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Think your last apartment or hotel room was small? Believe it or not, there are a lot of contenders for the dubious title of smallest hotel on the planet. Some claim it by number of rooms, others by size and all are quick to defend their position. However, you can judge for yourself after taking a look at this incredible collection of the tiniest hotels in the world!
A few feet from the flowing Danube river in Germany, these cramped Das Park pipe hotel accommodations seem as cozy as they are tiny. Simplicity is the key word to these elegant designs, blank round pipes on the exterior and minimally finished rooms on the inside. Even better, guests get to stay in a lovely park setting and pay only what they want to.
The Yotel airport hotel is as cleverly designed as it was named, a slick luxury hotel room in a very small space. It is located incredibly close to the check-in counter at London’s Heathrow airport and comes with flat screen televisions, wireless internet and 24 hour room service. The basic idea is to blend luxury, convenience and reasonable pricing as well as clever and creative space solutions that maximize comfort and minimize space.
On the island El Hierro, a part of the Canary archipelago, sits the strange little Punta Grande stone hotel that is the opposite of luxurious. It has no amenities to speak of and sits dangerously close to the waves, which often toss up over the rocks and hit the sides of the hotel itself. Nonetheless, it is a beautiful getaway for those seeking a full retreat from the typical bustle of urban living.
This one room hotel in Cambodia is arguably the most luxurious guest room in the world, or the smallest, or maybe even both. Despite having only one room this hotel has everything a normal hotel would, including a reception area, doorman and ful services found in any respectable hotel setting. The single room can even be turned into a restaurant on demand.
The town of Eernum, Hollad is perhaps too eager for the title of smallest hotel in the world. As their own modest one room hotel’s website itself points out: it is the town’s only claim to fame, alongside its three cafes, candle maker an mustard museum. Nonetheless, they do boast a Guinness Book of Records spot for their curious an quaint accommodations and a crown prince’s wedding night as well.
Though most people have heard of them by now, not mentioning capsule hotels in a list of the world’s tiniest hotel rooms would be impossible. Despite their almost unbelievably small size, capsule hotel rooms can cost as much as $40 a night and often feature surprising amenities including wireless internet access and television sets. Outside of the rooms themselves, vending machines, restaurants, pools and other communal spaces can also typically be found. On a more humorous note, thrill-seeking foreigners are sometimes discouraged from staying in these, while intoxicated local businessmen too drunk to go home are welcome.
The Phillips so-called “One Star Is Born” high-tech hotel project may be the wave of the future, based as much on economic savings as on technological innovation. The Citizenm hotel in Amsterdam is a test version including ready-made rooms that are jacked into a grid when a customer arrives and set to their preset preferences. In theory, this will provide greater customization for the user while reducing costs.
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57 Comments
December 20th, 2007 at 10:44 pm
I would love to stay at any of these destinations. It looks fun and interesting. Not your typical Holiday Inn. I’m so sick of those anyway.
In the US I seek out Bed and Breakfast establishments whenever I can. Those are alway surprising and I get to meet and talk with the owners.
Love your blog.
Lisa
December 21st, 2007 at 12:24 am
So small, yet so fancy.
December 21st, 2007 at 10:51 am
Well, i also like all these destinations and concept of hotels.
Please Someone sponsored me to travel and visit all these places.
December 21st, 2007 at 11:46 pm
Mostly cute except for the capsule hotel. It looks too much like a community mausoleum, creepy!
December 22nd, 2007 at 6:53 am
odliÄ?na i vrlo zabavna mjesta, u nekim od mojih slijedećih putovanja pokuÅ¡at ću ih posjetiti
December 22nd, 2007 at 7:36 am
Yeah, really funny hotels
December 22nd, 2007 at 4:01 pm
The Urbanist did not list my favorite mini lodging, the Jules Underwater Lodge. I visited it once –it’s quite the interesting experience. Here’s the website for the lodge:
http://www.jul.com/
December 22nd, 2007 at 11:08 pm
That was actually featured in a previous article on underwater hotels, David, but it is a great one!
December 23rd, 2007 at 11:50 am
Interesting designs. I like the picture of the concrete tube! Very inspirational
December 24th, 2007 at 1:32 am
Amazing
December 24th, 2007 at 7:34 am
Very interesting places I would think many travelers would like to try. What they may lack in size, they more than make up for in uniqueness.
