This hotel room is a little bit minimalist, a little bit rock n’ roll, and if you’re too much of the former persuasion, the chaos of the latter half might irritate your less-is-more sensibilities. Seen straight-on, the installation by Kiev artist Pavel Vetrov looks like a Photoshopped illusion, or perhaps a split view of a before-and-after design project. Which side is the before and which the after depends on your aesthetic preferences.

A razor-sharp line divides the two halves of the room, beginning at the top of the back wall, traveling right through the center of the bed and across the floor to the other wall. Everything from the duvet and TV cabinet to the books and a canvas propped against the brick gets the half-painted treatment.

On the minimalist side, nearly everything is colorless, save for a few pops of vibrancy in the wall art. The other side is a creative explosion of paint and prints, with designs scrawled all over nearly every surface.

The installation is inspired by a 2012 project called ‘Panic Room’ by French graffiti artist TILT, who took one half of a monochromatic hotel room and completely obliterated every hint of white. The original state of the room reflects a feeling of calmness, while the other half is utterly chaotic, hence the project’s name.

If your idea of a romantic getaway is to sleep in surreal, vaguely medieval rooms within a Trojan horse, perhaps you should be spending your Valentine’s Day at the bizarre La Balade des Gnomes Hotel in Belgium. ‘The Walk of the Gnomes’ offers ten themed rentals made of natural materials – the polar opposite of typical sterile, cookie cutter hotel rooms.

Architect Mr. Noel created the hotel on what was formerly an ordinary farm in the charming historic town of Durbuy, to complement his restaurant next door. The most stunning suite, from the outside, is the Trojan Horse, but the hotel also offers a troll’s lair and a Macquarie Island room with a boat-shaped bed.

The natural building material cob, which is mud mixed with lime and straw, provides an ideal medium with which to sculpt irregular walls inlaid with mosaics and twisted branches. Some rooms look like castles straight out of Game of Thrones while others resemble alien landscapes.

No matter which room you choose, staying at this highly unusual hotel is bound to be an experience to remember. Rooms start at just €115 ($153).

In Japan, thousands of years of traditional culture collide with the almost futuristically modern vibe of larger cities like Tokyo to present a traveler’s dream of varied experience. That fusion is echoed in the nation’s many hotels, which range from serene ryokans, or traditional inns, to unabashedly out-there ‘love hotels’ with amazing themed rooms (got an alien abduction fantasy? You’re in luck.)

Hoshino Resort Risonare, Kobuchizawa

(images via: risonare.com, klein-dytham)

Designed by Italian architect Mario Bello in the 1980s, ‘Risonare’ is a peaceful getaway in the Japanese Alps at the foot of Mount Yatsugatake. It’s a modern interpretation of medieval walled cities in Italy, and is managed sustainably with eco-tourism in mind. The complex includes a stunning oval ‘Leaf Chapel’, and a reflective dining and party space referred to as ‘Brillare’, both by Klein Dytham Architects, making this resort a popular choice for weddings and other special events.

9 Hours Capsule Hotel, Kyoto

(images via: 9hours.jp)

Capsule hotels – where your ‘room’ is literally a hole in the wall, resembling a corpse drawer in a morgue – can be found all over Japan. And while you could certainly stay among the snoring salarymen, you might have more fun at the 9 Hours Capsule Hotel, a modern version of these low-cost no-frills beds-for-rent. With a minimalist, nearly all-white aesthetic and some unexpected perks like ‘digital entertainment options’, 9h is a fun way to experience Japan on a budget.

Queen Elizabeth Love Hotel, Kanagawa

(image via: tokyo times)

Japan is packed with thousands of ‘love hotels’ – lodging that can be rented by the hour. Not just for illicit activities, these hotel rooms can only be rented by couples and are often used for a quick private getaway. The options for themed fantasy rooms are practically endless, ranging from kinky to downright bizarre. The Queen Elizabeth Love Hotel in Kanagawa, near Tokyo, is one of the country’s most popular. Shaped like the famed Queen Elizabeth ship and painted in hues of pink and red, this love hotel features a weird tribute to the movie Titanic with statues of the characters Jack and Rose perched on the bow. Most of the rooms here have a naval theme.

