While many hotels are epitomes of style – artworks in themselves, or showcase unique art collections — the following go one step further for those seeking creative experiences along with their bed and breakfast. Celebrate your inner Hemingway or Picasso and bring home something more than a snapshot at the world’s top art hotels.
1. Creativity and Cocktails
Art Bar, Granada Hotel & Bistro, San Luis Obispo, California
Created in celebration of the central coast’s vibrant wines and artistic spirit, Art Bar is held at Granada Hotel & Bistro in California, which is housed in the original 1920’s exposed brick building. Each two-hour experience includes a painting class led by a local artist, who selects a work of their own and teaches you how to paint it. As inspiration for the work being painted, each artist compiles a playlist to further enhance the creative ambiance.
2. Gathering of the Senses
The Pfister Hotel, Milwaukee
Milwaukee‘s historic Pfister Hotel showcases the largest collection of Victorian Art in any hotel in the world. It also hosts two unique programs: The Artist-in-Residence Program and the Pfister Narrator program, a writing residency. The Pfister has taken elements of the two programs and combined it with dinner to create an innovative experience for its guests. The “Gathering of the Senses” ignites all five senses with a four-course dinner and a painting workshop based on the artists’ and guests own personal travel memories they have shared.
3.Que Syrah Art and Wine Class
Bacara Resort and Spa, Santa Barbara, California
Discover your inner artist at Bacara’s ‘Que Syrah’ art and wine class. Sip local wine and enjoy stunning ocean views while painting the incomparable natural surroundings of the Gaviota coast. Led by talented local painter Leigh Sparks, classes include step-by-step painting instructions, art supplies and a glass of wine.
4. Corks and Canvas
The Allison, Oregon
The Allison is set on 35 acres (14 hectares) in the heart of Oregon’s Willamette Valley. “Art of the Allison Collection” showcases over 500 works of art from 100 local artists. ‘Corks & Canvas’ offer their guests an outdoor painting lesson as a continuation of the expanded Art of The Allison offerings. The Allison’s lush, hillside setting is ideal as an inspiring backdrop.
5. Wine and Watercolors
The Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort & Spa, Albuquerque, New Mexico
New Mexico‘s Hyatt Regency Tamaya brings the rich cultural heritage of Pueblo art to life with educational and artistic classes for its guests. The art classes and cultural activities are conducted by members of the Pueblo of Santa Ana to teach resort guests about Native American art including jewelry making classes, Pueblo pottery classes, gourd painting classes, and cultural activities including traditional bread baking, archery and story-telling under the stars.
6. Opera and Hemingway
La Posada de Sante Fe, New Mexico
In a town with more than 250 art galleries, La Posada de Santa Fe is known as THE city’s art hotel. The entire hotel is a gallery with over 40 established American artists on display. Each Friday, curator Sara Eyestone (herself a well-known artist) hosts a tour of the collection and chef’s reception for hotel guests and neighbors. Sara conducts painting workshops for groups and also holds a weekly memoir writing class for guests and locals. If you want to consider art in the broader sense, La Posada also hosts evenings with members of the Santa Fe Opera Company.
7 Oceanside Memories In Maine
Spruce Point Inn, Maine
Spruce Point Inn — a 57-acre (23-hectare) ocean front resort in Boothbay Harbor, Maine — helps guests customize their ocean side memories with packages built around specific experiences. For example, the hotel invites guests who love photography to work with award-winning photographer David Marx. The three-day Coastal Maine Photography Seminars explore the iconic landscape of the Maine Mid-coast. Each day the photographer will lead a small group to a different location. Along the way David Marx will discuss contemporary photography techniques and critique the seminar participants’ work.
8. Crafting in Cappadocia
Taskonaklar, Cappadocia, Turkey
The Taskonaklar, a boutique hotel in Turkey‘s Cappadocia — the otherworldly land of fairy chimneys and underground cities — offers their guests complimentary courses on traditional and local Turkish art. These include pottery making and paper marbling. Pottery is a long lasting tradition in Cappadocia due to the Kizilirmak River (Red River) in the region providing the necessary clay. Similarly, paper marbling plays an important part in Turkish traditions and art. The pottery workshop and the paper marbling classes will be part of an introductory program to prehistoric Turkish traditions.
9. Private Art Commission
Rosewood Jumby Bay, Antigua, Caribbean
Perfect for the couple that appreciates artwork and discovering local artists during their travels, the Private Art Commission Experience begins with an exploration of local Antiguan art studios and an introduction to renowned Antigua artist Sarah Fuller. Sarah will design a unique piece for you using local clay that’s inspired by the tropical world around her. She produces both functional and decorative pieces and has developed her own unique line of glazes – her favorite being an aqua/blue combination — which reflects the vibrant and ever-changing hues of the waters around Antigua.
10. The Art of Relaxation
The Meritage Resort and Spa in Napa, California
Experience the art of relaxation at The Meritage Resort and Spa in the Napa Valley, California. The package includes overnight accommodation; a bottle of sparkling wine; spa treatments; and an easel with paints and brushes. Paint in the hillside vineyard behind the resort or amble in the picturesque Napa Valley and find your perfect spot. Instead of taking a quick photo of the vineyard, create your own masterpiece. The Meritage Resort supplies a table easel and acrylic paint sets for two — you just need to add some creative flair.
Jessica Festa is the editor of the travel sites Jessie on a Journey (http://jessieonajourney.com) and Epicure & Culture (http://epicureandculture.com). Along with blogging at We Blog The World, her byline has appeared in publications like Huffington Post, Gadling, Fodor’s, Travel + Escape, Matador, Viator, The Culture-Ist and many others. After getting her BA/MA in Communication from the State University of New York at Albany, she realized she wasn’t really to stop backpacking and made travel her full time job. Some of her most memorable experiences include studying abroad in Sydney, teaching English in Thailand, doing orphanage work in Ghana, hiking her way through South America and traveling solo through Europe. She has a passion for backpacking, adventure, hiking, wine and getting off the beaten path.
