With the Venice Biennale now in full swing, thousands of hot sweaty art lovers are shuffling their way through queues. Exhibitions and installations spread across palazzos, churches, national pavilions and the vast Arsenale, while superyachts spoil the lagoon views. On show is the work of artists representing almost 100 countries, including Ireland’s Eimear Walshe with their film and installation Romantic Ireland.
Stays in Venice range from the ultra luxurious and costly Ca’Sagredo, which is rather like sleeping in a glorious movie set. Prices are €400-€3,000 and up, but the rooms themselves would have you weeping with joy, and you might find it rather hard to make it to the Biennale itself – if you like loads of spindly gilt-edged furniture, chandeliers and frescoes, that is. Or find apartments and B&Bs popping up all over town for Biennale stays, with prices from €120 per night for two at Airbnb. Venice gets less costly, and quieter as soon as you pull back from the main tourist areas of the Grand Canal, San Marco and Rialto. As the whole city is very walkable and is such a perfect spot to get lost in wandering around, there is no need to splash out on a prime location, unless you’re feeling like you want to spend to be on show yourself.
The Biennale, dubbed the Olympics of the art world, ends in November, so there’s plenty of time to go, but you can also sate your arty appetite in a more relaxed fashion by checking into one of the growing number of hotels where you can sleep with contemporary art, and imagine, for the duration of your stay at least, that you are living (or lunching) in your own private gallery. Some collectors display their works in hotels, or even establish hotels for the purpose to get the relevant tax breaks, but whatever the reason it’s a tasty fringe benefit to your mini break. But be warned, art and beauty are always in the eye of the beholder: one person’s dream art hotel may be a recipe for another one’s nightmares. Travel enough to these types of places, and you can start to play a kind of Art Bingo, as there are some artists that seem more hotel friendly than others. Andy Warhol, check. Sean Scully, check. Louise Bourgeois, full house!
AROUND EUROPE
Italy
Byblos Art Hotel Villa Amistá
This restored palazzo, a 20-minute drive from Verona, houses an incredible collection of contemporary art works. Think Marina Abramović, Tony Cragg, Sandro Chia, Anish Kapoor, Sol le Witt, Marc Quinn, Cindy Sherman – in fact anyone you can imagine in the wild world of colourful art, you’ll find them here. It’s a fun and vibey place with one of the most extravagant salons anywhere. The gardens are gorgeous, and there’s a Michelin Star restaurant too. Plus you’re just under an hour and a half from Venice, so perhaps you could kill several arty birds with one nicely sculpted stone? From about €396 per room, slh.com
Scotland
The Fife Arms
Picture a dark-panelled, cosy Victorian hunting lodge, then imagine it taken over by all manner of art. There are the expected hunting prints and art historical works, but then you dive into Picasso, Freud, Man Ray, Louise Bourgeois, Keith Tyson, Martin Creed, and that’s before you even get to the special commissions, such as the astonishing quartz ceiling by Zhang Enli, and Richard Jackson’s neon chandelier. It comes as no wonder when you discover the hotel, which is in the Cairngorms and about 15 minutes from Balmoral, is owned by gallerists Iwan and Manuela Wirth, of Hauser & Wirth fame. Dog friendly, from about €800 per room. thefifearms.com
Greece
Aristide Hotel
The Aristide on Syros (a short hop from Mykonos) is quirky, gorgeous and fun. It has just nine suites, all of which are hung with unique works of art. There is a gallery with temporary exhibitions, an artist-in-residence programme, fantastic design, a roof terrace and cool garden cafe, and just in case all that wasn’t enough to tempt you, the food is delicious and the cocktails are pretty fantastic too. From about €340 per room. slh.com
France
L’Arlatan, Arles
Arles is already artily famous for its significant influence on the work of Vincent Van Gogh – he made more than 300 paintings and drawings during his time there, but L’Arlatan itself is all about the contemporary. Cuban-American artist, Jorge Pardo has created 6,000sq m of mosaic, stretching throughout the hotel, including into the bedrooms, so you really are sleeping with art. Bright, colourful, but oh-so-stylish, this is about next-level art immersion. There is also a pool and garden, plus great food and cocktails. From €165 per room. arlatan.com
Austria
Alstadt, Vienna
The Alstadt – fittingly, a very short walk from Vienna’s Museumstrasse and the Museum Quarter – is a 19th-century town house, stuffed full of modern and contemporary art. So there’s Andy Warhol, Annie Liebovitz, Yayoi Kusama, Co Waterford resident Gottfried Helnwein, Christian Ludwig Attersee, and many, many more. All the rooms are different, there are commissions in the reception areas, and as they say themselves, the overall aim is to inspire, provoke and delight. From €260 per room. slh.com
IN IRELAND
Castlemartyr, Co Cork
Castlemartyr Resort
East Cork’s Castlemartyr Resort is alive with art until June 23rd, as Gormleys bring their annual Art + Soul extravaganza to the halls and parklands with more than 300 works on show. Including Andy Warhol and Damien Hirst, Patrick O’Reilly and Patrick Hughes, guided tours are available, it’s all great fun and it’s all for sale. This year includes Dance of Time II, by the late surrealist maestro Salvador Dalí. It’s valued at a cool €1.1 million, but Art and Soul packages are from €379 per room, so you can have your fill in a more affordable fashion, and even find dinner at the two Michelin Star, Terre, a comparative steal. castlemartyrresort.ie.
