Architecture Hotels Around the World

Atlantis The Royal Dubai with its stacked architecture on Palm Jumeirah

Design Landmarks

Atlantis The Royal – A Vertical Resort Above Palm Jumeirah

Dubai is known for architecture that refuses to disappear into the background, and Atlantis The Royal might be one of its boldest examples. Standing on the outer crescent of Palm Jumeirah, the resort looks less like a traditional hotel tower and more like a collection of enormous blocks stacked high above the waterfront. Terraces, pools and open spaces appear between the different sections, while a dramatic skybridge connects

ME Dubai by Meliá inside The Opus designed by Zaha Hadid

Design Landmarks

ME Dubai by Meliá: A Futuristic Landmark by Zaha Hadid

In a city filled with extraordinary architecture, ME Dubai by Meliá still manages to look different. The hotel is housed inside The Opus, one of Dubai’s most recognizable contemporary buildings and a striking example of Zaha Hadid’s fluid architectural style. From the outside, the structure begins as a simple glass cube. But its centre appears to have been carved away, creating a huge curved opening that completely changes

Kagga Kamma cave suites hidden among sandstone rocks in South Africa

Desert Architecture

Kagga Kamma Eco Lodge: Hidden Among the Rocks of South Africa

Hidden among the dramatic sandstone formations of South Africa, Kagga Kamma Eco Lodge & Spa looks less like a traditional hotel and more like a natural extension of the landscape. Its most recognizable feature is a collection of Cave Suites built directly against the rocks. Their rounded shapes, earthy colours and stone-like surfaces follow the landscape so closely that, from certain angles, the rooms almost disappear into their surroundings.

Storii by ITC Hotels Jaisalmer sandstone architecture in Rajasthan

Desert Architecture

Storii by ITC Hotels Jaisalmer: A Desert Palace in the Golden City

In the golden landscape of Rajasthan, Storii by ITC Hotels Jaisalmer looks as though it belongs to another time. Built in warm sandstone tones and inspired by traditional Rajasthani architecture, the hotel feels somewhere between a desert palace and a historic fort. Its character comes from details that immediately connect it to Jaisalmer: carved balconies, arched openings, domed pavilions and long sandstone façades. Instead of introducing a completely modern shape

ONDA Boquete cylinder rooms surrounded by tropical greenery in Panama

Unique Hotels

ONDA Boquete: A Tropical Mountain Stay in Panama

At first glance, ONDA Boquete looks very different from a traditional hotel in Panama. Set among the green mountains of Boquete, its unusual concrete cylinder rooms immediately give the property its own character. The most memorable part of the property is undoubtedly its cylinder-shaped rooms. Large concrete tubes have been turned into compact accommodation, with circular openings, warm wooden details and dark metal frames. Some are stacked across two

Nature Hotels

AZULIK Tulum: Organic Architecture Between Jungle and Sea

Most hotels in Tulum follow a script. Macramé, Edison bulbs, cenote yoga. Azulik wrote that script — then threw it away. What they built instead doesn’t look constructed. It looks grown. The Architecture 48 villas rise through the Mayan jungle canopy above the Caribbean coast. No straight lines. No right angles. Every curve, every wall, every walkway is shaped from Bejuco vine and untreated wood —

Dancing House Hotel Prague exterior — deconstructivist glass and stone towers by Vlado Milunić and Frank Gehry on the Vltava riverfront

Design Landmarks

Dancing House Hotel Prague: Sleep Inside an Architectural Icon

The building Prague argued about — and then fell in love with. In 1996, a glass tower began to curve above the Vltava riverfront. It looked like it was mid-step. Half of Prague hated it. The other half couldn’t stop staring. Thirty years later, the Dancing House is a national landmark — and you can sleep inside it. Built to Move The Dancing House Prague

Aerial view of Jumeirah Port Soller Hotel terraced into the cliff above Port de Sóller bay, Mallorca

Cliffside Hotels

Jumeirah Mallorca: Clifftop Design Above the Mediterranean

The cliff doesn’t stop at the edge of the building. At Jumeirah Port Soller, it runs straight through it. Set above Port de Sóller on Mallorca’s northwest coast, this hotel doesn’t sit on the cliff — it follows it. The structure steps down the rock face in terraced layers, matching the natural gradient of the Serra de Tramuntana mountains. From the bay below, the building almost disappears into the

Mushrooms Inn exterior — eight giant mushroom-shaped houses in Semporna, Sabah

Themed Hotels

Mushroom Inn Semporna: Giant Mushroom Houses in Malaysia

Some hotels borrow from architecture. This one is the architecture. Mushrooms Inn in Semporna, Sabah, is built as eight separate mushroom-cap houses — full, rounded caps sitting low over a garden. The shape is not decorative. It defines every room inside. Built Around an Idea The concept is literal. Each structure takes the form of a large mushroom, cap and all, with loft-style rooms inside the

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