Art deco arrived in 1925 as a provocation — disciplined geometric lines as a rebuke to art nouveau’s soft florals, gleaming metal against hand-carved wood, the machine age muscling into Edwardian drawing rooms.

A century later, the aesthetic endures, influencing everything from film to fashion to architecture.

Centennial celebrations continue everywhere from Paris’ Musée des Arts Décoratifs (through April 26) and Miami Beach’s “100 Years of Art Deco” (through January in Lummus Park). But one of the best ways to experience the movement is to step into a grand hotel.

From a gold-topped tower in Chicago to a Nile-side palace in Cairo, these 20 hotels don’t put art deco behind the glass — they put you inside it.

The stainless-steel “Savoy” sign glows above the Strand, an art deco beacon on a Victorian landmark.

Opened in 1889, The Savoy added art deco elements into its Edwardian design in the 1920s and never looked back. The Beaufort Bar is the showpiece: black-and-gold everything and low lighting, the kind of room that makes you think everyone has a secret.

Pendry Chicago’s Carbide and Carbon Building appears along Chicago’s skyline as a champagne bottle waiting to be uncorked — black granite base, green-gold terra cotta and a 24-karat gold-leaf cap.

Step inside and the aesthetic turns modern, but art deco is throughout: gilded elevators, black-and-white marble and a chevron backsplash at Bar Pendry show the landmark is still working the angles.

The Waldorf Astoria contains “some of the finest and most culturally significant art deco interiors in New York City,” according to the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

The 1931 icon emerged from an extensive renovation in 2025 with those interiors intact, including the three-story Grand Ballroom with ruby curtains framing silver-wrapped balconies and a decorative plaster bas-relief medallion on the ceiling.

In Miami Beach’s Art Deco District, The Ritz-Carlton offers a modern exemplar. The restored art deco landmark from visionary architect Morris Lapidus captures the spirit of mid-century Miami Beach with sweeping curves and vintage details.

Get a taste of the city’s tropical deco vibe at Lapidus........

© Forbes