Can’t make Castlemartyr? The next edition of Art + Soul is at Kildare’s K Club, August 10th-September 1st, from €279.20 per room, kclub.ie. On alternate years, Belfast’s gorgeous Culloden Estate hosts the show, so book now for an August 2025 stay, or just go anyway, as this former bishop’s palace is lovely at any time of year. From €240 per room, cullodenestateandspa.com.
Rosslare, Co Wexford
Kelly’s Hotel
Where to start with the amazing art at Kelly’s? The Rosslare resort has an extraordinary collection, built up over almost a half-century. Find works by international greats such as Picasso, Miro, Warhol, Calder and Rouault, and a who’s who from the story of Irish art, including Louis le Brocquy, Jack Yeats, Tony O’Malley, William Crozier, Camille Souter, and Hilary Heron. The Kelly family continue to add to the collection, with Martin Gale, Elizabeth Magill, Jackie Nickerson, Mick O’Dea and so many more, so you can always expect to find something new to enjoy. Look out too for art appreciation and painting midweek mini breaks in spring and autumn each year. From €175pps B&B, kellys.ie
Dublin
The Merrion Hotel
The Merrion is more or less equidistant from the National Gallery and the RHA, and also happens to have such a lot of lovely art you may not even make it to those two institutions. Greats from the last two centuries include Mary Swanzy, Paul Henry, Jack Yeats, Nathaniel Hone, John Lavery, Mainie Jellett, William Scott and Roderic O’Connor, with more recent pieces by the likes of John Boyd and Pauline Bewick making themselves very at home in the elegant period drawing rooms. Bringing things right into the 21st century, The Merrion Plinth is an open submission competition commissioning a new work of sculpture every two years. Stop by for the Art Afternoon Tea, where dainty and tasty creations are inspired by the hotel collection, and you also get a free audio guide to explore. From €595 per room. merrionhotel.com
Kenmare, Co Kerry
Park Hotel
Always lovely, Kenmare’s Park has added art to its charms under the new ownership of Bryan Meehan. The diningroom is now festooned with seven Sean Scully works: the same number as hang in the Sean Scully room at the Hugh Lane, so you are, more or less, eating in a gallery. Works by Dorothy Cross inhabit the terrace, and you can also soak up Irish and international pieces by the likes of Callum Innes, Guggi, Theaster Gates and Elizabeth Columba. Daily art tours available for guests. From €455 per room. parkkenmare.com
Skibbereen, Co Cork
Liss Ard
Stay at west Cork’s Liss Ard to experience art in a different way. The epic Sky Garden – open to guests, and visitors by special appointment – is art on a vast scale. Get the code at reception to unlock a small metal gate in the gardens, and walk through a narrow corridor cut into the earth, before emerging into a whole new reality made up of earth and sky. If one of the actions of art is to change how you see the world, and American sculptor and land artist James Turrell has succeeded here in spades. At the centre of the piece is a small stone plinth – lie down on it and breathe. The hotel itself is gorgeous, too, with a vibe of low-key luxury, great walks and lakeside yoga and sauna pavilions. With just 26 rooms ranging from the manor house to the secluded lake house, it’s delicious. From €200 per room. lissardestate.ie
Explore more
In Connemara, Ballynahinch has a large piece by Sean Scully, another by Tracey Emin in the gardens, and your route to bed along the lower ground floor is lined with wonderful prints by a host of contemporary Irish artists. ballynahinch-castle.com. In Dublin, the Hendrick Hotel celebrates street art in all its glory, with more than 250 works, including commissions all curated by James Earley, whose own work features too. hendrickdublin.ie. And finally, find a little bit of Ireland, albeit on a grand and internationally arty scale, at Paddy McKillen’s Château La Coste in Aix en Provence: the prices are eye-watering, but so is the art, with a sculpture park featuring work by Louise Bourgeois, Tracey Emin, Andy Goldsworthy, Richard Serra, Ai Weiwei and our very own Guggi, plus architecture by the likes of Tadao Ando and Frank Gehry. All this plus a winery? Wow. chateau-la-coste.com
