Although a number of hotels these days have opted for the sleek, angular and minimalist design, there are still a lot of hotels out there that opt for an innovative approach.  So today we’re featuring ten of the most unusual hotels that we’ve come across.

1. The ICE HOTEL

The ICEHOTEL in Jukkasjärvi in Swedish Lapland was started by artists in 1996. The artists come from Australia, Bulgaria, Chile, England, Japan, Norway, Spain, Sweden and USA. Some have been here before, others not. Some have never before worked with snow and ice. It is a mix of men and women between thirty and seventy years of age, painters, multimedia designers, art directors and interior designers.

2. Kelebek Cave Hotel

Located right in the heart of Göreme, the Kelebek Cave Hotel is located amidst the “fairy chimney” rock formations in Cappadocia, Turkey. Carved during Hittite, Byzantine and Roman days, it now hosts 31 different rooms, some within caves, some within fairy chimneys, and others within traditional stone arched rooms.

3. The Survival Capsule Hotel

Part of VLNR project TEMPSC, the  Survival Capsule Hotel is made from travelling oil rig survival capsules. These capsule hotels constantly switches locations within the Hague, Netherlands,  giving guests a different experience each time.  It’s most current location is in Binckhorst.

4. Malmaison Prison Hotel

What was once the Oxford Prison is now the Malmaison Hotel Oxford. The first prison in the UK ever to be converted into a hotel, the prison itself is a Grade I listed building and is largely unaltered; the cells, basement and many of the fixtures and fittings have been preserved, resulting in a hotel with a unique and eccentric character.

5. Dog Bark Park Inn

A must for dog lovers, Dog Bark Park Inn in Idaho, USA, is set inside a 12ft beagle. Created by a pair of “chainsaw artists”, the lodgings benefit from a cozy alcove in the dog’s muzzle.

6. Das Park Hotel

Situated within Rodlpark, Das Park Hotel in Ottensheim, Austria is actually made out of renovated sewer pipes. This experimental hotel was conceptualized by Andi Strauss and can be found along the banks of the Danube.

7.  Whitepod

Based in Switzerland, the Whitepod was the brainchild of Sofia de Meyer. The Whitepod camp consists of “five pods (dome shaped tents) pitched on raised wooden platforms around a traditional Alpine chalet.” Each of these pods serves as a double or single bedroom; complete with wood burning stove and hi-tech insulation to keep you warm all night long. The nearby chalet houses the dining room, bar and library.

8. Taprobane Island

Taprobane Island is a historic luxury hotel located on a rocky island close to Weligama, Sri Lanka. The hotel is named after the old Greek word for Sri Lanka. The island was previously owned by the Count de Maunay who, exiled from France, fell in love with Weligama Bay. It was he who had the villa built on this tiny island. Another previous owner was the American author and composer Paul Bowles.

9. Quinta Real Zacatecas

The Quinta Real Zacatecas in Mexico is built into the grandstand of the restored San Pedro bullfighting ring, which was built in the 19th century and witnessed its last corrida in 1975.

10. Exploranter

Owned by Flavio Melo, the Exploranter is an overland hotel with self contained facilities, kitchen and accommodation that operates in Brazil, Chile Argentina and the Andes – with routes going into Patagonia, Atacma, Patanai plus some other less traveled places.  The 25-ton Scania truck and trailer that make up the Exploranter’s lounge, kitchen and 28-berth sleeping quarters can go ‘on the backroads, to parts of Brazil that nobody knows, according to the owner.