Due to its fame, people are often surprised to learn that Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is actually quite small in size, measuring only 30 by 21 inches—proving that you don’t have to be huge to make a big impact.
Around the world, artistic meeting spaces and boutique hotels with integrated art galleries are lending an air of creativity to group events and adding their own evidence that good things come in small packages. As travel trends shift toward smaller stand-out properties, boutique hotels that are low in room count but large in personality can make a name for themselves and become stand-alone destinations for planners and groups seeking something different.
Meetings Focus canvassed artistic properties around the U.S. and beyond to find out more; here’s our portrait of the current landscape of artsy boutiques.
21c Museum Hotels
The 21c Museum Hotels are a textboox example of lodgings with artsy offerings. Founded in 2007, the boutique brand currently operates three properties, and more are in development in Durham, N.C., and Lexington, Ky. Located in mid-sized markets, each hotel doubles as a functioning art gallery and has earned a following among individual travelers and groups.
“When the brand was in its infant stages people stayed at 21c properties if they were already coming to Louisville [the flagship location], but now they have become a destination,” says Sarah Robbins, senior vice president of operations for the brand. “It ramped up quickly after the first year or two.”
Operating in Louisville, Ky., Cincinnati and Bentonville, Ark., the hotels have 90, 156 and 104 guest rooms, respectively, with between 8,000 and 12,000 square feet of meeting space. Each also has a distinctive on-property restaurant and a museum that is free and open to the public 24 hours a day.
“First and foremost, the meeting space in all 21c properties is a functioning gallery that shows art when a group isn’t there,” Robbins says, “but from a planner perspective, the space also needs to work as a meeting room and meet their needs.”
All of the hotels are equipped with AV equipment and other standard meeting resources, but it is the omnipresent art and whimsical touches that truly make an impact on groups. The Louisville roof is lined with penguin statues, and small groups can cruise around town in the glimmering Pip Mobile, a red limousine designed by artist Monica Mahoney and covered with thousands of aerated glass beads to resemble the interior of a pomegranate.
Focused on contemporary art by living artists, 21c takes care to select pieces that will move viewers and make guests think.
“The art adds soul to the meeting space,” Robbins says. “Lots of details went into the design to satisfy planners, attendees and general guests.”PageBreak
James Hotels
James Hotels is another portfolio of art-oriented lodging and meeting space options, with locations in SoHo New York and South Beach Miami, in addition to the original James Chicago Hotel.
Committed to supporting the local community, The James Chicago partners with the nearby moniquemeloche gallery to display selected pieces throughout the hotel, changing them seasonally to feature new artists.
The Room 28 sculpture by Joel Ross was the first individual piece added to the hotel’s permanent collection. Ross created the work by dismantling the interior of a roadside Texas motel room, which he then packed entirely into a set of vintage suitcases and clandestinely carried out of the hotel.
There are 190 guest rooms, 7,000 square feet of function space and each floor’s elevator lobby features a large artistic rendering of the Chicago skyline. Plus, The James is located just off the Michigan Avenue Magnificent Mile, allowing attendees to soak up even more culture at the Art Institute of Chicago or the Museum of Contemporary Art.
Iguana Inns
On the West Coast, the Ojai artist colony in Southern California is a logical destination for planners seeking creative energy. General Manager Jaide Whitman says that both Iguana Inn properties, the Blue Iguana and the Emerald Iguana, grew from run-down apartment buildings into unique, charming destination hotels.
Whitman, who is also the daughter of the hotels’ founders, describes the Blue Iguana as “Southwest, early California style” and the Emerald Iguana as an “art-nouveau European boutique artisan inn.”
Accommodations range from one-bedroom suites to bungalows with full kitchens and private patios, all decorated with original artwork, furniture and decorative pieces, some by local Ojai artists and some brought back from Bali and Mexico by co-founder Julia Whitman.
In the past, groups have bought out the properties and used the back meadow spaces and outdoor areas for workshops and events. PageBreak
The Thief
The growth in popularity of art-focused boutique hotels is not confined to North America. The Thief Hotel in Oslo, Norway, has its own curator and a partnership with the distinctive Astrup Fearnley Museum for art programming and public galleries.
Located on the fjord-adjacent island of Tjurholmen, or “Thief Island,” the neighborhood that was “overrun by robbers and whores in the 18th century,” according to press materials, has undergone a resurgence and grown into the city’s cultural corner, but its undesirable past lends the hotel an edgy vibe.
Hand-selected artwork is on display in each of the 119 guest rooms, including the penthouse suite, which houses three original works by English pop artist Sir Peter Blake, who designed the album cover artwork for the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album. Hotel Curator Sune Nordgen even carefully selected modern video art for the guest rooms and public spaces.
The hotel also offers five intimate meeting rooms with a total capacity for about 50 attendees.
The Joule
This glitzy Dallas hotel completed a $78 million renovation this spring. A glamorous group venue is the rooftop Joule Poule, glass-edged and extending eight feet out over the side of the building. The Joule boasts 129 guest rooms, about 2,400 square feet of event space and an inspiring collection of local and global artistic creations found throughout the lobby, the PM Nightlife Lounge, the guest rooms and beyond.
The Alexander
Dolce’s bold new Indianapolis luxury property offers 157 guest rooms, 16,500 square feet of function space and plenty of style. The hotel is filled with works from the Indianapolis Museum of Art and an assortment of striking pieces, including a portrait of Madam C. J.Walker made out of 3,840 combs. Walker made her fortune in Indianapolis selling hair care products to the African-American community.
