Hotels

5/ JW Marriott Phuket resort and Spa (Phuket, Thailand )

This 5 star luxurious hotel in Phuket showcases some of Thailand’s best cultural designs, both internally in rooms and externally with their award winning spas, sky blue swimming pools, and evergreen gardens. Perhaps unlucky to be rated 5th most ambient hotel, the Marriott Phuket Resort and Spa is definitely one not to be missed.

Perefctly located near a 4 mile beach, Sofitel Centara Grand Resort and Villas comes in at 4th most ambient hotel. With 207 rooms and 42 villas available, their 5 world class restaurants are sure to keep your tummy happy, ready for a good night’s sleep.

Enjoy some of the most breathtaking views from the roof of Lebua at State Tower, as this luxury resort sits at no. 3 for the most ambient hotel in Asia. Detailed designs in all rooms, unbelievable service, and countless votes for ambience, Lebua offers a total package beyond everyone’s expectations

This is the only hotel in Taiwan that provides their guests with quality skin care products as part of their stay. The spa resort has really set the standards of being a top ambient hotel, providing the absolute best service to all guests, fulfilling relaxation needs through hot springs, and serving healthy meals at their restaurants.

Number 1 on our top ambient hotels as voted by our guests, rightly goes to Four Season Resort Chang Mai. They are renowned for their unique Thai cuisines, exclusive spa treatments along with breathtaking views of mountains in Mae Rim Valley and rice fields.

As a whole, Asia is one of the most innovative continents in the world. From the latest in technology to the most unbelievable hotel designs in the world, the Asian continent is, to say the least, one-of-a-kind.

Japan, China, India, and other emerging Asian nations are home to some of the weirdest hotels anywhere in the world. Maybe it’s their imaginative thinking or maybe they just have a more innovative culture? Either way you slice it, Asia has some of the most off-the-wall hotels on the planet. Here are 10 of the most strange and offbeat hotels across the massive continent of Asia.

Safariland Treehouse Resort: Deep in a mountainous jungle region of India, you’ll stumble upon one of weirdest hotels on the planet. This hotel actually consists of 4 treehouses which stand approximately 15 feet off the ground, and each is built out of locally sourced materials such as bamboo. These gigantic tree houses provide awesome views of the mountains and jungle streams below.

Each of the 14 rooms here cost between $150 and $250 per night depending upon the room, and there’s plenty to do for eco-tourists including wildlife treks, mountain hikes, bonfires, elephant rides, and you can even get some good food at the on-site restaurant

Imperial Boat House: Located on the unspoiled Cheong Mon Beach in Thailand, the Imperial Boat House Hotel consists of 34 authentic teakwood rice barges that have been converted into luxurious beachfront suites. The pool here is even in the shape of a large ship. Each one of these converted barges features 91 square meters of living space, a beautiful sundeck, sky-lit bathroom and separate living rooms.

There aren’t many places on earth where you can ride an elephant on the beach as you can do at Imperial Boat House Hotel. These recycled barges are surprisingly comfortable in their design, and they are definitely a unique way to holiday.

Helga’s Folly: The 40 room boutique Helga’s Folly hotel, located on a hillside in dense foliage near the town of Kandy, is more of an experience than just a stay at a hotel. This 1930’s-style hotel features a flamboyant colour scheme and eclectic furnishings. The sound of soft jazz music can be heard throughout this unique hotel, which combined with the interior design and unique setting make for a sensory explosion.

The hotel walls are littered with antique paintings, unique photographs and newspaper clippings from the local area; even the bathrooms are decorated with magazine covers as wallpaper. People who stay here claim that the experience at Helga’s Folly is unlike any other hotel in the world, and they get a feeling of sadness when their stay is over. Rooms start at about $100 per night.

Three Camel Lodge: A traditionally designed nomadic retreat in the middle of the Gobi desert, the Three Camel Lodge somehow manages to mix weird design, eco-friendly construction, and Mongolian Buddhist architecture. This hotel consists of 30 gers (nomadic tents) which are made from felt and wood without using a single nail to hold it together. This luxurious wilderness camp is also eco-friendly and takes advantage of both wind and solar power.

