Visitors walking through the lobby and gallery floors of Listel Vancouver hotel can gaze at more that half-million-dollars worth of paintings and sculptures displayed on the walls and placed alongside lounge chairs. The hotel has initiated a symbiotic relationship with Vancouver's Buschlen Mowatt Galleries that displays the gallery's wares while creating an "art" feeling for high-end hotel customers. Just west of the shopping thoroughfare on downtown's Robson Street, Listel introduced two gallery floors last year when it underwent renovations.

All rooms feature original and limited edition work from one to three artists, with biographical information contained in the room. Paintings are displayed in heavy gold or light wood frames, whichever best complements the painting. They are situated strategically around television wall units that do double duty as workstations.

General manager Jim Mockford said the driving force behind the "premium" guest rooms was to make his hotel distinguishable from others. "It was conceptual. It seemed to be something that sets us apart. If you wake up in our room, you know where your are," he said. The pieces rotate frequently and new works such as ceramic serving plates for the suites are in the planning. Similar plates will also be used in O'Doul's Restaurant & Bar on the ground floor.