Art Hotels

Six hotels in buildings that were built for something else or built long before their present use. A convent, a town palace, a hospital site and a government office are among them. The entries describe how the older plan shapes the hotel: where the courtyards, galleries, gardens and shared rooms sit, and what that means for the rooms above.

A hotel bedroom with a made bed, a desk and an arched window under ornate ceiling moulding.

Grand Hotel Tremezzo · Hôtel du Couvent · Palacio Can Marquès · Hotel Motto · Rosewood São Paulo · Capella Sydney

A hotel bedroom with a tufted headboard, magenta chairs and an arched garden window.

Grand Hotel Tremezzo

Tremezzina, Lake Como, Italy

Grand Hotel Tremezzo stands on the western shore of Lake Como at Tremezzina, facing the water and the Grigne ridge on the far side. The house dates from the opening years of the last century and has kept its original outline, with terraces stepping down to the lake. A park runs behind the building on the slope, and the village road passes between the two parts of the site.

What it is

The building is a tall lakeside house with balconies on the water front and public rooms set along the ground floor. Terraces and gardens run down to the shore, where the bathing and lakeside parts of the hotel are placed. Behind the road the park climbs the hillside in planted terraces. Boats call along this shore, and the village of Tremezzina sits immediately around the house.

Good to know

The site is split by the shore road, so parts of the hotel are reached by crossing it. Lakeside terraces, the park and boat services are seasonal, and much is closed in the colder months. Como is reached by road or by boat rather than directly by rail, and journey times vary with the season.

Art Hotel
Tremezzina, Lake Como, Italy
Checked August 2029

A gravel terrace of tables under white umbrellas looking over tiled rooftops.

Hôtel du Couvent

Nice, France

Hôtel du Couvent occupies a former convent on the slope above the old town of Nice, a building that served a religious community long before it became a hotel. The site keeps its cloister, its terraces and its gardens, and the hotel has been fitted into the existing walls. Rooms follow the plan of the old house, so their shapes vary rather than repeating along a corridor.

What it is

Stone galleries run around a courtyard at the centre of the building, with garden terraces stepping up the hillside behind. The ground floor holds the shared rooms, a bathing part and places to eat, arranged in what were working spaces of the convent. Outside, the lanes of Vieux Nice fall away towards the market and the sea, and the hill of the castle rises above the site.

Good to know

The building follows an older plan, so corridors, stairs and level changes are not uniform. Gardens and terraces are part of the house and are worth asking about when they are open. The lanes around the site are narrow and largely closed to cars, which affects how luggage and arrivals are handled.

Art Hotel
Nice, France
Checked August 2029

A stone terrace with dusty-pink outdoor seating between shuttered buildings.

Palacio Can Marquès

Palma de Mallorca, Spain

Palacio Can Marquès is a town palace in the old quarter of Palma de Mallorca, standing in the lanes between the cathedral and the harbour front. Houses of this kind are planned around an inner courtyard, and the hotel keeps that arrangement. Rooms are set on the upper floors around the court, and the ground level holds the entrance passage and the shared rooms of the house.

What it is

A vaulted passage leads from the street into the courtyard, where an open stair rises against the stone. Arched openings look into the court from the upper floors, and the whole plan turns inward rather than towards the street. The shared rooms sit off the court, with a terrace above. The lanes around the house hold small shops and restaurants, and the sea front is a short walk downhill.

Good to know

Older palace houses vary from room to room in size, ceiling height and outlook. The courtyard is an open part of the building, so sound carries between floors. The quarter is largely pedestrian, cars are restricted, and parking is arranged away from the house rather than at the door.

Art Hotel
Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Checked August 2029

A hotel entrance with an arched door, a planted canopy and pots along the pavement.

Hotel Motto

Vienna, Austria

Hotel Motto stands in Mariahilf, a dense quarter of Vienna west of the Ring, in a corner building that carries a café at street level. The house is used by the neighbourhood as well as by guests, since the ground floor rooms open onto the street. Sleeping floors sit above, and a roof terrace and further shared rooms are placed at the top of the building.

What it is

The building follows the street corner, with tall windows and shops at pavement level. Inside, the café and dining rooms take the ground floor, and further common rooms sit on the upper level with a terrace above the roofs. Mariahilf runs on long shopping streets, small workshops and tram lines, and the museum quarter and the Naschmarkt are both within walking distance of the door.

Good to know

The ground floor is open to the public, so the entrance area is busier than in a house used only by guests. Terrace and café hours are set separately from the hotel and change through the year. The quarter is well served by tram and underground, and street parking near the building is limited.

Art Hotel
Vienna, Austria
Checked August 2029

An older masonry hotel building with a rooftop pool and a planted tower behind it.

Rosewood São Paulo

São Paulo, Brazil

Rosewood São Paulo occupies part of the former Matarazzo maternity hospital in Bela Vista, close to Avenida Paulista. The site keeps the older hospital building and adds a planted tower beside it, so the hotel is spread across two very different structures. Gardens run between them, and the shared rooms are divided between the restored building and the newer block.

What it is

The older building keeps its masonry front, its long windows and its original circulation, while the tower beside it is planted across its face. Gardens and courtyards link the two, and the ground level holds restaurants, halls and space used for exhibitions. The site sits inside a busy central district, with Avenida Paulista above it and the streets of Bela Vista falling away on the other sides.

Good to know

Rooms are divided between the restored building and the tower, and the two differ in plan and outlook, which is worth settling in advance. Parts of the ground floor are open to visitors as well as guests. The district is central and busy, and arrivals by car are affected by traffic at the ends of the working day.

Art Hotel
São Paulo, Brazil
Checked August 2029

A sandstone hotel on a city corner with a glass storey on the roof.

Capella Sydney

Sydney, Australia

Capella Sydney occupies a sandstone government building in the centre of Sydney, between Farrer Place and Bridge Street. The house was built for public administration and worked as offices for many years before it was converted. The conversion kept the outer walls and the main internal spaces, and the hotel was fitted into them, so the plan follows the older building rather than a standard hotel layout.

What it is

The building is heavy sandstone with arched openings at street level and a courtyard covered over at the centre of the plan. Public rooms sit around that covered court, with restaurants and a bar on the lower levels. Rooms above follow the older window pattern, so they differ in shape. Circular Quay, the Botanic Garden and the harbour are all within a short walk of the entrance.

Good to know

Because the house was converted rather than purpose-built, rooms vary in size and outlook and stairs and lifts follow the old plan. Parts of the ground floor are open to visitors, so those areas are busy at meal times. The district is a working city centre, quieter at weekends than on weekdays.

Art Hotel
Sydney, Australia
Checked August 2029

Before you use this page

Lunentra is a reference site with no link to any of the hotels described. Older buildings are altered, restored and reordered, so rooms, courtyards and shared spaces are not fixed. The information here is drawn from public sources and can date. Nothing on this page is an offer, and access, opening hours and room arrangements should be settled with the hotel itself.