Fancy an out of the ordinary overnight experience? We’ve combed the globe (and beyond!) to find the world’s most unique hotels. Have a browse and decide where you would dare to stay…
1. Galactic Suite Space Resort (Outer Space)
The first luxury space hotel to open its doors to guests in 2012. It will host 350 guests per year, who will be able to see the sun rise 15 times a day and travel around the world every 80 minutes.
2. Library Hotel (New York, USA)
Each floor of the Library Hotel is inspired by one of the 10 categories of the Dewey Decimal System, such as Math, Science or Religion, and each room houses part of the hotel’s collection of 6,000 books. Neat, huh?
3. Capsule Hotel (Tokyo, Japan)
Made up of tiny 2 square meter room, each with a bed and a TV set. These are cheap and ready to rent if it’s too late to drive, or you’ve had one drink too many and would rather rest first and think about what you’ve done second. The majority of these capsule hotels only accept male guests and only allow one night bookings.
4. Karostas Cietums Hotel (Liepaja, Latvia)
If you’ve ever wondered how it might feel to sleep in jail for a night, but you’re not particularly in the mood to start a bar fight, just book a night in this former prison. Handcuffs and being escorted to your “cell” for the night included. Open from May to October.
5. Das Park Hotel (Ottensheim, Austria)
This unique hotel is constructed from repurposed, incredibly robust drain pipes. It might not be the hotel room you’ve always dreamt of getting your beauty sleep in but it will be unforgettable for sure. Did we mention cheap?
6. Dog Bark Park Inn (Cottonwood, Idaho)
It’s the world’s biggest Beagle and one of the most unique hotels out there. Designed with dog fanatics, ahem, lovers, in mind, this hotel doesn’t merely look like a dog on the outside, it has a strangely canine feel on the inside too…
7. Burj al Arab Hotel (Dubai)
The only seven star hotel in the world, it’s 321 meters high and located on an artificial island in the Persian Gulf. Despite its imposing size, the hotel only has 28 floors which accommodate 202 rooms. The smallest suite occupies an area of 1820 square feet. Can you imagine losing your keys?
8. Kokopelli’s Cave (Farmington, New Mexico)
In love with the Flinstones? Or maybe just the idea of living in a cave? Dine on stone tables, sit on stone chairs, sleep in a stone bed and still feel comfy. Practice your yabadabadoo when you check out the Kokopelli’s Cave Hotel.
9. Elqui Domos (Chile)
What if you could stay in bed, wrapped in thick blankets and watch the millions and millions of stars on a pitch black sky? If you’re really a stars aficionado, take hold of one of the available telescopes, ask for the star map at reception and sail away in the Milky Way.
10. The Five Hotel (Paris, France)
Fresh champagne in the fridge, your own dance floor and a rain shower. People who’ve stayed there say that the decor of the room is so impressive and so convincing that the moment you step in – your worries disappear. And your money with them too, as the price of a night’s rest is around €900.
11. Bjorli Snow Hotel (Norway)
Far, far away, in a country where Ice is Queen for more than 8 months a year, between the fiords, in the National Park of Geirangerfjord, there is an ice palace. And not just any ice palace, but one in which you can sleep in a bed surrounded by ice blocks and feel like a creature from another world. (Don’t worry, the wool socks are included).
12. The Setai Miami Beach (Miami)
A beautiful hotel in a beautiful location, a private beach, an oriental style and flawless service. These are some of the reasons people love this luxury hotel in South Beach.
13. Hotel Yunak Evleri (Cappadocia, Turkey)
Sleeping in a cave dug in the wall might not be something you actively desire (maybe you actually prefer not to sleep in a cave) but the rooms and the views of this five star hotel are said to make you change your mind. For good.
14. Tree Hotel (Sweden, Laponian Area)
A tree house, what are you, 9 years old? Give your devilish alter-ego a condescending look and explain that this hotel is more than a house in a tree, it’s a proof that living green and in comfort is quite possible if we’d just rethink the way we see and use forests.
15. De Vrouwe van Stavoren Hotel (The Netherlands)
Sleeping in a wine barrel might sound a bit strange in the beginning. And it is not only possible, but guaranteed, to be a unique experience. Where to better fall asleep after a night of wine tasting than in one of these sleeping spaces?
16. Jumbo Hostel (Stockholm, Sweden)
Until flying gets as comfortable as resting in a hotel room, you can try sleeping in a hotel shaped like an airplane. Oxygen masks, business class seats and the pilot’s cabin suite are part of the Jumbo’s method for convincing travelers to go to bed.
17. Hotel i-suite (Rimini, Italy)
A luxury hotel that manages to make impeccable design warm and relaxing, not just ‘interesting’. The lights, the rooms and the spa facilities are all designed to surprise and amuse you during your stay.
18. Hotel Quinta Real Zacatecas (Mexico)
This hotel is constructed in the San Pedro Bullring and uses the structure of the original building. The place received an International Award for Architecture in 1989.
19. Nhow Berlin (Berlin)
The first European music hotel. It has a recording studio and a guitar as part of the room facilities. Plus, the furniture and walls are painted in neon – perfect for a rock star… or a nocturnal jam session… or even DJ set for your closest friends.
20. Malmaison Oxford Castle (United Kingdom)
This is the first British jail turned into a hotel. Even though the hotel’s bar doors are very similar to what the prison looked like in the Victorian period, the comfort and facilities the hotel offers have nothing to do with being held against your will.
21. Ariau Amazon Towers Hotel (Manaus, Brazil)
What if you could sleep in the heart of the amazon jungle, hear and smell and feel it, while keeping safe and staying comfy? These suites are built 30 meters above the ground and are interconnected by bridges. And if the plants and birds and little animals are not enough to keep you interested, you can swim with pink dolphins or piranha fish (not the other way around).