While these plush tents are small and expensive to stay at (doubles start at $300 per night), how many people can say that they’ve actually stayed in an authentic Mongolian ger in the middle of the desert?

First World Hotel: This is the second largest hotel in the world behind the MGM Grand in Las Vegas with a total of over 6,000 rooms, and is located in Genting Highlands, Pahang, Malaysia. It’s not so much the interior of this hotel that makes it weird, but rather the exuberant colour scheme of the hotel’s facade which puts it on this list of weird hotels.

The brightly coloured facade is a perfect fit for this entertainment hotspot with a fully-equipped theme park, casinos, lounges and enough shopping to satisfy anyone’s taste. Any trip to the Genting Highlands area is not complete without a visit to the First World Hotel, and believe me, you can’t miss it!

Crazy House Hotel: It may be officially called Hang Nga Guesthouse, but locals have dubbed this off-the-wall hotel the Crazy House Hotel, and for good reason. This hotel was built in 1990 in Dalat, and has since been added onto numerous times over the years. This treehouse of sorts more resembles a fairytale castle than a hotel with its curvy interior and exterior. There’s also plenty of friendly stone animals surrounding this unique place including a huge giraffe, bear, and spider.

If you don’t wish to fork out $60 to stay the night here, you also have the option of taking a tour of this offbeat hotel for a very small fee.

Love Hotels: These so-called ‘love hotels’ are scattered throughout Japan, South Korea and parts of China, but they’re not the type of place to go for your honeymoon. These hotels are basically a cheap way for couples to ‘rest’ for a short period of time from 1-3 hours in most cases. There’s also overnight rates, but you can’t reserve your room for the night until after 10:00pm.

Often these odd love hotels take the form of castles, UFOs, and boats to name a few. The interiors can get even weirder with leather-laced rooms, dungeons, plenty of neon, ceiling mirrors, and even rotating beds.

Dotonbori Hotel: One of the weirdest entrances to a hotel in Asia has to be the Dontonbori Hotel in Osaka, Japan. The front of this luxurious hotel right in the heart of the shopping and entertainment area of Shinsaibashi features 4 gigantic pillars that are shaped liked heads. This type of grand, and weird, entrance to a hotel is not something you see everyday!

Flush Hotel: Maybe the weirdest hotel on the planet, the so-called Flush Hotel is a fitting name for a building shaped like a toilet. The owner, Sim Jae-Duck, built the $1.6 million toilet bowl in order to raise awareness about cleaner sanitation around the world. This live-in restroom is over 400 square meters in size, and is located just south of Seoul, South Korea.

The most amazing part about this giant toilet is not the design (surprisingly), but rather how much it costs to stay here for one night: $50,000! It must be said, though, that the proceeds go to provide poor countries with proper sanitation, so at least you know your hard-earned money won’t be going down the crapper!

Capsule Inn Osaka: This was the first hotel of its kind where each ‘room’ of the hotel was actually a small capsule with cramped 2m x 1m x 1.25m dimensions. The capsules are stacked on top of each other to maximise space, each one consisting of a TV, bed, and a wireless Internet connection which almost seems like a 5-star luxury all things considered. The Capsule Inn Osaka is extremely popular amongst local businessmen who need a place to sleep on long business trips, and it’s also popular to those who need a place to stay after drinking a bit too much sake the night before.

The notion of having a capsule for your hotel room was introduced in 1979 and its popularity has sparked interest by other hotel chains around the world to duplicate its design, including hotels in New York City and London. Nightly rates here are rather inexpensive starting at the equivalent of £15-20.

Inspired by the glamour and romance of the movie, Casablanca, and boasting a striking blend of European flavor and Moroccan decor, the Casablanca hotel is an exclusive property, offering a serene pocket of tranquility and grace, just steps away from the excitement capital of the world, Times Square in New York.

One of the highlights of the hotel is Rick's Cafe, where guests may relax and find entertainment and refreshments throughout the day and night. Each evening from Monday to Saturday, the lounge bar offers a complimentary champagne, wine and cheese reception. While relaxing, our guests can choose to listen to music, watch TV or read complimentary newspapers or books.

