Art hotels: Top 5

Here are five of our favorite art hotels.

Hotel Max, Seattle

An oversize painting of a nude woman with a man's head in her lap hangs near the front desk. The doors of all 163 guest rooms are covered with full-length black-and-white photographs. Step inside any one of the rooms and you'll find more art — paintings, collages, mixed-media canvases — all created for the hotel by artists from the region.

Opened two years ago, Hotel Max began when the owners took an aging downtown property and commissioned 30 Washington state and Oregon artists to produce art for the guest rooms. Nine photographers — one per floor — were invited to display their work in the corridors. The fifth floor displays images by Seattle photographer Charles Peterson, who helped chronicle the grunge scene. On the third floor are local Joan Broughton's photographs of Pike Place Market performers.

(620 Stewart St., 866-833-6299, www.hotelmaxseattle.com).

21C Museum Hotel, Louisville

Steve Wilson and his wife, Laura Brown, both Kentucky business investors and committed promoters of avant-garde art, were looking for a space to display their private art collection. Included are works by sculptor Judy Fox, video artist Bill Viola and photographer Andres Serrano. The hotel, which opened a year ago, has 91 rooms, a restaurant and bar.

But the art is the main show. And it's a spectacle, starting with the lifelike statues of prepubescent nude children behind the front desk, continuing to a video installation piece depicting the eyes of seven members of a blind dart-throwing team, and a series of devices set in a courtyard that shoot rings of smoke into the air. Only living American and international artists are featured.

(700 W. Main St., 877-217-6400, www.21cmuseumhotel.com).

Gladstone Hotel, Toronto

After a year's renovation, this historic Georgian Romanesque property was reopened in late 2005 and quickly became a hot spot on Toronto's art scene.

The 37 guest rooms, all designed with aplomb by Toronto artists, range from zany to elegant. The Teen Queen room is one of the most popular. Created by artist Cecilia Berkovic, it features a pink crocheted bedspread and hot-pink walls covered with teen-idol posters.

Parkdale, the surrounding neighborhood, is an inviting enclave of galleries and artsy cafes. But travelers who want instant immersion in Toronto's art scene may never make it out the front door. With the paintings hanging everywhere, a constant run of art shows in the second-floor galleries, dance performances and movie showings, the place is a rich social scene. Even if nothing special is on, a lively crowd of locals gathers nearly every night at the bar.

(1214 Queen St., 416-531-4635, www.gladstonehotel.com).

Lancaster Arts Hotel, Lancaster, Pa.

Originally a 19th-century tobacco warehouse, this property, with 47 rooms and 16 suites, combines ultra-modern decor with original fixtures.

Armoires, handmade by local craftsmen, are included in the rooms. There are 200 or so works of art on display. The ground-floor art gallery features monthly exhibitions of works by Lancaster County artists. Most of the artwork — and wood furniture — is for sale.

The hotel is a six-block walk from downtown and is closely linked to the city's arts scene. A directory of local museums and galleries is included in the guest rooms. On the first Friday of each month, when Lancaster art galleries hold open houses, the hotel hosts a reception.

(300 Harrisburg Ave., 866-720-2787, www.lancasterartshotel.com).

Hotel des Arts, San Francisco

This 51-room property in the French Quarter has all the creative dynamism you would expect in a place decorated mostly by street and graffiti artists.

The artists, chosen by the Start Soma gallery, created a spirited range of styles. The show starts in the lobby, lined with colorful canvases. But the real draw is in the guest rooms.

In Room 208, for example, Jet Martinez made a romantic nature scene by applying gold leaf over a midnight-blue background. The scene is framed by bamboo shoots and tiny frogs. In Room 404, Tim Gaskin painted an image of Madonna superimposed on a background of logos by fashion house Louis Vuitton. In Room 317, Anthony Skirvin designed a space of studied clutter, highlighted by maps plastered everywhere and a picture of a log cabin covering an entire wall.

Except for the art, the small rooms are modestly furnished. The clientele is a youthful mix of Americans and Europeans. The hotel is an easy walk to Union Square.

(447 Bush St., 800-956-4322, www.sfhoteldesarts.com).

Gary Lee, The Washington Post