This photo released by 21c Museum Hotel shows the lobby of the hotel with sculptures from artist Judy Fox.. (AP Photo/21c Museum Hotel,Kenneth Hayden)
(AP)
Wade Johnson has plopped down in plenty of hotels, but the business consultant ranks his stays at 21c Museum Hotel in downtown Louisville as a one-of-a-kind experience.
Turns out, that one-of-a-kind experience has a large following.
The 90-room boutique hotel — where contemporary art is an eye-catching theme — won the honor of top U.S. hotel in Conde Nast Traveler magazine's 2009 Readers' Choice Awards. It was quite a coup, since 21c is a relative newcomer and the winner is typically a well-known place in a big-city tourist destination. 21c was followed in the rankings by The Peninsula in Chicago and the Mandarin Oriental in Boston.
Johnson, a mergers and acquisitions consultant from Chicago, said there's a "different feel" at 21c, which opened in 2006 in a series of renovated 19th-century tobacco and bourbon warehouses.
Perhaps it's the 4-foot-tall plastic red penguin sculptures manning parts of the hotel. Or the contemporary art seemingly on display everywhere — from the lobby to hallways to elevators and public restrooms. There are paintings, photographs, video art and sculptures ranging from whimsical to provocative.
"I love staying here," Johnson said. "It's fun, it's quirky, it's unique."
Most of the artwork comes from the private collection of the hotel's husband-and-wife owners, Laura Lee Brown and Steve Wilson, and from their art foundation.
Ed Varela, in town from Texas on a business trip, had just checked in when he got his first look at a plastic penguin stationed near the front counter. "Oh gosh, that's different," he said.
Varela planned to check out the art displayed in more than 9,000 square feet of exhibition space. 21c features rotating curated exhibitions and even has a full-time museum director.
"So far I'm really enjoying the scene," Varela said. "I think it's going to be a neat experience."
Kelly Grosse, who works at the hotel's front desk, said guests are drawn immediately to galleries just a few steps from the front lobby. Sometimes, the artwork is so alluring that "it's hard to get people to focus on checking in because they're so busy looking at everything else," she said.