December 25th, 2007 at 11:04 pm
Check my sleeping modules out. They are like the Japanese Capsul Hotel except they are for outdoor use.
December 27th, 2007 at 4:03 pm
I have a US Patent 6981347 B1 entitled Modular Emergency Shelter System. These are like the Japanese Capsul Hotel modules but they are primarily for outdoor use. I developed this concept as emergency shelter for homeless people but have yet to convince enough people to try it. I am not trying to profit off homeless people I will not take royalties if used for the homeless in California but I retain developmental rights. Just keep in mind my patent and please contact me so hopefully you can showcase this humanitarian concept. 310-828-9328
December 31st, 2007 at 4:14 pm
Rockford, Ohio….LOL……
January 1st, 2008 at 5:53 am
This website is remarkable. I love the concept of the mini hotel room. The capsule ones do disturb me though. Too sci-fi. They look like freezer rooms or microwaves.
January 2nd, 2008 at 12:50 pm
Size really isn’t important in picking a hotel room- cleanliness is. I only wish you had done the dirty work and provided the relative prices for these tiny pads. Great story.
January 2nd, 2008 at 5:35 pm
As long as the bed is really comfortable, the shower had good water pressure, the room is clean, and I can get the temperature down to about 65 degrees, I’d probably be happy in there.
January 2nd, 2008 at 10:08 pm
I wonder how people with claustrophobia (like me) manage to get into those famous rectangular-box-hotels of tokyo !
January 3rd, 2008 at 2:51 pm
The capsule hotel reminds me of Neuromancer’s “coffin hotels,” though the former sounds slightly more hospitable. I guess all that old cyberpunk fiction is getting closer and closer to reality.
January 7th, 2008 at 11:01 pm
Where do I go to make reservations? Since they are so small what is the price like?
January 22nd, 2008 at 7:57 pm
Anyone here ever experience an Amtrak sleep car? Ok then.
February 7th, 2008 at 1:14 am
So small, yet so cool. I´d love to stay in one of those hotels :)
February 24th, 2008 at 9:31 am
a different way…
March 14th, 2008 at 11:52 am
The website of the Cambodian hotel you mention has been pwned, so might want to take off that link. (The executable analysis is at http://www.virustotal.com/anal.....328ff21f89)
March 15th, 2008 at 8:48 am
the second one is my favorite!
April 6th, 2008 at 5:25 am
It is amazing! I could never believe that there are so small hotel rooms!
May 19th, 2008 at 1:08 am
Oh, wow! Those rooms are really small! Defenitely not good for my claustrophobia! ;)
May 28th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
i pooped in my pants…………….FUCK
July 19th, 2008 at 9:10 am
Cool! They look so comfy and cozy. I don’t mind getting myself one of those round tube ones with only me and my girlfriend :p
October 1st, 2008 at 9:27 am
Three small and remarcable hotelrooms can also be found in the Harbour of Harlingen, the Netherlands. The first is situated in the light room of the old light house, the second one is located in a harbour crane (which still can rotate!) and the third in a lifeguard boat. for more info: http://www.vuurtoren-harlingen.nl/site.html
October 12th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Nice list! There’s also a great one-room hotel inside some billboards in Berlin:
http://travel.spotcoolstuff.co.....oom-hotel/
October 14th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Such imagination and high creativity made into reality.
Very cool!
October 16th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
I would stay in a capsule, just so I could buy some underwear from the vending machine. :-)
October 21st, 2008 at 7:08 am
You know, I am not really sure I could deal with the first one all too well. I have done a lot of camping and it is probably bigger than some of the tents I have slept in, but being that it is all cement, I think I would feel too confined.
October 23rd, 2008 at 2:11 pm
?????? ?? ???????,?? ???????? ????????.????? ????? ???? ????? ?????? ? ??????? ???? ? ?????????? ???????? ? ?????????? ? ???? ???????.
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October 24th, 2008 at 7:39 am
Great Post,
We mostly report on the Jet Set but this stuff was pretty cool. I’ll pass it along.
Best,
Rob
October 26th, 2008 at 7:11 pm
I wouldn’t feel comfortable at all in the Das Park pipe hotel or the capsules.
October 30th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
You have to hand it to the people who thought of these. Who would think that people would stay in them.
car heathrow london
November 3rd, 2008 at 4:00 pm
the capsule and pipe hotels are crazy
November 20th, 2008 at 11:37 am
I hope the sewage drainage pips are heated, otherwise it must get awful cold there.
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