We see a lot of hotels. A lot. Online and in real life. So many that they can start to feel and look a little same-same, especially from the outside.
That’s partly understandable, right? There are only so many variations on the basic lobby-restaurant-bar-room-suite-spa-pool configuration. This may explain why we’re extra struck when we see a hotel that inspires a “hot damn, that’s cool” reaction, like these dozen architectural wonders that caught our eye for their style, creativity, and anything-but-ordinary appeal.
Shipwreck Lodge, Skeleton Coast, Namibia
Natural Selection refers to this as “castaway luxury” — ten cabins designed to recall the shipwrecks that met their fate along Namibia’s Skeleton Coast National Park. Among the impressive sustainability credentials are the efficient use of solar and wind power, building materials like timber nails and recycled plastic bottle insulation, and art and decor made by locals.
Hotel Hubertus, Valdaora, Italy
Two wildly conceived additions were made to a small, typical-looking, family-run chalet in the Dolomites. A wellness center called Hub of Huts, with cold rain showers and hot saunas, appears to be both right side up and upside down (and referred to as Heaven & Hell). A sensational Sky Pool cantilevered over the landscape with a glass bottom makes swimmers feel like they are floating between earth and sky. The engineering marvels were designed by Network of Architecture, who were given free rein to design and execute.
Treehotel, Swedish Lapland
A couple of Laplanders made a bold move in the northernmost reaches of Sweden, enlisting architect friends to design treehouses with a lot of visual — but little ecological — impact. Stockholm firm Tham & Videgård designed the extraordinary aluminum structure with reflective glass to give the illusion that the 4x4x4 Mirrorcube for two is floating among the pines.
Keemala Phuket, Thailand
Like something out of Avatar, Keemala’s village of villas is incorporated into its lush surroundings — jungle, waterfalls, fruit orchard, streams. Inspired by a mythical story of Phuket’s early settlers, Thai firm Architect Space used clay, bamboo, and woven rattan for their hanging pods and cocoon-like pavilion.
Tschuggen Grand Hotel, Arosa, Switzerland
Underneath those Mario Botta-designed glass sails is the four-story Tschuggen Bergoase Spa carved into the mountain at Tschuggen Grand Hotel.
Ovo Patagonia, Patagonia, Argentina
Not a room, not a suite, but a capsule for two people who have no qualms about spending the night suspended 270 meters up in the air, tethered to the rock face of a mountain. The interior is divided into three levels: the top for sleeping, the middle for a lounge and dry toilet, the bottom just a net, in case they didn’t feel suspended enough up there.
Wilderness Bisate Lodge, Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda
Guest who come to trek with the mountain gorillas, but live like the birds in one of six nest-like villas that blend into the rainforest environment and overlook three volcanoes.
Sunrise Kempinski Hotels, Beijing, China
Shanghai Huadu Architect Design Company used 10,000 glass panels on this egg-like hotel outside Bejing, to better reflect Yanqi Lake and the surrounding mountains.
The Mukara at Conrad Maldives Rangali Island, Maldives
The Maldives may be famous for their beautiful overwater bungalows, but The Mukara suite is notable because the best parts are under water — a see-through dome covers the bedroom; acrylic walls line a living area and the bathroom. Please hold all “sleeps with the fishes” jokes.
TWA Hotel, JFK Airport, New York City
Eero Saarinen’s landmark, opened in 1962 as TWA’s Flight Center, remains the most beautiful airport terminal ever built. We’re glad it got a second life as a TWA Hotel, a nostalgia-filled, 512-room hotel with a rooftop pool overlooking the runways and a cocktail lounge in a refitted 1958 TWA airplane. It’s incentive to volunteer to get bumped from a redeye.
Hotel Terrestre, Puerto Escondido, Mexico
We’re including this Brutalist-inspired hotel on the Oaxacan coast designed by Alberto Kalach of Taller de Arquitectura X (TAX) for its impressive eco cred: 100 percent solar powered and off the grid, its building materials were sourced within one kilometer of the property.
Jade Mountain, St. Lucia
This is another one whose bright colors, floating infinity pools, open-air room configurations, interconnecting levels, and jungle-meets-mountains-meets-sea setting gave us strong Avatar vibes.
This article originally appeared on our Substack newsletter, Way to Go, where we share our special travel info with subscribers.