“Unique hotels are all about crazy locations and Instagram moments. Design and renovation are just afterthoughts.”
That statement is false. The world’s most unique hotels are not only about where they sit or how they look in photos. Their real strength sits in how they are designed, rebuilt, and reimagined from the inside out. The location helps, but design and renovation choices decide whether a place becomes a quick social media trend or a long-term benchmark that keeps guests talking for years.
I might be wrong, but when people search for “unique hotels,” they often look for a list of cool places to stay and move on. That is shallow research. If you run a hotel, a guesthouse, or you are planning your first renovation, that mindset is a mistake. The real learning comes from asking: why do these places work, how were they redesigned, and what design decisions keep guests coming back?
If you strip away the noise, these hotels have a simple pattern. They pick a strong idea. Then every design decision, from the structure to the soap holder, follows that idea. That is where most owners fail. They chase trends. Neon signs for selfies. Swing chairs in lobbies. Concrete walls because they saw it on Pinterest. But there is no clear link between the building, the story, and the experience.
So I want to walk through some of the most unique hotels in the world, but with a slant: what can you learn from their renovation and design? How did they turn strange locations, old buildings, or odd concepts into something that works for paying guests, not just for magazines?
I will point out where many hotel owners get it wrong. If you are planning a renovation and you are focusing only on “cool” furniture or color palettes, you are taking a bad approach. You need to think structure, flow, and long-term maintenance first. The pretty stuff comes after.
Before we look at details, keep one simple thought in mind: your hotel is a product. Design is how that product works, not just how it looks. The best unique hotels get that right.
“As long as the building is unusual, guests will forgive almost anything.”
That is another myth. People are more forgiving on a one-night stay, but they do not forget cold showers, confusing layouts, or zero privacy. Unique design that ignores comfort is not creative. It is careless.
Now, let us look at real places and the decisions behind them.
Icehotel, Sweden: Designing for Something That Melts
“You cannot build a serious hotel out of ice. It is just a gimmick.”
The Icehotel in Jukkasjärvi proves that wrong. This hotel is rebuilt every winter from snow and ice taken from the nearby river. It melts away each spring. Then the team starts again.
From a design and renovation point of view, this is extreme. Every year is a full rebuild. Here is what makes it work and what property owners can learn.
Seasonal structure as a design strategy
The Icehotel accepts that its main building is temporary. That forces clear choices:
– The structure is simple enough to rebuild fast.
– The layout is refined over many years but always open to adjustment.
– Guest safety around freezing temperatures is planned from day one.
This is a model you can borrow, even if your building is permanent. Treat your layout as something you can “rebuild” on a cycle. Not every year to that level, of course, but you can work in phases. Think of 3 year or 5 year renovation cycles where entire room types or wings are redesigned.
Artist-designed suites as living R&D
Each year, artists from around the world design different ice suites. Some work well for guests. Some are less practical. The hotel learns from both.
If you run a property, you can treat a few rooms as test labs. Design 2 or 3 concept rooms with different layouts, bathrooms, or lighting. Measure guest feedback and bookings, then roll the best ideas into your standard rooms.
Here is a simple table of what Icehotel does and how you might adapt it:
| Icehotel Approach | Underlying Idea | How a Regular Hotel Can Use It |
|---|---|---|
| Rebuilds main ice sections every year | Accepts that the building is temporary and plans cycles | Plan room refresh cycles (3-7 years) instead of random updates |
| Invites new artists to design suites yearly | Uses creative input as design research | Create “prototype” rooms with varying layouts and track guest reactions |
| Uses local ice and snow from the river | Builds from what the environment provides | Source local materials, both for cost control and stronger story |
| Trains guests on how to sleep in cold rooms | Design plus education to meet guest expectations | Explain unusual features clearly (smart tech, off-grid features, etc.) |
If your hotel renovation ignores cycles, test rooms, local material, and guest education, you are missing four strong levers that do not depend on ice.
Treehotel, Sweden: Turning Childhood Ideas into Serious Design
The Treehotel in Harads sits in the forest with suspended rooms: a Mirrorcube that reflects the trees, a Bird’s Nest, a UFO, and others. At first glance, it looks like a playground for adults. But look closer and there is solid design thinking under the surface.
Floating rooms that protect the forest
A mistake many rural hotel projects make is heavy construction that harms the natural setting that guests came to see. Treehotel does the opposite. The rooms are raised. The footprint on the ground is small. Trees are protected.
If you are planning a property near natural features and your design uses wide foundations, heavy concrete platforms, or large paved areas, you are working against your own selling point. You do not need to copy tree rooms, but you should ask: how can I support the building while touching the ground less?
