the slope behind the road.

The main house holds the lobby, a sitting room with a fireplace, a dining room and a garden terrace, and the plan still reads as that of an apartment building rather than a modern hotel. Bungalows and cottages stand in the grounds behind, among planting that has grown in over decades. Corridors, stairs and tilework in the main house are original.

Ask the hotel about which parts of the grounds and the terrace are open to guests, since the outdoor areas are used for private bookings. Access to the main house is controlled at the gate, so confirm arrival arrangements in advance if you are coming by car.

• Category Art Hotels
• Location Los Angeles, United States
• Checked July 2031

Bangkok, Thailand

The Siam stands on the bank of the Chao Phraya in the Dusit district, north of the busier stretches of the river in Bangkok. It is an independent hotel on its own riverside plot, reached by road or by the hotel boat. The buildings are arranged around courtyards and a long central axis, in black and white with tall planting between the wings.

The owners assembled a collection of antiques, photographs and printed material, and much of it is hung and shelved in the common rooms rather than kept aside. A group of traditional timber houses was moved to the site and rebuilt there. A library, a courtyard restaurant, a spa and a pool are open to guests staying in the house.

Ask the hotel how the boat service to the pier works and at what hours it runs, since the road approach and the river approach are very different in length. The opening hours of the library and the spa are also worth confirming before you arrive.

• Category Art Hotels
• Location Bangkok, Thailand
• Checked July 2031