Once, art in hotels was limited to neutral paintings above the bed – images that neither disturbed nor inspired. In recent years, however, especially in luxury hotels, art has stopped being background d?cor and has become a protagonist: curated collections, collaborations with galleries and museums, site-specific installations, and even organized art tours for guests. Hotels are transforming into vibrant public cultural spaces, where travelers don’t just “see artworks” but encounter stories and pieces of a place’s identity.
Within this framework, we spoke with hotels in different destinations to explore how they perceive the relationship between hospitality and art, how they build their collections, and how they “converse” with the visitor. In this first part, we travel to Messinia and Costa Navarino.
A resort building its story through art
Costa Navarino has established itself as a destination of experiences: golf, gastronomy, outdoor activities, and Messinian Authenticity. In recent years, however, it has been consistently adding another pillar: contemporary art. At W Costa Navarino in particular, art is spread across public spaces, rooms, and villas, with a curated collection signed by visual artist and exhibition curator Poka-Yio.
The philosophy is clear: art is not there merely to “decorate” the space but to surprise, provoke thought, and spark conversation.
From Messinia to Linear B: threads of memory
Although the hotel welcomes an international, diverse audience, the collection does not try to impose an easy, “touristic” Greek identity. The inspiration is more subtle: drawn from the landscape of Messinia, the light, the olive trees, and the archaeological layers of the region – from Mycenaean culture to Linear B, connected to the Palace of Nestor just a few kilometres away.
A defining example is an impressive installation composed of handcrafted clay tiles inspired by Linear B tablets: symbols, ideograms, and traces of writing reminding visitors that this land “was writing history” centuries before us. For today’s visitor, this art acts as a bridge: one does not need archaeological knowledge to feel they stand on soil rich in memory and depth.
One of the most interesting aspects is the sense of “walking” through the collection. W Costa Navarino has developed a digital art tour enabling guests to explore works in both public areas and rooms or villas, discovering information about the artists and the concepts behind each piece.
The experience feels more like a relaxed stroll through an open-air gallery than an “official tour.” You might encounter a sculpture on the way to the pool, pause at a piece along the corridor to your room, or find yourself wondering about an installation at the entrance of Navarino Agora.
Dialogue with an international audience
A destination such as Costa Navarino attracts travelers from around the world – from families visiting for golf and leisure to guests who choose W for its more urban, extroverted energy. Thus, alongside more conceptual works, visitors will also find sculptures or installations that communicate directly through bold forms, color, or humor. Most artists belong to the contemporary Greek art scene, from Poka-Yio himself to emerging names connected to the Athens School of Fine Arts.
The curated collection includes works by artists such as Soni (the “a-romantic manifesto” installation inspired by the urban sunset), Manos Tsichlis (the sculpture series Boys overseas got the guns), Philippos Theodorides through Art Rug Projects by Soutzoglou (with handmade rugs and tapestries), Kornilios Grammenos (the piece “Sarmata I” in the hotel’s spa), as well as photographs by Zacharias Stellas and Voula Papaioannou. Collaborations with institutions and galleries have also brought many artists to Messinia, while the outdoor exhibition “Guardians of Serenity” featuring sculptures by French artist Richard Orlinski and the annual Young Artists exhibition in collaboration with the Athens School of Fine Arts complete the picture of a resort functioning as an open platform for contemporary art.
When the hotel becomes a “heterotopia”
One of the most compelling ideas behind the collection’s philosophy is that of the hotel as a “heterotopia” – a space that does not quite exist anywhere, an in-between place suspended between routine and escape. Here, people temporarily set aside their roles and habits and write their own short-lived stories.
In this “in-between” space, contemporary art can act as a mirror: showing us how we relate to the city, to nature, to ourselves, and to others. As the collection’s curator notes, artworks encountered in such an environment have the chance to reach us more directly, in unexpected moments, somewhere between breakfast on the terrace and a swim in the pool.
Costa Navarino shows how art can become an organic part of a destination’s identity rather than a decorative “must” for image-building. From highlighting local history to collaborating with contemporary artists and integrating works into everyday hotel flow, the collection at W Costa Navarino stands as an example of how a resort can engage meaningfully with culture.