Bayside Marina Hotel, Yokohama

(images via: design boom)

Stacked, prefabricated modular units make up the modern ‘cottages’ at the Bayside Marina Hotel in Yokohama, designed by Yasutaka Yoshimura architects. The cottages are each placed at a unique angle so that every guest has a slightly different view of the bay.

Hotel Pamplona, Osaka

(image via: morning news)

Another love hotel, the Pamplona in the Dotonbori district of Osaka, is definitely one-of-a-kind and not an experience you’ll find in many other countries. The hotel is unapologetically sex-centered and among its many unusual themed rooms are a ‘party room’ resembling a torture chamber and an S&M room with a round caged bed. Not for the shy or faint of heart!

Fujiya Inn, Ginzan Hot Springs, Yamagata

(images via: chictraveler)

Want to stay in a hotel that’s modern yet quintessentially Japanese, without all the kitsch and bizarre décor? The 8-room 4-star Fujiya Inn boasts a relaxing location on the Ginzan hot springs in the Yamagata Prefecture. Crafted almost entirely of wood, the hotel is serene and inviting, ideal as a stress-busting retreat in between long soaks in the springs.

The Screen Boutique Hotel, Kyoto

(images via: tablethotels)

Somewhere in between a sleek modern hotel and a ryokan is the Screen Hotel in Kyoto, a hybrid boutique peppered with shoji screens and tatami mats but dominated by swaths of crisp white and unexpected pops of bright color. Each of the thirteen guest rooms was designed by a different artist. The blocky concrete exterior is a far cry from the surrounding city’s traditional Japanese looks and culture, but it’s fun and stylish and unlike most ryokans, provides sofas for Western guests who aren’t used to constantly sitting on the floor.

Peninsula Hotel, Tokyo

(images via: tokyobling, peninsula.com)

It’s not for the light of wallet, but the Peninsula Hotel definitely offers luxury to those guests who can afford to stay there. Overlooking the Imperial Palace, the Peninsula is ideally located near commercial centers in Tokyo. Its exterior was designed to resemble a traditional Japanese lantern, and inside you’ll find bamboo sculptures, lots of cherry blossoms and local art.

Hoshi Hokuriku, The World’s Oldest Inn, Awazu

(images via: ho-shi.jp)

Often named among Japan’s top 5 ryokans, Hoshi Hokuriku has an even more impressive reason to stand out: it’s been verified as the oldest hotel in the world. It opened in the 8th century and has been operated by the Hoshi family for an incredible 46 generations. The hotel itself has 100 elegant and understated rooms along with a private guest house sited in the center of the gardens, decorated in a red-and-white check pattern native to the Hokuriku region. Guests can enjoy a number of outdoor hot springs as well as two indoor hot springs baths and family baths that can be privately reserved.

Benesse Art Site Naoshima

(images via: benesse-artiste.jp)

Savor Japanese art, architecture and luxurious accommodations all in the same place at the Benesse Art Site in Naoshima. Yes, you can actually stay the night in a museum in facilities designed by renowned architect Tadao Ando and gaze out the window at stunning sunrises and sunsets in any of 6 available rooms. All look out upon outdoor art and are yards away from works by Monet, Andy Warhol and other notable artists. Particularly notable is ‘The Oval’, a guest suite built into a hill with a huge circular skylight and a reflecting pool.

Alpha Resort-Tomamu, Shimukappu

(images via: desicolours.com)

Japan even has its very own ice hotel, a resort where you can curl up on a frozen slab in a sleeping bag and marvel at the novelty of your surroundings. Alpha Resort-Tomamu’s ice village offers steaming hot tubs among giant hunks of ice, and in the nearly all-ice dining room, even your dinner plate is made of frozen water.

Hotel Loire, Osaka

(images via: jaunted)

If your deepest fantasy is being abducted and experimented upon by extraterrestrials, you’re in luck. Osaka’s Hotel Loire (yep, another love hotel) has a very special room that is either outrageously fun and weird or totally terrifying depending on your point of view. Other kooky fantasy rooms at the hotel include a doctor’s office and a replica of a subway car.

