Thinking Outside the Frame

Opened two years ago, Hotel Max began when the owners took an aging downtown property and commissioned 30 Washington state and Oregon artists to produce art for the guest rooms. Nine photographers -- one per floor -- were invited to display their work in the corridors. The fifth floor displays images by Seattle photographer Charles Peterson, who helped chronicle the grunge scene. On the third floor are local Joan Broughton's photographs of Pike Place Market performers.

Although most of the rooms are small, the amenities -- pillow-top beds, wireless Internet, high-definition televisions, a 24-hour fitness center -- help make this a deluxe property. And the location, a few steps from popular Pike Place Market, could not be more central.

620 Stewart St., 866-833-6299, http://www.hotelmaxseattle.com. Doubles start at $199.

* Hotel des Arts, San Francisco. This 51-room property in the French Quarter has all the creative dynamism you would expect in a place decorated mostly by street and graffiti artists.

The artists, chosen by the Start Soma gallery, created a spirited range of styles. The show starts in the lobby, lined with colorful canvases. But the real draw is in the guest rooms.

In Room 208, for example, Jet Martinez made a romantic nature scene by applying gold leaf over a midnight blue background. The scene is framed by bamboo shoots and tiny frogs. In Room 404, Tim Gaskin painted an image of Madonna superimposed on a background of logos by fashion maven Louis Vuitton. In Room 317, Anthony Skirvin designed a space of studied clutter, highlighted by maps plastered everywhere and a picture of a log cabin covering an entire wall.

Except for the art, the small rooms are modestly furnished. The clientele is a youthful mix of Americans and Europeans. The hotel is an easy walk to Union Square.

4 47 Bush St., 800-956-4322, http://www.sfhoteldesarts.com. Doubles, including a continental breakfast, start at $99. The so-called Painted Rooms can be booked only by phone, not online .