Strong exterior concept, calm interior
On the outside, the Treehotel rooms are bold. Inside, the design is simple, calm, and focused on views and warmth. Many owners get this mix wrong. They push the concept into every surface. Neon themes, patterned walls, loud color everywhere.
Your guest needs the room to feel like a place to reset. Use the concept strongly on the outside, and then let go a bit indoors. A simple, warm, well planned interior usually beats a themed one that forgets comfort.
Here is a comparison:
| Design Element | What Many “Unique” Hotels Do | What Treehotel Does | Lesson for Your Renovation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exterior | Plain block with painted logo | Distinct shape and identity per room | Use exterior form to carry most of the “wow” |
| Interior | Heavy theme, complex decor | Clean, natural materials, strong views | Keep interiors calm, practical, and focused on function |
| Nature impact | Extensive ground works and cut trees | Minimal ground contact, trees preserved | Work around key natural features instead of clearing them |
| Guest access | Challenging paths and unclear routes | Simple walkways and ladders or ramps | Design the approach route with care, not as an afterthought |
If your renovation plan does not include the approach path as a design item, you are missing a major part of the guest experience. The walk from the car to the room is where your story begins.
Giraffe Manor, Kenya: Balancing Wildlife and Building
“Just put animals near people and it will feel special.”
That idea is risky, and often wrong. Giraffe Manor in Nairobi shows a more careful approach. It is a small hotel where resident giraffes roam the grounds and sometimes poke their heads into windows at breakfast. Many owners see this and think: “I need a wild feature like that.” They rush into animal attractions or dramatic pools on cliffs. They forget the groundwork.
Renovating an old estate instead of starting from zero
Giraffe Manor sits in a historic house from the 1930s. The owners did not tear it down. They worked with what they had. Thick walls, classic layout, defined rooms.
If you own an older building and your first thought is demolition, you might be taking the wrong approach. Old layouts can be adjusted, but they often give you character that new walls cannot match. Here are typical renovation choices compared:
| Renovation Choice | Short-term Effect | Long-term Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Full demolition of old interior | Blank canvas, easier for contractors | Loss of character, generic feel, higher cost for fake “history” |
| Selective preservation (stairs, trims, windows) | More planning work | Recognizable identity, story guests can feel |
| Copying a theme from another region | Fast concept | Feels out of place, weaker connection to local story |
The value here is not “copy Giraffe Manor’s animal idea.” The value is: look at your building as something with layers. Renovation that keeps the strongest layers and improves the weak ones often beats a complete reset.
Guest experience comes before the “wow” shot
Giraffe Manor is very photogenic. But the team also has to manage safety, ethics, and guest flow. Breakfast rooms, balconies, and window positions are planned so interactions are controlled.
If you plan a renovation around one photo moment and you ignore movement and safety, you set yourself up for complaints and stress. Ask questions like:
– How do guests get from their room to the main attraction?
– Where do they wait?
– What happens when it rains?
– How do we handle people who are less able to walk or climb?
These questions do not sound glamorous, but this is where design either works or fails.
Marina Bay Sands, Singapore: Mega-Scale, Clear Concept
Marina Bay Sands is on every list of unique hotels. Three towers, connected by a sky park with an infinity pool that appears to spill over the city. It is iconic, but if you only see the silhouette, you miss the real lessons.
“A strong landmark shape is enough to carry a hotel brand.”
That thought is only half true. The shape helps. But Marina Bay Sands supports that shape with strict planning of movement, views, and mixed uses.
Shape as a tool, not just decoration
The three towers are not a random sculptural choice. They create a base for the sky park, fine-tune wind flows, and support a variety of room types with views in different directions.
When you sketch a concept for a renovation, ask yourself: what does this shape do for guests and staff? If your feature wall, staircase, or ceiling shape does not solve any problem, you are probably adding cost with no return.
Clear separation of zones
Marina Bay Sands is not just a hotel. It has a casino, mall, museum, and event spaces. Crucial point: the design separates flows so guests with different goals do not constantly collide.
Even on a small property, you can use this idea:
| Zone | Main Users | Design Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Arrival / Lobby | New guests, departures, deliveries | Clear signage, simple routes, easy seating |
| Rooms | Staying guests | Privacy, noise control, consistent layout |
| Social / Bar / Lounge | Guests and visitors | Flexible seating, sound management, direct access to restrooms |
| Service Areas | Staff | Short routes, separation from guest paths |
If your renovation plan shows guests sharing narrow corridors with laundry carts, or your bar forcing passersby through seated groups, the design is not ready.
Converted Prisons and Factories: Keeping the Bones
Several hotels around the world sit inside former prisons, factories, or warehouses. Examples include the Liberty Hotel in Boston (old jail) or many factory loft hotels in Europe and Asia. They are often called unique, but the base idea is simple: keep the original structure and give it a new role.
