Canvas Hotel | Dallas

Any way you look at it — population, economy, cultural footprint — Dallas is a major city. To put it bluntly, it’s long past time it had a hotel scene to match. That’s the last we’ll say of the city’s surfeit of ordinary corporate hotels, because we’re here to focus on something entirely different: Canvas Hotel Dallas. The name is a reference not just to any old fabric, but to a painter’s canvas — this hotel is as devoted to local contemporary art as some hotels are to beige carpet (sorry, we said we’d stop).

The location, in the Cedars district, could hardly be more perfect — it’s a one-time industrial area that’s been home to Dallas artists for decades. And like many artists’ districts, it’s become a dining and nightlife hotspot as well. Canvas Hotel is a perfect match for that scene as well, with Gallery, its rooftop cocktail lounge, and Chef’s Palette, an eclectic space with a creative menu.

And the rooms don’t just feature a painting or two — they’re patterned after authentic artists’ lofts in every way, from the 12-foot ceilings to the concrete floors, the exposed brickwork, and the oversized windows. Safe to say there’s not a chance you’ll mistake it for a convention-center hotel (though, ironically, the convention center is close at hand.)