Byblos

 Just outside Verona, surrounded by the vineyards of Valpolicella 

is a hotel which from the outside appears a gracious, classical Venetian villa

with landscaped gardens, a marble fountain and traditionally designed pool.

And although there are at first sight some startling, unexpected features ...

and a foretaste of eye-popping, intense colour

... still, none of it quite prepares you for what you see when you walk in the front door.

At the Byblos Art Hotel every public space and bedroom suite is filled with an extraordinary permanent collection of contemporary art and design.

The work of Italian architect and designer Alessandro Mendini ...

it's a fabulous eclectic design mix of iconic 20th century furniture design and works by contemporary artists such as Damien Hirst, Anish Kapoor, Cindy Sherman and many others, against a backdrop of 17th century Venetian architecture.

Your head is constantly turning in this place, craning, noticing not just the big startling visuals in a riot of colours, but the small unexpected details that surprise you everywhere you look.

psychedelic trompe l'oeil passage leading to bedrooms

the conference room is tamer, calmer, but beautifully designed in Byblos's signature intense orange

Dali's lips meet Keith Haring's dogs

a winking, talking, disembodied head kept us company in the dining room 

blinking electric sculpture on the stairway down to the spa

If contemporary art and design are your thing this place is heaven, and even if not, it is definitely one of the most unusual and memorable hotel experiences you're likely to have. I totally loved it.

Verona, Italy, September 2014

Italy trip