22. Wigwam Motel (Arizona)
The Wigwam Motel in Arizona allows you to sleep in brick and mortar tents in the same style of the North American tribes (except they’re made of brick and mortar 🙂
23. Palacio de Sal Hotel (Bolivia)
This building is made of 100% salt: the chairs, the beds, everything. The Uyuni salt mine is just in front.
24. Jules Undersea Lodge (Key Largo, Florida)
To access this hotel, you have to scuba dive! This former investigation laboratory has been turned into the first underwater hotel – hosting only 6 persons at a time, unfortunately.
25. Ice Hotel (Sweden)
The biggest and oldest ice hotel in the world is located in Sweden, Jukkasjärvi. It’s rebuilt every winter and it will be opened this year for the 21st time.
26. Wanderlust Hotel (Singapore)
You love strong colors, origami or want to see how it would feel to sleep inside a typewriter? Or maybe outer space? Stay a night or two in this hotel and your dreams will never be the same.
27. Propeller Island City Lodge (Berlin)
Do you think you can handle a night in a hotel room decorated as a funeral shop? Sleep in a coffin or in a guillotine bed? Would you ever consider sleeping in beds suspended 2m above the ground or in surreal rooms where it feels like you’re sleeping under the floor? If you’re travelling to Berlin, you have to check out this hotel.
28. The Hobbit Motel, Woodlyn Park (Waitomo, New Zealand)
Are you a big Lord of the Rings fan? Then the Hobbit Hotel in New Zealand is definitely a place to check out if you’re travelling to Waimoto this year. The hobbit inspired bungalows are quite comfortable and fully updated to non-fictional characters’ lifestyles.
29. La Balade des Gnomes (Durbuy, Belgium)
Want to feel like Snow White, Robin Hood or Alice in Wonderland for a few days? The Balade des Gnomes Hotel in the Belgium countryside might be a lot of fun if you’re traveling with kids, but it’s a mysterious and magical place for anyone who enjoys a good fairy tale.
30. Three Camel Lodge (Gobi Desert, Mongolia)
The Three Camel Lodge Hotel is a glimpse into mongolian nomadic culture. The sleeping facilities are composed of gers, traditional herder tents made of felt and canvas and heated by wood stoves.
31. Hotel Qbic (Holland)
Take a walk on the futuristic side and sleep for a night in Cubi, a room with a bed shaped like a cube, decorated with silver and white. Turn on the yellow, red or violet lights depending of the mood you’re in.
32. The Whitepod Resort (Swiss Alps)
This suite complex offers an alternative for exploring the Swiss Alps. By using the igloo-like tents, Whitepod offers a type of winter housing that has a minimal impact on the virgin Alps. In 2005 the Whitepod Resort received the World Prize for Sustainable Tourism.
33. Sala Silvermine (Sweden)
This hotel has a dining hall and a suite located in the heart of the earth – in a mine. So you can sleep 155 meters underground in a cold, dark and rather scary place. Rather vampiresque, if you ask us.
34. Hotel Silken Puerta América (Madrid)
This is an unique project that has managed to reunite nineteen of the best architects and designers in the world.
35. Hotel Palafitte (Switzerland)
This is the only five star hotel built on a lake. Inside, luxury and technology are the stars.
36. Anak Ranch (Mongolia)
At the Anak Ranch of Mongolia, you will sleep in a ger, the traditional Mongolian nomad’s home. You can ride the open steppe and hills of the last great unfenced wilderness of the world. The Anak Ranch lies in the mountainous Orkhon Valley in the rugged steppe-taiga country near the Siberian border.
37. Hotel Giraffe Manor (Nairobi)
A hotel surrounded by 47 hectares of woods, in which Giraffes live in their natural habitat. We’re not saying sleep like a giraffe, but you might actually end up having breakfast with one.
38. Arte Luise Kunsthotel (Berlin)
With all its rooms designed by a different artist, this hotel is more of an an art gallery where you can also sleep.
39. Aerohostal (La Peña, Colombia)
This hotel is maybe one of the most unique hotels there are, because you are going to sleep in a floating house. It is hanging 20 meters high. You can reach the hotel by escalating or with cables. Also, they have many adventurous activities such as pendulum, rappel, hiking, hammock in the air, etc.
40. Hotel Marina Bay Sands (Singapore)
What’s really awesome about this hotel is probably the “infinite” pool that makes you forget you’re on top of a building
That’s our roundup for the unique hotels, folks.
Don’t forget to look for your hotel and enjoy your trip!
What are the strangest, scariest, most unique hotels you’ve ever stayed in?
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Wow! Impressive!) Thanks for nice article! I have been to Kuala Lumpur, and the city is stunning. There’s a place near KLCC where i went for batik painting workshop. Found it here http://www.hotelyouwant.com/ Batik is one of the most important traditional handicrafts in Malaysia. The place is called MyBatik, and i had a really relaxing and good time there with my family.Can you tell about some unexplored places to visit in Malaysia which are less crowded?
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Definitely sounds like the quite the experience Nishi hahah. Nice post as well 😀
I will add the Karosta prison in Latvia where you are treated as a prisoner. We are talking handcuffs, spankings, difficult drills, and cruel jailers 😀
Boy, I think I want to pin this list up on my soft board and keep striking off each hotel, each destination. Here are some hotels I had put on my bucket list:
http://why.travel/offbeat/quirky-hotels-to-spice-up-your-holiday/
These 40 hotels are really mind blowing and i have not enough word to explain my feelings. In short, i would like to visit some of these hotels especially space hotel. Thanks for sharing such type of things.