Benesse House

We love all our hotels, but listen: this is truly a special one, a hotel worth a pilgrimage for anyone at all with an interest in art and architecture. Located on a tiny, isolated island in the Inland Sea, Benesse House is essentially a collaboration between the billionaire art collector Soichiro Fukutake and the Pritzker prize–winning architect Tadao Ando, with major works and site-specific installations by everyone from Jackson Pollock to James Turrell. And it’s clearly been built for love of art, not profit; no budget-conscious hotelier would splash out for five Monet water lilies — to say nothing of their backdrop, a gorgeous Giverny-inspired garden? Even if not for the art, to sleep in a subtly luxurious Ando-designed hotel room, on a verdant, lost-in-time-feeling island, would be a treat in and of itself. But when you add the opportunity to literally spend a night at the museum, contemplating pieces by contemporary masters in virtual solitude, it’s like no other hotel experience out there.

By the typical standards of a rural Japanese hotel, the guest rooms are Western in style — though with views of the island and the sea from every room, you never forget where you are. And though the blond woods, the picture windows and sleek modern furnishings would look just as much at home in places as diverse as Patagonia or Palm Springs, a distinctively Japanese sensibility nonetheless shines through. The rooms feel pared-down without crossing over into coldness or austerity, and the natural world beyond the windows and walls is always well-framed.

The four disparate, architecturally distinctive buildings that comprise the hotel offer four slightly different experiences. In the Museum building, guests are housed as close to the art as possible, with original drawings, paintings and prints from the museum’s collection in both the rooms and public spaces. The Oval building is the most unusual in terms of the architecture, centering around a dark pool carved into a verdant hill, with an open, oval-shaped roof framing views of the sky. The Park building feels the most like a traditional hotel, with a restaurant and shops in addition to the spaces for art. And the Beach building stands just a few steps from the water’s edge, with uninterrupted views of the sea.

Several sunny and contemporary restaurants, a beautiful little spa and a combination bathhouse-art-gallery round out the hotel amenities, but ultimately one comes for the chance to spend a few days living amongst the art. It’s a singular experience, and an opportunity that’s not to be missed.

Booking Details: Benesse House requires additional information from guests to ensure the best stay possible. As such, reservations can only be confirmed through our customer service team. Contact us for assistance. Rates begin at JPY135000 per night.