21c Museum Hotel, Durham

When the first 21c Museum Hotel opened in Louisville, Kentucky — a properly stylish boutique hotel with a real, museum-worthy art collection, and far from the coastal capitals where you’d expect to find such a thing — we hoped for the best. But we expect we didn’t expect them to flourish quite like they have. And now that the fourth one is open, in Durham, North Carolina, it might just be time to start thinking of them as an empire in the making, rather than an against-all-odds upstart. Simply put, every city in America (if not beyond) needs one of these. Durham is no backwater — you’ve heard of Duke University — but its downtown is in the midst of some serious revitalizing, and the 21c plays a central role.

Architects Deborah Berke Partners were sensitive to this Art Deco building’s history, but not too sensitive — some period details remain, but only the ones that contribute to the hotel’s character. By the time you’re in the rooms and suites, you’re firmly in contemporary luxury-boutique territory. Your room comes with its own artwork, and, needless to say, it’s a step or three up from typical hotel art. But the main artistic event, of course, is the hotel’s own museum, which offers the works: rotating exhibitions as well as a permanent collection, all on display 365 days a year. Cap it off with dinner at Counting House, where chef Josh Munchel proves there’s much more to North Carolina cuisine than barbecue. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself looking for reasons to come back to Durham.