No, the cab driver didn’t drop you off at an art gallery by mistake. This is, indeed, the Hotel Murano in downtown Tacoma, a few minutes from the first tee at Chambers Bay. It just happens to double as an art gallery, with a glass-blowing studio right on the premises and a sleek, modern, colorful design scheme that extends into every public and private space.

If the lobby were a golf course, it would be Cypress Point, Augusta National or, yes, Chambers Bay itself — with various styles of art adorning the walls and heightening the senses from every angle, it’s impossible to keep those creative notions from bubbling to the surface. Designed with one eye on the avante-garde and one on traditional Pacific Northwest imagery (one current exhibit features a fascinating take on fishing lures), it’s a welcome space that’s soothing and invigorating at the same time, a heightened and happy frame of mind that only intensifies after you check in to a room that’s got all the hallmarks of a four-star stay. High thread-count sheets. A flat panel television. Luxurious, fashion-forward furnishings and fixtures. A “Help Me” button on the phone that’ll lead to pretty much whatever you need, including first-class room service or reservations at a nearby restaurant or theater. Even iPods have a dock to call home in Murano’s rooms, and if you’re the type of traveler who likes to bring a pet along, they can handle that, too.

Inviting and comfy as the rooms are, this is really a wanderer’s hotel, a gallery of modern art. And while Hotel Murano’s parent company, Provenance, operates three other well-regarded properties — two of them on Portland, one in Seattle, one in Nashville — we can’t imagine them surpassing this place in any way. Good thing the cabbie knew where to stop.

www.hotelmuranotacoma.com
866.986.8083 | Room rates $159-$469