When a standard hotel room just won't do, head for one of the world's weirdest hotels. From an underwater hotel to a hotel in the shape of a Beagle dog, there are plenty to choose from!
Conceived as a hospitality tool, Dasparkhotel in Austria provides accommodation constructed from incredibly robust, repurposed drain pipes. Externally simple, the pipes contain a comfortable interior with double beds, full-height headroom, sleeping bags and woolly blankets. Nearby public space provides toilets, showers and a café.
Formerly a German prison, the somewhat bizarre Alcatraz Hotel in the heart of the German town of Kaiserslautern consists of 56 rooms plus a conference centre. Guests can choose to stay in one of the former jail cells, complete with its own toilet and bars at the window.
Dog Bark Park Inn, Idaho, USA brings a whole new meaning to being in the doghouse. The hotel is built in the shape of a Beagle dog and guests enter from the second storey. Up another level is a loft room inside the head of the dog and the animal's muzzle contains a cosy alcove.
Many happy visitors have stayed in New Zealand's Tasman Boot hotel over the last ten years since its conception. The Boot was devised by Steve Richards, who turned his idea into an eccentric giant-boot guest house. It is a romantic, if rather unusual, hideaway in the shape of a very large boot!
Poseidon Undersea Resorts provide the world's first undersea hotel on a private island in Fiji. A truly unique experience, visitors access the resort by lift and will sleep 40ft underwater in total luxury. Walls are made of thick acrylic, providing spectacular views of fish and corals.
The Crazy House in Vietnam has to be seen to be believed. This strange, twisted house resembles a castle from a fairy tale. No window is round or rectangular and the house is five storeys high. Bizarrely shaped, with incredible walkways, the real name is Hang Nga Guesthouse.
The Ice Hotel in Sweden is made purely of ice and snow. Guests are offered midnight ice-sculpting classes in midsummer when the northern sun does not completely set. Thankfully, warm fur clothing is provided.
Cappadocia Elkep Evi Cave Hotel offers rooms or suites in caves set into the hillside above Urgup, Capodicia, in Turkey. The complex provides delicious, home-cooked meals and is the perfect setting to enjoy nature and the splendid views over the town.
In Kladesholmen, Sweden, is a 46-bedroom hotel situated on pontoons. At The Salt and Sill Hotel, the first floating hotel in the country, all rooms lead out to a seating area where guests can enjoy peace and quiet.
In the small town of Teufen, Switzerland, is the Null Stern Hotel, the first zero-star-rated hotel in the world. A former nuclear bunker, it would have held 200 people in time of crisis. Now it sleeps 14 and contains two large, open rooms with no dividers for privacy. With concrete walls and original ducting, the hotel boasts antique beds for those inquisitive enough to stay there.