The property recently underwent an extensive renovation and now offers an exclusive selection of accommodations, a lavish 2nd-floor club room, a business center with pc and Internet access, dry cleaning and laundry service, shoeshine, cellular phone rental, fax and copy service at the front desk, complimentary access to the nearby New York Sports Club equipped with a pool, sauna, weights and exercise machines. The property also features the Tony Di Napoli Italian restaurant with room service available as well

deluxe double room All 48 newly renovated luxury rooms at the Casablanca were designed to ensure the outmost comfort with meticulous attention to detail and guarantee an array of unmissable amenities.

Archways, ceiling fans, ornamental moldings, unique tapestries, paintings and murals are featured in the rooms as throughout the hotel. All rooms are soundproof and feature custom-made furniture.

Facilities include complimentary high-speed Internet access, work desk, 2 line speaker phones with Internet plug, conferencing and voice-mail facilities, TV with 36 premium cable channels, CD player with FM stereo, DVD player and mini bar.

In each room, guests will find luxurious touches such as bottled spring water, Belgian chocolate turndown service and fine linens. Luxurious amenities in each bathroom include bath robes, telephone,hairdryer and scald proof shower

The deluxe continental breakfast is served every morning at Rick's Cafe from 7 a.m. to 10.30 a.m. Monday to Friday and from 7 a.m. till 11 a.m. on the weekends.
Breakfast includes boiled eggs, fresh fruits, a variety of juices, New York City bagels and cream cheese, muffins, pastries, croissants, cereals, yogurts and more.

This European-style hotel in the heart of Victoria has "luxurious beds with perfect crisp white linens." Sanuk serves Asian fare under conch sconces and a giant gong. The Aveda spa, which moves to larger quarters in February 2009, offers a signature magnolia treatment, including an aqua polish with Swedish hydrotherapy. "The young staff go out of their way to be helpful."

1. Hotels De Crillon

2. Hotel Lancaster
3. Hotel Le Littre

4. Hotel Plaza Athenee Paris

5. Hotel Regina Paris

Top 10 Hotels in Dubai

These are the best of the best hotels in Dubai (5 star, 7 star or otherwise!), in our eyes:


You want exclusivity and you have the bank balance of a king, deposed dictator or drug baron, this is where you stay

the hotel that everyone is talking about - it’s on the Palm, it’s crazy, it’s everything – it’s what Dubai is all about.

if you can forget for a minute that a giant building is being finalized just next door, you will appreciate how top class this hotel actually is.

the Grosvenor is high end, classy and proper bling without going over the top – the service here is impeccable

The Palace – The Royal Mirage appears to have the staying power that some of the other hotels in Dubai may not have. Maybe it is the one and only?

the Park Hyatt is all about understated luxury for those who want the finer things in life.

love it or loathe it, this is the icon of Dubai, gold everywhere and the one place which will get an eyebrow raise when you tell your family and friends where you stayed. It doesn’t claim 7stardom for nothing

If you can’t quite afford Malakiya, Dar Al Maysaf is where you should stay at Madinat. In fact, Al Qasr and the Arabian Resort are all top class but Dar Al Maysaf made it into our top ten

For the view alone onto the beaches, this makes it into our top 10 of Dubai. But, that said, this hotel excels in all areas and lives up to the Ritz Carlton name. One can only wait for how good the new Ritz Carlton in DIFC will be.

Great rooms, great style, and a great view give the Shangri-La the last spot in our top 10.

The business and corporate hotels in Dubai usually cater to both the corporate customer as well as the general tourist. These hotels, however are pretty damn good at catering for what you need, whether that is location, amenities or services.


1. Ritz Carlton Dubai

2. Madinat Jumeriah, Al Qasr and Mina A Salaam

3. Hilton Dubai Creek

4. Jumeirah Emirates Towers Dubai

5. Shangri-La Dubai

6. The Fairmont Dubai

7. Monarch Hotel Dubai

8. Radisson SAS Dubai Media City

9. JW Marriott Hotel Dubai

10.Intercontinental Dubai Festival City