Dotonbori Hotel, Osaka

(images via: mshades)

Three minutes from Namba Station in downtown Osaka, the Dotonbori Hotel has a lot going for it in terms of location and reputation – it’s a popular destination for travelers on business or vacation. And while the interior is not nearly as eye-popping as many other hotels in Japan, it’s the exterior that really grabs people’s attention with its wonderfully weird gigantic statues.

Traveling to Germany soon on business or vacation – or just want to engage in a little virtual tourism on your lunch break? These 13 awesome hotels and hostels represent the incredibly fun, eclectic mix of lodging that Germany has to offer in cities like Berlin, Stuttgart and Cologne. From a wacky art hotel with 31 themed rooms to a modern musical masterpiece where you can rent a Gibson guitar through room service, these hotels will make you want to pack your bags and say, ‘Guten tag!’ Owning a hotel as fascinating and interesting as one of these would surely be the dream of any aspiring hotel owner. However, no matter what kind of hotel you have, you will want to make sure that you’ve got a reliable and functioning hotel property management system to ensure that the process of running your hotel goes smoothly every single day.

Propeller Island, Berlin

(images via: propeller-island.de)

There’s a room with a flying bed, another with coffins for beds, one with elevated cages so you can put on shows for neighboring rooms and even an upside-down room with furniture on the ceiling. Pretty much any bizarre hotel room you can imagine can be found at the Propeller Island Hotel in Berlin, where the 31 unique themed guest suites will make you want to switch rooms every night of your stay.

Arte Luise Kunsthotel, Berlin

(images vi: luise-berlin.com)

If colorful and artistic rooms that don’t look like torture chambers are more your speed, Berlin’s Art Luise Kunsthotel offers a veritable gallery of unusually decorated rooms. The pastel Kehl’s Comin room will make you feel like you’ve stepped into an illustration with its black-outlined furniture, while the surreal Red Horse room is named after an equestrian sculpture emerging from the wall. The Nest Room features a two-foot-long bird’s beak over the bed and much-larger-than-life eggs scattered around the space, and the Silke Vollmer’s Flight room is filled with airplane remnants.

V8 Hotel, Stuttgart

(images via: v8hotel.de)

Car enthusiasts can’t pass up the V8 Hotel in Stuttgart, a four-star establishment where many of the 34 guest rooms are decked out in vehicular-themed décor – a choice that makes more sense when you find out that the hotel is located on the grounds of a car museum. Not only are the beds nestled into frames made of classic cars, but the rooms have their own unique themes, like the car wash room, the Shell gas station room and a mechanic’s room.

Hotel Im Wasserturm, Cologne

(images via: hotel-im-wasserturm.de, neuwieser)

Have you ever thought to yourself, ‘On this trip, I absolutely must sleep inside a water tower!’ Okay, probably not. But you can do just that at the Hotel Im Wasserturm in Cologne. The luxurious 88-room hotel is housed within what was once the largest water tower in Europe, now 130 years old.

Nhow Berlin

(images via: nhow-hotels.com)

Design lovers who’d rather kick the kitsch in favor of something fresh and modern will love Nhow Berlin, a music-themed hotel with a cantilevered metallic exterior and a fluid, largely pink-and-white interior. Designed by Sergei Tchoban, Nhow Berlin boasts a state-of-the-art recording studio, first-rate DJ’s playing in the bar, regular concerts and live events and an on-staff music manager. You can even rent a Gibson guitar through room service.

Alcatraz Hotel, Kaiserslautern

(images via: amusingplanet)

Once, people were held in this building in Kaiserslautern, Germany quite against their will. Today, people pay good money to sleep there – in cell-sized rooms, with real cell doors and minimalist prison-like furniture. Well, not that much – it’s actually a hostel, costing just over 50 Euros per night. The reception area and cafe are behind bars and guests are given striped pajamas to wear. Check out 5 more jail hotels

Radisson Hotel’s AquaDom, Berlin

(images via: wikipedia)

The Radisson Hotel in Berlin is home to the world’s largest cylindrical aquarium, which acts as a stunning centerpiece in the lobby. Over 82 feet high and 36 feet in diameter, ‘AquaDom’ is home to 2,600 fish of 56 different species. The hotel elevator goes up through the center of the acrylic cylinder, and some lucky guests get to gaze at it from their windows.

