Legoland Resort Hotel, Windsor, UK

One to keep the kids happy, the Legoland Resort Hotel opens its doors in March, with rooms decorated in either pirate, adventure or royal themes. From the entrance, guarded by dragons, to the interactive Lego features in the pool area and the rooms, this is a child's dream of a hotel. Play areas and daily entertainment shows all add to the fun - although parents may need a weekend away afterwards to recover.

Upside Down - Propeller Island City Lodge, Berlin

The rooms are created by German artist Lars Stroschen with the aim of altering guests' perceptions, something this "upside-down" room certainly achieves.

Two Lions - Propeller Island City Lodge, Berlin

The hotel offers themed abodes ranging from the tame to the extreme. The Two Lions room, complete with cages, has a two-way mirror into the next room for real exhibitionists.

Gruft - Propeller Island City Lodge, Berlin

Deep sleepers should perhaps avoid the Gothic beds at this unique hotel in Berlin – or just opt for a less terrifying bed in the "labyrinth" part of the room below.

Hostel Celica, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Travellers who want jailtime without compromising their sense of style should also check out the clean lines (well, there are lots of bars) at this converted prison in Slovenia.

The Old Jail, Mount Gambier, South Australia, Australia

Independently minded travellers who yawn in the face of "bright, airy and spacious" should check out this budget hostel.

Das Park Hotel, Linz, Austria

Who would have thought concrete could be comfy? These renovated sewage pipes are, thankfully, clean and functional and sit on the banks of the Danube, making them a perfect post-industrial bolt hole.

The Dog Bark Park Inn, Idaho, USA

Sleeping in the doghouse is no bad thing at this bed & breakfast, imaginatively set inside a 12ft beagle. Created by a pair of "chainsaw artists", the lodgings benefit from a cozy alcove in the dog's muzzle.

The Mirror Room - Propeller Island City Lodge, Berlin

Hotel de Rome - Berlin

Located on Bebel Square, this antique building was constructed in 1889. From the rooftop terrace, guests can look out over the German capital’s centre, from the cathedral to the television tower.

lebua at State Tower - Bangkok

On the banks of the Chao Phraya River, this is the second largest building in the Thai capital. The Sirocco restaurant is based on the 63rd floor and at the bar, there is a protruding balcony where guests can seemingly float above the city.

Jumeirah Beach Hotel - Dubai

The Jumeirah Beach Hotel is a luxurious lifestyle and beach hotel in Dubai. Two roof terraces offer guests amazing vistas. From the 360 Bar on the roof of the Marina Restaurant, guests overlook the coast of the Persian Gulf while enjoying a shisha pipes and light lounge music. A similarly spectacular sight awaits the guests visiting the elegant Uptown Bar on the 24th floor.

Is this the weirdest hotel room in the world? The £380-a-night suite... 500ft below ground!

Forget the penthouse suite, one unusual hotel is sending its most important guests 500ft below ground to sleep.
The Sala Silvermine Hotel, in Vdstmanland County, Sweden, has created a room so far beneath the earth's surface that it can only be accessed through a mine lift shaft - which sends guests 509ft into the ground in a matter of seconds.
The bizarre bedroom, which costs £380 a night, comes complete with a luxurious double bed, silver furnishings and champagne platter.

Home from home? The decor in the bedroom is certainly minimalistic

But anyone who lives by their phone would be best off staying in one of the hotel's 14 ground-level rooms as there is certainly no mobile signal down there.
In fact, the only way visitors can communicate with the outside world is through the dedicated personal intercom connected to reception on the surface.
And guests are warned to bring warm clothing as temperatures have been known to drop to a chilly two degrees celsius at the bottom of the cavernous mine.
But don't worry, the room itself is actually located in a warm air pocket, with relatively balmy temperatures of 18 degrees.

