Paris, France: A Boutique (Tres) Chic Art Hotel

Hotel Des Academies

Jaunt says, “Take your lover to Paris this year!” Since we live for hunting down the hottest deals and coolest hotels, we came across this artsy little gem located right on the left bank in the 6th Arr. Walking distance to the Jardin de Luxembourg, Saint-Germain-de-Pres, The Louvre and almost every other romantic attraction, Hotel des Academies et des Arts is a 20-room boutique art hotel that pays homage to the artistic heritage of both the building and the neighborhood. The owners brought together several artists to create an original backdrop for contemporary works of art and recently opened a tea room lovingly called 'Chez Charlotte.' We also hear it's the only hotel in Paris to serve famed French pastry chef Pierre Herme's macarons. Psst... rumor has it that Modigliani and Gauguin once slept here when they were art students across the street at the Academie de Grand Chaumiere.

If that’s not enough to make you want to channel your inner Cezanne, we really don’t know what is.

www.hoteldesacademies.com

Rates from €190

Sleep It Off: Top Four Art Hotels

ANATOLIAN HOUSES (CAPPADOCIA, TURKEY)

Imagine this. A hotel carved out of the soft stone of a mountainside. Now imagine lounging on a bear rug on top of these stones and taking in an ancient view. A luxurious new boutique hotel built by the villagers in the Turkish mountains of Cappadocia, Anatolian Houses, contain spectacular pillars and minaret-like forms like nothing you've ever seen. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, this hotel was constructed within five different cave formations. Each suite represents a different historical era and the themed furniture artwork in each suite is individually chosen.

Rates begin at $300
www.anatolianhouses.com

MARQUES DE RISCAL (SPAIN)

One of Frank O. Gehry's architectural masterpieces, Hotel Marqués De Riscal comes in after Bilbao's Guggenheim. Located in Spain's beautiful Rioja wine country, it's a work of modern art complete with Gehry's signature metal sculptures twisting around the exterior and surrounding vineyards. An ancient wine cellar also serves as banqueting space (hint hint....perfect for weddings or a renewal of your vows)

Rates start at $953 per night when booked on:
www.kiwicollection.com

HOTEL OF MODERN ART - HOMA LIBRE (CHINA)

Whether you agree with China's politics or not, this hotel is a tremendous piece of art on it's own and certainly worth mentioning. HOMA Libre - The Hotel of Modern Art - is home to Asia's largest art studio and the leading collection of contemporary Asian art. Not far from Yangshou, Hotel of Modern Art – HOMA Libre is located within the Yuzi Paradise private park. In addition to greeting your inner-artist with Chinese calligraphy classes, you can take a private gondolier that will guide you down the Yulong River on a two-seat bamboo raft. The only Chinese property that's part of the prestigious Relais Chateaux alliance, not to be missed... dinner in the impressive cathedral-sized cave.

Rates range from $297 to $1143
www.kiwicollection.com

INDIGO PEARL (PHUKET, THAILAND)

The Indigo Pearl resort was inspired by the city’s tin-mining past, a post-modern interpretation of a Thai factory by Bensley Design Studios, the hot design group known for creating some of Asia's most interesting design hotels, including the Udaivilas, Udaipur (India) mentioned in the post below. Modern sculpture and industrial art mix past with present. High design aesthetics + nature = excellence in destination travel. Unusual chandeliers light up the hallways leading to rooms, villas, and pool pavilions where surreal design is married with deluxe amenities.

Rates begin at $260
www.indigo-pearl.com

Chile: Domo Domo

With the most powerful economy in South America (and a woman at the helm of the country... HURRAH!), Chile tops my list of 'Get Off Your Hiney And Go's. Inexpensive accommodations, economic stability, vibrant graffiti art that rivals the street sketches of Buenos Aires, Chile has the Andean peaks and plenty 'o plenty of vino. What more does one person really need? Sharing a string of ice blue glacier lakes in the South with Argentina and hosting a plethora of vineyards scattered about the country, Chile is the next big thing. Which is why, when we here at Jaunt happened upon this little gem of a secret spot, we said, 'Aye Dios! Que Bueno!'

There's something about a geodesic dome that just screams serenity, doesn't it? It's a bit off the beaten path (about 580 Km from Santiago), but you won't regret the trek. The road is paved until you reach the town of Pisco Elqui, but the resort will help arrange travel from there. One of only seven astronomic hotels in the world, you can literally sleep with the top down. Each has two floors. The first, with a living room and the bathroom, and the second, with the main bed (and your detachable roof). They also have a terrace, as well as a telescope and offer a fridge bar, free tea & coffee, specialized astronomic literature, BBQ's and cutlery. In addition to viewing the night-sky with your lover, they offer astronomic tours and nighttime horseback rides.

Does it really get any more romantico? Oh, and it's all earth-friendly too. So hitch that wagon to a star. Orion's waiting.

$85-100/night

www.elquidomos.cl

Ice is Hot: Lap(land) it Up

I'm a warm-blooded desert dwelling gypsy, but when I hear about Swedish Lapland I think of men named Bjorn, fjords, water so blue it's white, reindeers, and Bond... James Bond.

It all started with Art.

The story goes something like this. In the late 80's, Japanese ice artists visited northern Sweden, an area known as 'no man's land' at the foot of the Arctic Circle. It was there they created an exhibition of ice art. A year later, French artist Jannot Derid held his own exhibition in a nearby igloo. One night, there were no rooms available in town so visitors asked for permission to spend the night in the exhibition hall. They slept in sleeping bags on top of reindeer skin. Voila! The first guests of the Icehotel (c) had unofficially checked in.




Located in Jukkasjärvi, a town in Swedish Lapland (northern Sweden), there are only 541 permanent residents year round, the majority of whom are Sami, a nomadic Nordic people that live in the area stretching from northern Norway to the Kola peninsula in Russia with a fascinating culture based on animistic beliefs where everything from animals to minerals have a soul. They have 400 words for reindeer alone. Pushed north by the Vikings, they are one of the oldest surviving cultures in the world settling the Scandinavian Peninsula over 4000 years ago.

Since its creation, the Icehotel (c) has seen numerous guests. New ice art, and the rooms themselves, are created by visiting artists from around the world. Yes, the entire hotel is made out of ice blocks taken from the Torne River. The best part? When the weather warms, the hotel begins to disappear... melting right back into the environment from which it's sprung. With more than 80 rooms and suites, bar, reception, and even a church (in case you want to get hitched in the Arctic Circle), guests can expect to pay about 1,400 Swedish Krona (@ $196 US dollars/night). Keep in mind, the hotel only exists between December and April.



The only building not made of ice is the amazing restaurant which serves up cuisine fresh from the fells, forests and marshes north of The Circle. Think venison, ptarmigan (a medium-sized game bird), wood grouse, reindeer, salmon, whiting, grayling and arctic char. Desserts are prepared from the wild cloudberries, blueberries, lingonberries and arctic bramble that thrive in the nearby marshes and moors. In addition to the local fare, the hotel offers excursions such as dogsledding and snow safaris.


(c) Jorma Jaemsen—zefa/Corbis

So if the ancient Sami, safari sledding, cloudberries, and ice rooms that promise to make you feel as if you've stepped into the hands of time aren't Jaunt worthy enough for you... forget ever living up to the likes of Bond.

Stay home and eat a pot pie, as far as I'm concerned.

I'll be Laplanding it Up.
Sami style.

www.icehotel.com