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Art Hotels

Six city hotels in Europe, South America and Asia. Each of them either occupies a building put up for another purpose, or hands over a large part of its ground floor to a room that visitors use as well as guests. The entries describe the building and its rooms, not the design taste behind them.

A corner hotel building with a small dome, lit at dusk on a city street.

A dining room with a marble table, leather chairs, a tall flower arrangement and a long white sideboard.

Le Pigalle

Paris, France

Overview

Le Pigalle occupies a corner building in the ninth arrondissement of Paris, in the quarter that gives the hotel its name. The ground floor works as a café and sitting room that stays open to the street and to people who are not staying. Guest rooms are arranged on the floors above it.

What it looks like

Downstairs runs together as one space, with a bar, a counter, tables and record shelves in place of a formal reception desk. Rooms use dark wood, patterned tiles and printed material collected from the neighbourhood. Photographs and posters cover much of the wall surface. Windows look straight onto the surrounding streets.

The area

The hotel stands among shops, bars and music venues rather than on a boulevard. The slope up towards Montmartre begins a few streets away. Metro stations sit within a short walk, and the street outside stays busy well into the evening.

Practical notes

Rooms differ in size and outlook, so ask which floor and which side a room faces. The ground floor can be lively, and that matters for the rooms directly above it. Check with the hotel about luggage storage and about how breakfast is served before you arrive.

Category: Art Hotel
Location: Paris, France
Checked: June 2029

A hotel room with a magenta rug, a bed, green armchairs by the window and a black desk.

Hotel Rival

Stockholm, Sweden

Overview

Hotel Rival stands on Mariatorget on Södermalm in Stockholm, in a pale functionalist building from the last century. The house holds a cinema and stage alongside the hotel, and the two share the same entrance level. The auditorium is used for screenings and for live programmes, and visitors as well as guests attend them.

What it looks like

The façade is plain, with a vertical sign on the corner. Inside, the cinema keeps its auditorium, with tiered seating and a stage in front of the screen. The bar and bistro face the square through tall windows. Rooms are compact, worked in strong colour, with framed film stills on the walls.

The area

Mariatorget is a square with trees and benches, set back from the main traffic routes of Södermalm. Cafés and small shops line the streets running off it. The water and the bridges towards Gamla Stan lie a short walk to the north.

Practical notes

Programme nights fill the ground floor, so ask what is scheduled during your stay. Rooms facing the square differ from those at the back of the house. Tickets for the auditorium are handled separately from room bookings, so raise that in advance if a screening matters.

Category: Art Hotel
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Checked: June 2029

A courtyard and glass atrium seen from above, with timber cladding, planting and a herringbone path.

The Rooms Hotel Tbilisi

Tbilisi, Georgia

Overview

The Rooms Hotel Tbilisi stands on Kostava Street in the Vera district of Tbilisi, in a building that served a publishing house before its conversion. It is the city address of a small Georgian group that also runs a house in the mountains at Kazbegi. One large open floor holds the restaurant, bar and lounge.

What it looks like

That floor is a long room with worn timber flooring, leather seating, bookshelves and a bar along one side. Industrial windows and iron fittings survive from the earlier building. Rooms above use dark panelling, brass fixtures and heavy curtains. A terrace opens off the ground floor towards the courtyard.

The area

Vera is a residential quarter of older houses, small shops and steep side streets. Rustaveli Avenue and the botanical ground are reachable on foot. The neighbourhood stays quieter than the main avenues while remaining inside the central part of the city.

Practical notes

Ask which rooms face the street, since the ground floor draws visitors through the evening. The lounge is used for events at times. If the group's other house interests you, note that it is a separate address in the mountains and not part of this one.

Category: Art Hotel
Location: Tbilisi, Georgia
Checked: June 2029

A hotel bedroom with white bedding, green cushions, a dark wood desk wall and an open bathroom beyond.

Casa Higueras

Valparaíso, Chile

Overview

Casa Higueras occupies a house built into the slope of Cerro Alegre in Valparaíso, above the port. The building steps down the hill, so the entrance is near the top and rooms lie on the floors below it. It runs as a small hotel with a restaurant and with terraces that face the bay.

What it looks like

Terraces are cut into the hillside on several levels, with a pool, planting and seating arranged along them. Interiors keep panelled walls, dark timber and furniture from the earlier life of the house. Rooms differ from floor to floor, and many have windows towards the harbour. Stairs and a lift connect the levels.

The area

Cerro Alegre is a hill quarter of painted houses, stairways and narrow lanes above the port. Funiculars and steep streets link it to the flat city below. Galleries, workshops and small restaurants are spread through the surrounding blocks, and the port works on below.

Practical notes

The hill means stairs and slopes on the way to and from the door, which is worth knowing in advance. Ask about parking and about how taxis reach the entrance. Outlook from the rooms changes with the level, so raise that when you book.

Category: Art Hotel
Location: Valparaíso, Chile
Checked: June 2029

The upper floors and mansard roof of a cream stone building, framed by trees.

Hotel Valverde

Lisbon, Portugal

Overview

Hotel Valverde stands on Avenida da Liberdade in central Lisbon, in a townhouse set back behind the trees of the boulevard. It is run as a small city hotel with a restaurant, a bar and a courtyard. The entrance is discreet, and the public rooms sit on the ground floor around the inner court.

What it looks like

Those rooms are furnished as a series of sitting rooms, with panelling, lamps and framed pictures. A planted courtyard with a small pool lies at the centre of the building. Guest rooms use fabric wall coverings and furniture from the middle of the last century. Windows face either the avenue or the court.

The area

The avenue is a wide boulevard with shade and pavements running down towards the lower city. Praça dos Restauradores and the Baixa lie downhill, while Marquês de Pombal is uphill. Metro stations sit at either end of the street, and the park at the top of the avenue closes the view.

Practical notes

Rooms on the avenue side face traffic, so ask about the courtyard side if quiet matters to you. The courtyard is used for meals in warm weather. Check with the hotel about airport transfers, since the entrance sits on a busy stretch of road.

Category: Art Hotel
Location: Lisbon, Portugal
Checked: June 2029

A white gabled hotel on the water at night, lit from below, with its reflection in the river.

The Warehouse Hotel

Singapore

Overview

The Warehouse Hotel occupies a godown on the Singapore River at Robertson Quay, in a building that stored goods before its conversion. The riverside entrance still opens onto the quay. It runs as a hotel, with a restaurant and bar on the ground floor and with rooms fitted into the structure above.

What it looks like

The exterior keeps the pitched roofs and plain façade of the original warehouse row. Inside, the ground floor is open to the roof in places, with steel rods, pulleys and lamps left exposed. Rooms are lined in timber and dark plaster, and some sit under the pitch. A pool deck faces the river.

The area

Robertson Quay runs along the river, with a walkway on both banks. Restaurants and bars occupy the neighbouring shophouses and converted stores. Chinatown and the central business district lie within a walk or a short ride from the door, across the water.

Practical notes

Room types differ under the roofline, so ask about ceiling height and window position. The riverside walkway is busy in the evening, which reaches the lower rooms. Check with the hotel about the nearest station and about how vehicles reach the entrance on the quay.

Category: Art Hotel
Location: Singapore
Checked: June 2029

Before you use this page

This is an independent reference site with no connection to any hotel named on it. Descriptions rest on public sources, and buildings, opening hours and public rooms change over time. Nothing here is sold or booked through Veliorok. Check the current position with the hotel directly before you rely on anything written above.