Down but not out: Visitors access the suite through a lift which plunges them 509ft below the earth's surface

Despite its shortcomings, the mine suite is so popular with those looking for an alternative stay that it is fully booked Friday-Sunday all year round. 
The hotel's director of marketing, Sofie Andersson, said: 'We haven't heard of any other venues with such a unique location, especially none so far under ground.

'People may think that a hotel suite in a mine will be cold and dark, but the mine suite is located in one of our warm halls where the temperature is 18 degrees.

'We have also used chandelier-like lamps and candle holders to illuminate the room in a way that lights up the silvery surfaces to get the right glow.
'Silver can feel very cold or warm depending on the lighting, so that was really important.
'It is easily the most extraordinary place to stay in the world in our opinion. And the environment is real and not artificial like many hotels.' 

VIP treatment: The secluded luxury afforded by the hotel room has made it a popular choice for people looking for unusual accommodation

The silver mine in the town of Sala was originally dug by miners who carried the silver ore out by hand.
They each painstakingly slaved away, chipping at the mine's face at a rate of just one metre a month.
It took nearly 10 years just to carve out the bedroom, thanks to the slow mining method employed at the time, called fire-setting. It involves burning wood, which is used to heat up and crack the silver, allowing it to be chipped away more easily.
But the end result has visitors raving about the unusual accommodation.

As it was: The silver mine wasn't always so welcoming

One guest from Denmark said: 'The night was brilliant - but be aware of warm clothing in order to visit the toilet as the caves are two degrees at night.
'I can only recommend this experience to everybody who is looking for the unusual.'
Another, from Ireland, excitedly proclaimed: 'It definitely has the wow factor.'
For at least 400 years the mine was Sweden's largest and most important silver producer, and today the area has also been developed into a venue for events and adventures.
Ms Andersson added: 'Since the mine shut down the underground hotel experience has become the new silver and is what makes people from far away visit Sala once again.
'We connect the past with life today and have created a room that will be interesting and feel right in the future too.'

Resort to feature underwater rooms

 

Visitors to the Amphibious 1000 resort, which is not built yet, can stay in underwater rooms and check out a sea life centre in the lobby.
It’s the latest barmy tourist project to get the go-ahead in (where else?) Qatar, and it will cost a cool £310million to develop.
Italian architecture firm Giancarlo Zema Design Group dreamt up the crazy plans, designed to look like a giant octopus.
The vast complex is actually four linked hotels that resemble yachts, and will be built in the middle of a marine reserve.

The resort will also feature an ‘aquarium lounge’ and ‘jellyfish suites’ - pods with rooms, lounges and an underwater observatory.
Giancarlo Zema is famed for his underwater designs. He said: “We believe that the future of architecture is on the water and that shortly man will be more and more inclined towards living a floating experience.”
We’re sure his latest venture will earn wave reviews…

The world's first 'space hotel'

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These are the jaw-dropping plans for Russia’s first ‘space hotel’ – called the Commercial Space Station.
Orbital Technologies are behind the project, which will float 217 miles above the earth and apparently open in 2016.
It has room for only seven guests in its four cabins, but their stay promises to be comfortable.

Staff will serve tasty meals, like braised veal cheeks with wild mushrooms, which are made on Earth and sent up to be reheated in microwaves. Iced tea will also be available.
Visitors can sleep on vertical or horizontal beds and enjoy specially sealed showers. The overall experience, according to Orbital Technologies, will be ‘far more comfortable’ than the International Space Station.
We should hope so too, as the price tag is, err, astronomical. According to reports, a five-day stay could cost £100,000, on top of £500,000 for the journey - a two-day ride in a Soyuz rocket.
Scientists and researchers are also being encouraged to use the facility.
Sergei Kostenko, chief executive of Orbital Technologies, told RIA Novosti: “A hotel should be comfortable inside, and it will be possible to look at the Earth through large portholes.
“The hotel will be aimed at wealthy individuals and people working for private companies who want to do research in space.”
It will follow the same orbit as the International Space Station.
An American company, Bigelow Aerospace, is also planning a private space station that uses an innovative inflatable design, but will not be geared towards tourism.