Europa Park Hotels, Rust

(images via: resort.europapark.de)

If you’re just on a short trip to Europe, you can still experience its many nations (in the faux mini-metropolis style of Disney’s Epcot or Las Vegas casinos) at Germany’s largest theme park, Europa Park. The park, which is divided into sections named after various countries including Italy and Iceland, is also home to five full-sized hotels including Hotel Colosseo, a Roman-style resort inspired by the Colosseum. The hotel even has its own versions of Rome’s many fountains.

Baumhaus Treehouse Hotel, Görlitz

(images via: unusual hotels)

If you’re into something rustic but no less unusual, how about a stay in an actual tree house? The Baumhaus Hotel just outside Görlitz opened in 2005 with five tree houses to choose from, some perched between branches and others free-standing. Much like at a camp, you’ll find basic sleeping accomodations in the tree houses themselves while the central area offers campfires, toilets and a true German perk: beer-filled mini-bars.

Hotel Q!, Berlin

(images via: designhotels.com)

This hip boutique hotel was designed by none other than GRAFT studio, known for being a favorite of architecture-loving actor Brad Pitt. The award-winning interior design focuses on fluid lines – you’ll find very few right angles in the 77 understated guest rooms, where neutral tones and wood grain are occasionally punctuated with a pop of dramatic red.

Michelberger Hotel, Berlin

(images via: michelbergerhotel.com)

Can a budget hotel with minimal funds for decorating be cool and stylish? The answer to that question is clearly yes, if you’ve ever seen the Michelberger Hotel in Berlin. A group of friend got together to create a low-cost hotel with a comfy vibe that makes you feel like you’re crashing at a friend’s place. It’s fun, bright and airy with incredibly creative touches like a lobby decorated exclusively with magazines and a guest room wall covered in old books.

25Hours Hotel, Hamburg

(images via: 25-hours-hotels)

Still more proof that you don’t have to have a lot of cash to stay in a super-cool stylish hotel is the 25Hours Hotel in Hamburg. Designed by 3META with an open floor plan emphasizing communal space and a retro 1960s vibe, the 25Hours Hotel is packed with 420 convex chrome mirrors, shag carpets and mod lighting.

Rolling ‘Rotel Tours’ Hotel Bus

(images via: jalopnik)

It’s German in origin and spirit, but when you stay at this hotel, you can go practically anywhere. A company called Rotel Tours takes travelers on journeys across Europe, Africa and Asia in modified buses with individual curtained bunks measuring six feet long, three feet deep and three feet high. There’s a toilet, but you can only shower when the bus makes an ‘occasional’ stop at a campground just for this purpose.

Indulge in your James Bond fantasy and lounge in a 007-worthy suite complete with a revolver-shaped lamp, or step into the mind of famed fashion designer Christian Lacroix. When all of this and more is possible, why not make your hotel stay a cultural experience in itself with a themed, fantasy or art hotel? From a surprisingly successful clash of Italian classicism and ultra-modern furnishings to a girly getaway worthy of a 21st century Marie Antoinette, these 12 hotel rooms from 5 of the world’s most creative hotels are irresistible eye candy.

Hotel Seven, Paris, France

No matter your tastes or even your mood at the moment, Hotel Seven in Paris has a luxury suite that will make you swoon. The 28-room designer hotel features seven incredible themed suites that range from the subtle, tranquil charms of a limited black-and-white palette to a room worthy of – and indeed named after – 007 himself.

Go down the rabbit hole and spend a night or two in the charmingly childlike “Alice” suite, decked out in shades of lush green and vivid pink with a collection of clocks hanging on one wall and a stuffed rabbit mounted on another. This suite’s most amusing touch is the chess set – playable while seated on the porcelain throne.

Those with more aristocratic tastes in the vein of Marie Antoinette – albeit a modernized version of the famous French queen, a la Sofia Coppola – should check out her namesake room. Soft and feminine, the suite has a serene painted sky, many a soft surface upon which to lounge and eat cake, and a bed surrounded by a sheer canopy of cursive-laden curtains.

