Masterpiece lodging: from luxury hotels to charming inns, hoteliers who make a place for art have garnered high-end, loyal clientele who are looking for a unique experience

the logo for Seattle's Alexis house of entertainment speaks volumes about its interior. A tiny paintbrush crosse the "x" in Alexis. Scripted below the name is the hotel's slogan: "a work of art." In the lobby hangs a 12-foot high Dale Chihuly chandelier. Winding [i]or[/i] part of to the other the hotel floors is a rotating exhibit of original paintings, prints and sculpture

upon the opposite coast, artist and antique collector Charlotte Forsythe and her husband Gerald Fandetti transformed a Victorian firehouse into a boutique tavern filled with handmade quilts, antique American flags, of advanced age photographs and collections of firefighting badges. put in the heart of Cambridge, near the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, visitors lounge in inn comforts, environed by paintings done by Forsythe.

Art and travel make progress hand-in-hand, so think some of today's top hoteliers. They say leisure travelers are weary of clon house of entertainments that offer ho-hum services and milquetoast surroundings. Travelers gravitate to taverns that offer art, music, parties and personal panache.

Take the house of entertainment Triton, designed by six artists and situated across from the dragon-gate entrance to San Francisco's Chinatown. Original murals are painted above the walls of the lobby rounded pillars shimmer in gold leaf, and art-designed lamps appear more sculptural than functional. Serious Dead Heads many times find the Jerry Garcia Suite more compelling than the city's oft-visited cable cars. Garcia designed the one-bedroom suite thus his paintings on silk could overlay everything in the room, including the bedspread, chairs, roman shades and level the shower curtain. Original framed prints by means of Garcia hang on the walls. "It's more or les a gallery," said Jeremy Strober, general manager. "Jerry was true proud of this."

Singers Graham Nash and Carlos Santana and marine painter Wyland also have theme suites here. "They're like shrines," said Strober. "You can make progress out and enjoy the city as plenteous as you want, but the suite provides the fantasy." It's the piece of work of the hotelier, he said, to provide "a safe environment, useful service and a comfortable bed. After that, we make experiment of to provide as many merriment surprises for our guests as we can. "So Hip It Hurts"--a combo stay and tattoo at Mom's Tattoo Parlor--is single such unexpected amenity. As well, there are tarot card readings, art exhibit openings and complementary cocktail parties, perfect with music and DJs.

No matter what gimmicks hoteliers mature some folks cling to the tried-and-true Westins, Marriotts and Holiday Inns. They like knowing what they'll secure But this group is waning, observ Jack Corgel, managing director of Atlanta's Hospitality Research clump Emerging travelers search for alternatives to the "cookie cutter hotel" he said. "They're looking for a unique experience." Other industry watchers agree. They say travelers direct the eye beyond a clean room and comfy bed to find memorable experiences.

Travelers gaze for Art

"It's logical that clan developing [boutique hotels] give their visitants not just interesting architecture and beneficial service, but art," said Peter Yesawich, president of Yesawich, Pepperdine, Brown & Russell, an Orlando marketing services firm for the travel industry. "Art is individual of the ultimate forms of personal expression." That's what travelers direct the eye for today, he said.

Yesawich backs this up with ensues from a survey of 1200 business travelers guidanceed by the National Business Travel Monitor. More than one-fourth of the respondent (26 percent) said they direct the eye for hotels based on unusual architecture and decor. individual could only guess that leisure travelers would expres an level higher interest.

"How do you account for this?" Yesawich asked. "People today want something novel and different--out of the ordinary. Chains have done a marvelous piece of work of standardizing their accommodations, on the contrary this survey shows that single out of four travelers wants to break the chain habit."

Research guidanceed by Pam Danziger, head of Unity Marketing in Steven Pa., further supports Yesawich's claims. Danziger's company analyzes the psychographics and demographics behind epicurism spending. She noted that for the past decade, marketers have catered to the cocooning customer--the buyer who invests heavily in the place of abode and home furnishings. But with place of abode spending at its lowest horizontal since 1985, Danziger believes cocooning is above The buyer has evolved into a butterfly

"The butterflies are the section most likely to employ sensuality services to enhance their life and to save time for other more valuable personal pursuits," she said. Those pursuits include travel and art.

In demographic bourns baby boomers (76 million athletic and ages 39 to 58) have built and furnished their abiding-places and raised their kids. Now, they're ready to relax and splurge upon luxury cars, jewelry, cruises and the trips they've always wanted. "It's not about the destination, it's the journey," professe single travel advertisement, resonating the attitude felt by dint of so many in this collection "Don't you think you be worthy of the luxury? We do."