From Joan Miró’s works at Deià’s La Residencia to site-specific installations in Venice, we uncover how Belmond’s properties are transforming hotels into vibrant, cultural destinations
Art has long found a home in luxury hotels, historically in properties such as The Ritz in Paris and The Savoy in London, each respectively showcasing curated collections and commissioned works. For example, in the 1920s, The Ritz became a hub for Surrealist artists like Salvador Dalí, Francis Picabia and Jean Cocteau, while the hotel hosted artists like Elsa Schiaparelli, a close neighbour, who presented her first collection here. In the 1920s, The Savoy celebrated the Art Deco movement with British designer Basil Ionides, who redecorated the private dining room ‘Pinafore’ in 1926.
Today, this relationship continues, though there has been some modernised updates in how it’s approached. Now, it is less about static displays and more about dynamic engagement – think artist residencies, bespoke tours and installations that double as conversation starters. Because of which, hotels are now embracing art as an interactive, immersive experience, elevating their spaces into living galleries that guests can wander through, observe and enjoy throughout the hotel’s carefully curated experience.
For hospitality and leisure company Belmond, art is integral to the brand’s ethos. Across its portfolio of 47 properties in 26 countries, Belmond blends luxury with cultural storytelling, with art playing a starring role. La Residencia, Mallorca, is an apt example of this philosophy. The property is nestled in the artist enclave of Deià, a coastal village in the Serra Tramuntana, known for its literary, artist and music residents; poet and novelist Robert Graves was one of the first foreigners to settle there; while painter David Templeton and author Anaïs Nin are a couple more examples of figures who found refuge and a muse in Deià.
Reflecting its history, Cecilie Sheridan, the curator of La Residencia’s private art collection, describes the property as “an art palace”, reflecting the surrounding mountain landscape’s century-long appeal to artists. “Art requires time to create and time to enjoy, making it a luxury in today’s fast-moving world. La Residencia, offers this great luxury, privacy and a world of art to explore for discerning guests,” she explains. The walls of the hotel display a collection of around 800 artworks from more than 80 artists by local and visiting international painters. Guests can marvel at these collections, as if peering into a gallery, and they can also partake in visiting exhibitions of paintings, sculptures, ceramics and photography in the hotel’s specific four-walls site, the Art Gallery. There are also guided visits to artists’ homes in the neighbourhood and weekly meetings with artists at cocktail events. Sheridan adds, “Palma, the capital, only 45 minutes away, has a high concentration of museums and art galleries. Not to be missed is the Miró Foundation as well as the Contemporary Art Museum, Es Baluard, the Palau Solleric, La Caixa Foundation and Sa Nostra in the old town, and changing exhibitions of modern art in the many private galleries. The most recently opened among the many interesting established centres is Gallery Red.”
When curating the collections for the hotel, Sheridan explains how it’s largely an aesthetic approach, but she also seeks out creative talent, execution and locality. “Of the artists represented, some are known, others are dedicated local career artists or young emerging talents over time. 90% of the items have been created locally. The collectors are both art-educated and practicing artists.”
Additionally, at La Residencia, Café Miró doubles as a restaurant and an intimate gallery, showcasing 33 original works by Joan Miró, a Catalan Spanish painter, sculptor and ceramist known for his poetic, abstract art. Hanna Bornebusch, La Residencia’s communications manager, says this choice reflects Miró’s “deep, personal connection to Mallorca” and his lasting influence on modern art, particularly surrealism. She explains that Miró’s presence makes him an “ideal centerpiece” for Café Miró; the hotel itself has long been recognised as an artistic enclave, fostering ties to the local arts community since its opening in 1984. According to Bornebusch, these works transform the restaurant into a space where “the island’s artistic heritage meets the ambiance of the hotel”, offering guests a cultural experience that goes far beyond the traditional dining setting.
Further adding to this experience, La Residencia continues to collaborate with Galleria Continua for its ‘Artists in Residencia’ programme after two successful editions in 2022 and 2023. Every February, an open call is published on social media, inviting artists from every corner of the world to apply. Each season, three artists are hosted for two-month residencies starting in May, in which they are given access to a studio at the hotel where they can revel in the inspirational landscape of Deià and La Residencia. This connection isn’t just a one-way street; guests also gain from the programme. “This initiative has proven to enrich both the artists and the guests, as the artists get to take inspiration from a new landscape and connect with art lovers on a different levels, and the guests get to benefit from personal interactions with the resident artists, observing their creative process and sometimes participating in workshops,” says Bornebusch.
Belmond’s commitment to art travels well beyond Mallorca. The Hotel Cipriani in Venice, for example, features large-scale installations through the MITICO initiative, collaborating with contemporary artists like Daniel Buren, who recently created site-specific works at six Belmond hotels. Meanwhile, the Splendido in Portofino, currently undergoing a multi-year renovation, seeks to incorporate local art and design to reflect Italian heritage. Contemporary art is also celebrated in historical settings like Tuscany, at Castelli di Casole, and Copacabana Palace in Brazil.
As luxury travel continues to evolve, so does the role of art. Belmond’s properties prove that art doesn’t merely decorate – it enriches, educates, inspires and builds community. “In a flourishing luxury industry, original art and hand created objects of fine design can only continue to be of prime importance,” says Sheridan. “Given a stable world economy, those in a position to enjoy fine objects or experiences will increasingly seek them in the highest levels of travel, hostelry, and elite pastimes. History has shown this: wealthy societies have always fostered growth well beyond essential daily requirements. In turn, the artists, creating value and objects of beauty associated with leisure and pleasure, need patronage. A good symbiosis in good times.”
