21. Palacio de Sal, Bolivia
There’s a decent chance that you’ve seen pictures of Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt bed on Earth, which stretches for over 4,000 square miles in the Bolivian plateau. While its vastness offers many possibilities for cool optical illusions in photos, it also has a unique attraction you can sleep in.
Flickr/Willy Hybrid
Possibly the coolest hotel in South America, Palacio de Sal is quite literally that: a building constructed out of local blocks of salt. In addition to the fact that we wouldn’t necessarily recommend smearing your French fries across all the furniture, there is indeed a hotel rule against licking the walls.
22. DasParkHotel, Austria
Sure, we’ve all had a less than satisfying hotel experience that’s left us leaving the place declaring it was an absolute dump. But, if you were given the chance, would you want to get some R&R inside a literal sewage pipe? That’s the question that Austria’s DasParkHotel asked, and the answer, shockingly, is an emphatic yes.
Instagram/lea_and_ro
Each of these repurposed concrete sewage pipes weighs over 10 tons. They’re sparsely decorated with just a touch of varnish and wall paintings, yet their appeal alone is enough to bring in tourists by the droves. They’re so popular, in fact, that a town in neighboring Germany has opened its own version.
23. Manta Resort, Tanzania
Pemba Island off the coast of Tanzania is known as fertile fishing grounds, with powdery white sand beaches lapped by the warm waves of the Indian Ocean. And as you enjoy the dazzling view in hues of deep blue, how can you resist getting better acquainted with your marine neighbors?
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The Manta Resort has a unique feature, one that you will need to book for a minimum of three nights. It’s a hotel room designed as a floating platform, half above the water’s surface, and half below. You can gaze at the wonders of the tropical fish, and then go up to sunbathe.
24. Karosta Prison, Latvia
There’s nothing this eerie building is hiding from you: what you see is precisely what you get. This grim fortress in Liepāja, Latvia, served as a prison under the German occupation during World War II, and for punishment of deserting Soviet afterwards. Coming in here doesn’t mean you’re going to get pampered.
Wikimedia Commons/Keith Ruffles
In fact, there is an actual waiver that guests need to sign before they proceed. You get to experience what it was like to be a prisoner, and as if the guards’ hostility isn’t enough, the building is reputedly haunted. Come enjoy – if you’re really into that sort of thing.
25. Taj Palace Hotel Udaipur, India
The hundreds of local princes and maharajas that were once in power across India left behind just as many royal palaces. Many of them have been converted into hotels, but few could be quite as breathtaking of a sight as the white-bleached Taj Palace Hotel in the city of Udaipur in Rajasthan.
Getty Images/EyesWideOpen
The Jag Niwas palace was built 270 years ago by the Mewar royal dynasty, on an island in the middle of Lake Pichola. Every inch of space on the island has been covered by one of the coolest hotel experiences in India, so it looks like it rises out of the waves.
Sources: Huffington Post, Bored Panda