“To feel fresh, a renovation has to hide everything old.”
That thinking is usually wrong. The more you hide, the more your building looks like any other.
Structural honesty
Converted prisons keep thick walls, high windows, and sometimes cell doors. Factories keep big beams, tall ceilings, and brickwork. The design does not pretend the building was always a hotel.
You might not have a prison to work with, but you likely have beams, columns, or original trims you can keep visible. Painting everything white and covering ceilings with plasterboard often removes the strongest feature you already have.
Here is a simple way to think about your building during renovation:
| Element | Common Choice | Better Design-Linked Choice |
|---|---|---|
| Ceilings | Lowered with panels to hide ducts | Expose structure and use neat duct layouts as a visual feature |
| Columns | Boxed in to create flat walls | Kept visible, integrated with lighting or seating |
| Original floors | Covered with generic tiles or carpet | Restored if structurally sound, with added rugs where needed |
| Windows | Standard replacements ignoring original shape | New glazing sized to match existing openings and rhythm |
If you remove every reminder of the old building, you later have to pay designers to “add character” back. That is backwards.
Underwater and Cave Hotels: Design Where Light Is Limited
Some of the most talked-about hotels sit underwater or inside caves and cliffs. The Manta Resort underwater room in Zanzibar, or cave hotels in Cappadocia, Turkey, are strong examples.
They look dramatic, but here is where many owners misread them. They think the main point is extremity: as deep or as enclosed as possible. That leads to discomfort.
Working with low light instead of fighting it
Caves and underwater spaces have less natural light. The successful hotels do not try to fake a bright room with harsh lighting. They accept a softer, more controlled light, planned in layers.
If you are renovating any room with limited daylight, and your current plan is just “add more spotlights,” you are going in the wrong direction. Break down the lighting instead:
– Background light for general use.
– Focused task light near beds and desks.
– Accent light on texture (stone, brick, artwork).
– Very low night light for safe movement.
Underwater or cave hotels use the texture of walls and the glow of water or rock to create depth. You can do the same with exposed brick or textured plaster without extreme locations.
Ventilation and comfort as design anchors
In tight or enclosed spaces, air quality becomes central to guest comfort. The most unique hotels in caves or underwater rooms invest a lot in hidden systems, not just visible finishes.
If your renovation budget is tight and you are cutting from HVAC, insulation, or soundproofing to spend more on furniture, that is a bad approach. Guests will forgive plain furniture. They will not forgive a stuffy or loud room.
How Unique Hotels Connect Renovation, Design, and Story
By now, there is a pattern. The world’s most unique hotels tend to do a few things consistently, even though they look very different on the surface.
“Story is just marketing. The real work is bricks and mortar.”
I understand where that view comes from, but I do not fully agree. The story and the bricks are linked. Good renovation decisions come from a clear story about what the place is meant to be.
One clear idea that guides choices
Look again:
– Icehotel: Life cycle of winter and melt.
– Treehotel: Living among trees with minimal impact.
– Giraffe Manor: Close, careful contact with wildlife in a historic home.
– Marina Bay Sands: City-scale lookout and social hub.
Each has a simple guiding thought. Not a slogan. A design guide. When they choose materials, layouts, or technology, they ask if it supports that guide.
If your renovation brief is vague, such as “modern but cozy,” you are starting with weak guidance. That is not enough to decide between open bathrooms, smart locks, or the number of room types.
Here is a simple exercise you can copy from these hotels:
| Step | What You Do | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Write the core idea | One sentence about what staying here should feel like | “A quiet riverside retreat where guests feel unplugged but cared for.” |
| 2. Set 3 design rules | Constraints that follow from that idea | No TVs in rooms; all rooms must have a view of water; finishes use local wood and stone. |
| 3. Test every decision | Check new features against the rules | A neon bar sign fails the rule. A shared library facing the river passes it. |
If you find yourself adding features that do not pass your own rules, you are drifting. That drift is what makes many “unique” hotels feel confused.
Renovation as an ongoing process, not a one-time event
One thing I like about Icehotel and similar places is that they treat each season as a chance to refine. They do not wait 15 years for a huge renovation. They tweak.
Most city hotels that age poorly have long gaps between updates. Carpet wears out. Lighting gets dated. Technology lags. Then they need a huge, painful renovation.
A smarter path is to treat renovation like maintenance, built into your yearly plan:
| Time Frame | Renovation Focus | Example Actions |
|---|---|---|
| Yearly | Small refresh | Repaint high-traffic areas, update some textiles, fix lighting issues |
| Every 3-5 years | Room type update | Redo bathrooms in one wing, change bed types, improve closets |
| Every 7-10 years | Public areas | Lobby layout change, restaurant redesign, reception relocation |
| 10+ years | Systems | HVAC, plumbing, insulation updates, smart room controls |
If your business plan only talks about marketing and occupancy but has no scheduled renovation path, you are thinking too short-term.