But of course, when James Bond is in the building, everyone else is eclipsed, and indeed, the James Bond suite is the highlight of Hotel Seven. Masculine with a bit of kitsch, this suite is 1960s Sean Connery Bond all the way, with a midcentury lounge in which to drink martinis – shaken, not stirred, naturally – and an eye-catching revolver-shaped lamp.

Le Bellechasse Hotel, Paris, France

Christian Lacroix has been so busy designing stunning boutique hotels, it’s a wonder that he has had any time for fashion. Just across Paris from his chic and oh-so-French Hotel du Petit Moulin is the dreamy Le Bellechasse with 34 rooms grouped into three categories: Discovery, Original and Privilege. Each category denotes its own particular type of artistic flair, together creating what could be considered equal parts museum-quality exhibits and luxurious digs.

Begin with ‘Discovery’ and take a trip through a theatrical and complex visual narrative, in this case consisting of renaissance-era paintings and old world imagery updated with modern touches that keep the design from being staid or predictable. Moving into ‘Original’, you’re suddenly a part of a three-dimensional Victorian decoupage packed with butterflies, suns, moons and other natural subjects. But ‘Privilege’ feels like another hotel altogether, bright and modern with bold prints and colors.

“For me traveling is going through the looking glass, whether it’s a painting, a photograph, a text,” says Lacroix. “When in a train or hotel room, I travel inside my head.”

Barcelo Raval Hotel, Barcelona, Spain

When architecture firm CMV Arquitectos and interior designer Jordi Gali took on the renovation of the Barcelo Raval Hotel in Barcelona, they were faced with a unique challenge: the unusual elliptical shape of the building. They solved this problem with a central concrete core that acts as the spine of the building, providing a smoothly flowing space in which the oval is echoed at every turn, becoming a theme for the design as a whole. A plush pink seating area and a mass of white foam cylinders hanging from the ceiling make the lounge and bar all eye candy.

Upstairs, the guest rooms vary slightly by floor, with varying shades of neon accents, but all are anchored by plenty of sleek black and white surfaces. Open baths with tubs made of Corian look like sculptures, and LED lights in bright colors shine from the white headboards.

Byblos Art Hotel, Italy

From the outside, the Byblos Art Hotel could be virtually any elegant manor in the Italian countryside – and indeed, architecturally, the same could be said about the interior. But where some designers might just shrug and go with a classic theme in order to honor the historical elements of the building, Alessandro Mendini took a risk and ultimately created one of the most stunning juxtapositions of old and new in recent memory, artfully combining tray ceilings and crystal chandeliers with spare midcentury-modern furnishings and mod textiles.

The hotel is a veritable museum of contemporary art, with works by Frank Lloyd Wright, Anish Kapoor and Beatriz Millar. The hotel’s three suites – the Presidential, the Baroque and Mendini’s Cult – continue the design theme in three very different ways. Where the Presidential suite is positively regal and appropriately traditional with plenty of heavy jewel-toned drapery and gilt flourishes, the Baroque Suite is outfitted in cheerful yellow stripes and a coral-red headboard. The Mendini’s Cult suite is practically a shrine to the design of Atelier Mendini, an Italian design firm headed by brothers Alessandro and Francesco Mendini.

The G Hotel, Galway, Ireland

In  the 1990s, supermodel Linda Evangelista famously said that she wouldn’t get out of her bed for less than $10,000. At the G Hotel in Galway, Ireland, you can actually stay in that very bed – once owned by Evangelista herself – in the specialty suite named after the model.

Milliner Philip Treacy has designed some of the most fanciful and whimsical hats in the world, so it’s no wonder that as design director of the G Hotel, he chose bubblegum pink as the main color for the club room. Everywhere you look, there are hints of the elements that Treacy often includes in his wearable creations – from feathery mirrors mounted on the doors to the origami-like bird sculptures that hang from the ceiling in the spa.

While the most obvious traces of Treacy’s influence are seen in the communal areas of the hotel, the rooms themselves carry a subtle iteration of the theme with framed illustrations of Treacy’s creations and Frette linens that the milliner designed himself.