The Big Six: Hotels with art collections

Ellerman House, Cape Town

Overlooking Bantry Bay, Ellerman House offers a choice of traditional Riviera-style glamour in the main house or contemporary chic in the separate Ellerman Villa. Common to both is the view of the Atlantic crashing in at the shore and the seemingly endless horizon beyond. The owners' collection of original South African artwork is displayed throughout each of the nine spacious rooms and in their new Contemporary Gallery.

Ellerman House, Kloof Road, Bantry Bay, Cape Town, South Africa (00 27 21 430 3200; ellerman.co.za ). Doubles start at R7,000 (£571), including breakfast.

The Ritz-Carlton, Singapore

This 32-storey hotel impresses on paper alone: design by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Kevin Roche, the biggest guest rooms in this space-constrained part of Singapore, award-winning landscaped gardens and 4,200 works of contemporary art. Guests can get up close to an original Warhol, a Henry Moore sculpture and a lounge dedicated to glass artist Dale Chihuly, whose installation Singapore Sunrise is displayed at the hotel. There are also views of either the Singapore skyline or Marina Bay.

The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore, 7 Raffles Avenue, Singapore (00 65 6337 8888; ritzcarlton.com ). Doubles start at S$471 (£211), room only.

Gramercy Park Hotel, New York

As you enter this majestic Manhattan townhouse you could be forgiven for forgetting it's a hotel, as the walls are completely covered with works by Hirst, Warhol, Picasso and more. The dramatic and edgy grandeur of the public spaces seeps into the 185 guest rooms, which have custom-made oak furnishings, handmade rugs and vivid colour schemes. The hotel's new trattoria-style Maialino restaurant has been created by the team behind the restaurant at Manhattan's Museum of Modern Art.

Gramercy Park Hotel, 2 Lexington Avenue, New York, US (00 1 212 920 3300; gramercyparkhotel.com ). Doubles start at $425 (£283), room only.

St James's Club and Hotel, London

Early 20th-century Impressionist, Expressionist and Cubist paintings line the walls of this former "gentlemen's chamber", which is now a luxurious hotel with sumptuous rooms and a fine-dining restaurant. The Royal Academy of Arts is just moments away.

St James's Club and Hotel, 7-8 Park Place, London SW(12A) 1LS (020-7316 1600; stjamesclubandhotel.co.uk ). Doubles start at £215, room only.

The Cullen, Melbourne

Named after Adam Cullen, one of Australia's most exciting contemporary artists, this is the first of a new group of Art Series Hotels in the city. Set against a smart black-and-white colour scheme are more than 400 original works by Cullen.

The Cullen, 164 Commercial Road, Melbourne, Australia (00 6139 0981 555; artserieshotels.com.au ). Doubles start at A$187 (£104), room only.

La Colombe d'Or, Provence

There was a time when visitors to this quaint Provençal restaurant and hotel would have dined with Matisse, Miro or Picasso. Now, you'll have to make do with their work, which the artists donated in return for hospitality. The guest rooms are in a 16th-century house.

La Colombe d'Or, St-Paul de Vence, Provence, France (00 33 4 93 32 80 02; la-colombe-dor.com ). Doubles start at €200, room only.