I can count on one hand the number of really memorable places I’ve stayed in. The pousada in Itacare, the place with great caipirinhas in Buenos Aires, a faded old colonial place in Asuncion.

In a sea of cheap B and Bs and dull chain hotels, it’s a brave choice to fill your hotel walls with quirky art from local artists. It seems to have paid off for The Artist Residence, a hotel and art gallery rolled into one, filled with light and creative spirit.

This place has been on my radar for a while but I didn’t know what to expect.

“You have room 8, it’s my favourite.”

When I checked out the hotel online before I arrived, one room really stood out. I secretly hoped the blue room would be mine, and couldn’t have been happier when room 8 turned out to be that room, a wonderfully detailed mural of Brighton seafront wrapped around three walls.

Just like the pretty downstairs breakfast room/gallery, light streams in everywhere. It’s the kind of place that puts a smile on your face as you wake up.

Disclosure: I won a night at the Artist Residence through a competition by one of the Traverse13 sponsors, Hotel Info. But nobody asked me to write a review in return for dubious food cooked on an iron ;) (photo credit SophonTrack)