The Five Best Art Hotels

2. Hotel of Modern Art - China
The otherworldy karst peaks of the Guilin countryside provide a suitable backdrop for Yuzi Paradise, a park of land art objects. Hotel of Modern Art sits right in the middle, with more of the collection displayed in the guest rooms and public areas. The decor is modern Chinese, with chic, colourful furnishings and unique fixtures and fittings by Taiwanese artist Kan.
Hotel of Modern Art (HOMA Relais & Chateaux), Dabu Town, Yanshan District, Guilin, China (00800 2000 0002; www.relaischateaux.com; www.homarc.com). Doubles from 2,080 Yuan (£150), including breakfast. 

3. Broomhill - England
A four-metre high red stiletto might come as a bit of a revelation in the midst of pastoral North Devon, but this is only a taste of what Broomhill has to offer. This quirky B&B features an award-winning organic restaurant and impressive sculpture garden. Now in its 11th year, the place is a real bargain – for food, accommodation and art. While the rooms lack the imagination of the grounds, the main draw for Broomhill’s 40,000 annual visitors is the garden, filled with around 150 sculptures by artists whose names you should know, but probably don’t, including Carol Peace, Giles Penny and Oldrich Tichy. A walk through the grounds reveals sculptures behind shrubs, up trees and on the islands in a small, pretty river at the bottom of the garden. Many of the sculptures are available to buy, and the house features smaller works and paintings.
Broomhill Art Hotel, Muddiford Road, Barnstaple, Devon (01271 850 262; www.broomhillart.co.uk). Doubles from £70, including breakfast.

4. 21C - US
Art is built into the very fabric of the building at 21C, where chandeliers are an excuse to suspend art works in mid-air, and bodies appear to grow out of the ceiling. Of course, there are also paintings, sculptures and videos created primarily by American and European artists since 1999. The guest experience is one of total immersion: a giant red penguin greets you in your room; the next day it might be sunning itself on a neighbour’s balcony. Rooms are luxurious, with flatscreen HD TVs, 500-count sheets, and more art. Southern hospitality is very much in evidence at 21C, and although it’s not on the usual itinerary, it’s worth a detour.
21C Museum Hotel, 700 West Main Street, Louisville, Kentucky, US (001 502 217 6300; www.21chotel.com). Doubles from $173 (£90), room only

5. Benesse House - Japan
Trendy young Japanese flock to Naoshima Island, a haven of modern art and architecture, to see two architect-designed modern art museums, a unique fishing-village-cum-art-installation project and dozens of scattered outdoor sculptures. Benesse House initiated an artistic utopia on this small island in 1992 when it opened a modern art museum with 10 guestrooms and three more hotel buildings: Oval, Beach and Park. Guests at Museum and Oval pass works by Hockney, Warhol and Japanese social comment artist Yukonori Yanagi to reach their rooms. The kaiseki food at Museum restaurant is phenomenal. Oval opens an evening bar for all Benesse House guests, each of whom is given their own key for the monorail up the steep incline.
Benesse House, Gotanji, Naoshimacho, Kagawa, Japan (00 81 87 892 2030; www.naoshima-is.co.jp). Doubles from Y31,185 (£150), room only