 


 

Airy, Woven Beauty With a Japanese-Themed Interior

With its bi-layer steel lattice exterior offering a practical yet highly dynamic way to repurpose what was previously an old house, Tori Tori Restaurant – located in Mexico City – is the exciting result of a collaboration between industrial designer Hector Esrawe and Rojkind Arquitectos. Filtered light streams through its open air pattern and into the perimeter of the very successful Japanese eatery, creating what seems to be an organic yet structured representation of the surrounding ivy-covered walls. This is one of those stop-and-stare structures that easily demonstrates that the days of cookie cutter box designs are fortunately over and done with

Yellow Treehouse

Standing 12 feet tall and spanning an equally impressive 10 feet in width, New Zealand’s plantation poplar-constructed Yellow Treehouse restaurant – nestled on the forest edge and accessible via a meandering 60 meter pathway – accommodates 18 diners in seriously lofty style. With its chrysalis-like vibe that spirals upward toward an open ended top, the organic design employs structural timber trusses which work in tandem with its central Redwood tree base to support the entire restaurant. Overall, the final look is one of an enchanting childhood fantasy come to life.

Darkness Abounds in a Lviv, Ukraine Din-Din Shroud

A Ukrainian undertaker and funeral home director must have thought to himself, “Egads! I know what’s been missing from the dining scene for far too long…a little dash of death to help us digest the bitter pill of our mortality!!” In keeping with his whopper of a brainstorm, the enterprising entrepreneur created a massive pine coffin restaurant replica called Eternity — acknowledged by the Guinness Book of World Records as being the largest in the world — and adhered to dreary thematic touches such as funeral music, depressingly crummy carnation wreaths and multiple human-sized coffins propped up against the black landscape plastic-lined walls.

Dinner in the Sky

Better not be afraid of heights if you step on board the swinging platform of Dinner in the Sky’s instant movable restaurant with a view. Hatched up by an apparently wacky and thrill-seeking Belgium company, they seem to be doing quite well given the fact that they are offering their distinctive crane-hoisted experience in major cities around the globe, including directly above the Grand Canyon, Paris’ Notre Dame, the Las Vegas Strip and naturally, glitzy Dubai. For the equivalent of an average blue collar salary ($30,000), you too can achieve new heights of dining glory with (hopefully) 22 of your closest seriously seat-buckled friends as you clink glasses at a height of 162 feet for two ever-so-brief yet undoubtedly memorable hours. Mangia!

Honeycomb Restaurant

Have you heard what all the buzz is about in Shenzhen, China? Ever since SAKO Architects constructed the 1300 square meter Honeycomb restaurant, area residents have been enjoying its large public space for special events as well as its intimate dinner nooks, all stylistically divided with a white spiral honeycomb-studded staircase. Featuring sleek transparent acrylic plastic partitions, undulating wave-like white aerated room sectionals, black granite flooring and mirror-like ceilings, the contrast of carefully appointed details with a space-age undercurrent work harmoniously to create a dynamic dining space that any diligent worker bee would happily want to cool their heels off in.

Funky French Archipelago Dining Design is Especially Tres Fine

In a land dotted with endlessly quaint outdoor cafes, French designer Matali Crasset conceived of a vibrant indoor eating configuration that offers a modern interpretation of an archipelago with multiple satellite dining zones. Located inside a shopping mall at Cab 3000, St Laurent du Var, this Nouveau cafe design concept offers a dash of eye candy as well as a festive indoor solution to the open air dining culture that is so intrinsically a part of the French lifestyle. Even better, the designer created a fully movable unit which can be easily relocated to future locations that may be more optimal.