Common Mistakes When Trying to Create a “Unique” Hotel
After working with many property owners, I see the same patterns repeat. They want something unique, but their renovation and design choices undercut that goal.
1. Copying visual features without context
Someone sees an infinity pool online and wants the same. But the site does not have the view, the climate, or the structure to support it. The result feels forced.
Strong hotels start with their context: climate, view, existing building, local skills. If you copy a feature without that, you risk safety, comfort, and cost overruns.
2. Ignoring staff needs
Some of the worst layouts I have seen focused entirely on guest-facing areas. Storage, laundry, staff movement were squeezed into leftover corners.
If staff routes are long and awkward, service slows down. That breaks the guest experience. Marina Bay Sands and other complex properties put staff flow early in planning. You should do the same, even in a small building.
3. Over-theming and under-investing in basics
Themed rooms can be fun. But if your budget goes into murals, custom furniture, and props while bedding, plumbing, and insulation are weak, guests will not return.
If you have a fixed budget for renovation, allocate first to:
– Structure and safety.
– Water, power, HVAC.
– Sound control and light control.
– Beds and bathrooms.
Only then focus on unique finishes. That may not feel glamorous. But the world’s top unique hotels tend to handle basics very well, even when the concept is extreme.
Practical Steps to Bring Unique-Hotel Thinking into Your Project
You may not be building an ice palace or a sky park. That is fine. The goal is not to copy, but to borrow methods.
Start with an audit of what you already have
Before sketching new ideas, walk your building with three lenses:
| Lens | Questions |
|---|---|
| Structure | Which walls, beams, windows, or stairs are strongest and most distinctive? |
| Context | What views, sounds, light patterns, or nearby features can you build around? |
| Flow | Where do guests hesitate, crowd, or get lost right now? |
If your first move is to open a catalog and choose finishes, you have skipped this key step.
Design one hero moment, then clear space around it
Unique hotels usually have one main moment: waking up underwater, seeing giraffes at breakfast, swimming at sky level. Everything else supports that.
Choose one feature your renovation will highlight. A double-height lobby, a central courtyard, a rooftop bath area, a truly quiet reading room. Then keep nearby areas visually simpler so the main moment stands out.
If everything is loud, nothing is memorable.
Use constraints as a creative tool
Icehotel has the constraint of melting. Cave hotels have thick rock. Treehotel has limited ground contact. These limits force them to think harder.
You likely have constraints too: small rooms, narrow frontage, noise from a nearby road. Instead of fighting them with expensive fixes, you can design around them.
Examples:
– Small rooms: focus on brilliant storage, fold-away desks, and shared large public spaces.
– No great view: design inward-facing courtyards with strong planting and light.
– Noisy street: build double entry doors, move bedrooms to the back, and place social spaces near the street.
When you treat constraints as fixed, your design becomes sharper. When you try to ignore them, you pay more and still end up with compromise.
Bringing It Back to Your Business
You started reading about the world’s most unique hotels. Maybe you came for ideas. Maybe for curiosity. Either way, the key point is simple: uniqueness is not a layer of decoration laid on top of a regular hotel. It is the output of design and renovation decisions taken seriously from day one.
If I had to leave you with a short set of filters for any renovation plan, borrowed from these hotels, it would be this:
| Question | Why It Matters | Example of a Strong Answer |
|---|---|---|
| What is the one clear idea behind this property? | Prevents random theming | “An urban oasis where every guest has at least one private outdoor space.” |
| Which existing features are we keeping and highlighting? | Protects character and budget | “Original staircase, brick walls in lobby, and tall windows on the third floor.” |
| How will guests move, step by step, through the space? | Connects design to lived experience | “From street to lobby in one line, luggage stored off to the side, clear path to elevators.” |
| What are we doing about light, air, and sound? | Covers comfort basics that reviews mention most | “Double glazing on street side, blackout curtains, split lighting in every room.” |
| What small part of the building can we treat as a test lab? | Builds a culture of ongoing improvement | “Two rooms per floor where we trial new layouts and monitor guest feedback.” |
If your answers are vague or mostly about decor, you are not yet working at the level that makes these famous hotels stand out.
You do not need a sky pool, giraffes, or an iceberg to build something guests remember. You need a clear idea, respect for your building, planned renovation cycles, and design that serves comfort first. The hotels that seem the most unusual often succeed because they treat those basic pieces with more care than everyone else.
