In the words of Oscar Wilde on his death bed: 'Either this wallpaper goes, or I do.' If art matters to you, then the hotels you choose to stay in probably do too. Here's our pick of the world's best hotels for art lovers, and some suggestions of what to see while you stay there.
Crete
Minos Beach Art Hotel - This art hotel includes a glass reception desk with fish tank and apermanent collection of sculptures from leading Greek and foreign artists.
While you're there, take a trip to evocative Hania Old Town and see artisans at work in the atmospheric little streets bordered by remnants of the Venetian city walls.
Ho Chi Minh City
Art Hotel - Can't afford the real deal? Follow the whiff of oil paint to this cheap and simple pad. Entry is through the owner's tiny art studio-cum-shop as he pumps out skilful reproductions of Monet, Dali and Warhol.
Don't miss the decaying grandeur of the Fine Arts Museum, housed in a French colonial building and displaying an eclectic collection from the classical periods alongside abstract and modern Vietnamese pieces.
Brussels
Comfort Art Hotel Siru -130 Belgian artists were each commissioned to work their magic on a room, leaving you with the choice of dreaming beneath contemporary works, classic Belgian comic-strip art or 3-D papier-mâché sculptures protruding from the walls and ceiling.
Check out the Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinée (The Belgian Centre for Comic Strip Art, or Comic Strip Museum), a wonderful showcase for Belgium's favourite art, housed in a 1906 Art Nouveau department store.
Vancouver
Listel Hotel - Vancouver's self-described 'art hotel' has gallery-style art installations of original First Nations and contemporary artworks and a jazz-lovers bar.
Don't miss the Vancouver Art Gallery, where shows by Vancouver's internationally renowned photographers are combined with blockbuster travelling shows in this renovated courthouse. Late-night parties and a sun-drenched mezzanine-level café add to the good times here.
San Francisco
Hotel Des Arts - Curl up inside a painting at Hotel des Arts. Part gallery, part hotel, each room features jaw-dropping murals by different up-and-coming street artists.
While you're there, stop in at 49 Geary. Four floors of galleries feature standout international and local works, and openings at 49 Geary are known for their raucous atmosphere and goldfish crackers.
This article was refreshed in June 2012