A Maldivian Deep Sea Spectacle

For those who never quite got their sea legs down pat but still long for the hypnotic views that only the ocean can provide will undoubtedly be enamored with the Maldivian spectacle known as Ithaa, which in the region’s native tongue means “pearl”. Indeed, the $5 million restaurant is an ocean bound treasure, located 15 feet below the Indian Ocean to be precise, but you better be prepared to sell off any spare gold dental fillings you might have or at least a whole bunch of platelets to afford their $120 lunch or $250 dinner. Still, some might feel that it’s an experience well worth the bank account damage. Situated on Rangali Island, Ithaa restaurant is believed to be a one-of-a-kind underwater restaurant encapsulated entirely in very thick clear, aquarium style R-Cast acrylic, enabling patrons to enjoy 270 degree views of coral reefs and the naturally indigenous marine life.

Japan’s Deeply Rooted Eatery

Upon initial review, this novelty restaurant perched atop a rustic looking tree is quite impressive with its 20 foot tall weathered foundation and internal elevator which transports patrons up to the main dining area. The hearty vines ensconcing the trunk add to the overall impression that this is a tree with a storied life, but in actuality, it possesses the heart and soul of plain old concrete. In spite of that buzz kill, the Naha Harbor Diner has earned a reputation as offering an outstanding view of Onoyama Park and the harbor as well as serving up really tasty, locally sourced organic ethnic cuisine running the gamut from Japanese and Indian to Italian.

Germany’s Fully Automated, Quick-n-Quirky Restaurant

Boasting a Wallace and Gromit-like, spiral-configured and entirely automated gravity feed rail system, Michael Mack is the brainchild behind ’s Baggers highly entertaining and quite efficient automated ordering and direct-to-table delivery service. Essentially rendering waiters and waitresses obsolete, his patented, computer-networked process could enable other restaurateurs to focus on the business of serving good food and pass their saved personnel costs onto patrons. Endowing diners with greater control over the pace of their meals, the novelty aspect alone is enough to help Mack gain a devoted following and court fast food chains like McDonald’s, which he is very eager to license the idea to.

Holy Post Cafe – Coffee Shop, Church & Post Office

It’s the trifecta – some might say the holy trinity of cafe combinations. St. Luke’s Church in the tiny village of Kinoulton, England gets potential church-goers in the door by necessity since nearly everyone has to send a letter now and then, and gets them to stay with coffee and scones. Leather sofas and contemporary dining furniture give parishioners a cozy place to chat.

Get a Mocha & A Bike Tune-Up

Dutch Bike Co. in Seattle is another bicycle-themed coffee shop where cyclists can buy a bicycle or accessories, have their own repaired or simply park and drink. The shop also rents 3-speed classic city bikes as well as ‘conference bikes’, where seven riders can sit in a circle and chat (with one steering).

Dental Clinic & Coffee Shop

It may not seem logical to down a sugary drink immedately before heading inncourages it. “We know what you’re thinking – Nobody looks forward in going to the dentist. It doesn’t have to be that way. From the moment you walk though the door, you’ll see that this not your typical dental office. Heavenly Dental Café in the Philippines is a fusion of dental clinic and coffee shop, wherein patient can relax, and have a cup of latte before their procedures begin. Patient are also welcome to enjoy a hearty light snacks, and surf the internet that sometimes it’s easy to forget that you are here for a dental appointment.”

Drink, Shop & Do

Are you enchanted by the cute, creative décor found in many coffee shops? Then you should check out London’s Drink, Shop & Do, where virtually every item you see is on the menu. Including the furniture, vintage tea sets, wall hangings and knick knacks. This set-up gives you a chance to sit and contemplate the items on display. The ‘Do’ part starts at 7:30pm, when the shop hosts crafting events like card-making and paper mache.

Coffee Shop & Florist

Combination florist/coffee shops are also surprisingly common. The Bridge City Florist in South Dakota is one of many that create a tie-in by selling not just coffee and tea, but also chocolates – a logical companion to a fresh bouquet of flowers.