Sunset Marquis, Los Angeles
Hotel Opera, Madrid
Alexis Hotel, Seattle
Ellington Hotel, Berlin
Hotel Saint Cecilia, Austin
The Setai, Miami
The Clarence, Dublin
Nhow, Berlin
Ace Hotel, New York
Any decent hotel these days comes with an iPod connector, but for a more immersive musical experience, it’s time to see a specialist. Here are nine hotels where the sounds are as important as the sights.
There’s a state-of-the-art recording studio if you want to make some music, and a legendary bar if you’re better at partying like a frontman than singing like one. The guest book reads like a who’s who of rock-and-roll history.
Book it →
Sure, the Royal Opera is right across the street from the hotel, but you don’t have to leave the premises for a performance. The waiters at Hotel Opera’s English-style bar deliver full-throated arias along with the cocktails.
Book it →
For Seattle music cred, it doesn’t get much better than the ringing endorsement that the hotel’s Experience Music Project Suite got from a member of Nirvana. Blown-up concert photos and classic album covers on the walls only add to the appeal for rock-history obsessives.
Book it →
Yes, that would be Duke Ellington, one of many jazz greats to frequent the hotel’s famous club during the ’50s. You can still catch the occasional show, while every evening Berlin’s internationally acclaimed JazzRadio 106.8 sets up its studio right by the bar.
Book it →
Austin is a bastion of indie rock in the vast Texan desert, and the Saint Cecilia, named after the patron saint of music and poetry, brings the music home with a library of vintage vinyl.
Book it →
Even the most demanding diva ought to be impressed by the Setai’s penthouse suite. It features an enormous, fully tricked-out recording studio complete with ocean views and a private outdoor patio.
Book it →
Owned by Bono and The Edge of U2, The Clarence is capped by a rockstar-caliber penthouse that features a baby grand piano. Despite an extravagance here and a famous guest there, the overall tone is one of tasteful restraint.
Book it →
If Berlin’s creative energy sparks some musical inspiration, book a session in one of Nhow Berlin’s two studios and lay down some tracks where you lay your head.
Book it →
They’ve got vintage turntables and a vinyl library for the old-school audiophiles, plus the requisite iPod hookups for those of us who’ve gone digital, but more than any gadget it’s about atmosphere: the Ace just feels rock-and-roll.
Book it →
