Check in to more than a hotel – check in to another era. Lay your eyes on the accommodation of tomorrow with this list of the most unique and avant-garde hotels.
YOTEL – New York City, New York, USA
Trust your luggage is in good hands with Yobot at YOTEL New York
As you cross the threshold at YOTEL, you’ll enter a universe inspired by luxury aircraft design. In the Ground Control area, use the self-service check-in booths open around the clock. Next up, the Yobot will help you with the bags and items you wish to store during your stay. With a simple punch-in of your pin code (given upon check-in) and your last name, the Yobot will grab the items you’ve placed in one of the 150 bins and store it securely until you check out.
The room is a tech-addicts dream come true – flat screen TV, iPod/MP3 dock, enough power sockets for all your gadgets, and a mechanical bed to find your ideal position to stare at the view out your window. Better yet, grab the lift to the rooftop and soak in the panoramic skyline of New York City.
For tips from locals, download our free city guide app for New York, momondo places, directly to your iPhone
Nearest airport: Newark Liberty International Airport
Kameha Grand Zurich – Zurich, Switzerland
3-2-1, blast off! Moon-walk your way around the lunar room at Kameha Grand Zurich
Nestled in the new Glattpark project, with meadows and ponds on end, the Kameha Grand Zurich comes as a stark contrast of geometric shapes and audacious design. Blast into space and let your inner child fulfil its dreams of exploration without having to leave the comfort of your floating bed. In your best zero-gravity impression, float around your private space-ship inspired digs – astronaut glove coat hanger, ribbed coaches straight out of Star Trek, and rocket nozzle inspired light fixtures.
When you’ve returned back to Earth, the futuristic hotel’s gastronomical universes offer a feast for your eyes. Seated under the giant plate on the ceiling at L’Unico, spoil yourself with Italian specialties, or head for the hybrid French-Far East culinary journey at You. The sign “Life is Grand” on the façade sets the tone – once you step into this hotel, expect a larger-than-life experience.
Nearest airport: Zurich Airport
Find a room at Kameha Grand Zurich
Capsule by Container Hotel – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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Located in the Transportation Hub at Gateway@KLIA2, a mall complex at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, don’t be fooled by the brutish look of container walls at the Capsule by Container Hotel – each container is a small bubble of ultimate comfort. No frills, nor superfluities here, but the perfect balance of necessities and services to have a good night’s sleep as close to the airport as possible.
From the lounge to the library, and down the halls of the male, female, and mixed CapSpace (capsule areas), 120 capsules inspired by the reuse of freight containers are stacked from floor to ceiling. Designed in the concept of “kyosho jutaku”, the art of living well in minimal space, everything has been thought of for the perfect stay. Towels and slippers are provided, as well as an area to store your shoes and a personal locker for rent.
Nearest airport: Kuala Lumpur International Airport
Silken Puerta América – Madrid, Spain
Let your imagination run wild in this black and strange Space Club room by Zaha Hadid at the Silken Puerta América
Never-ending curves flow from one corner to another in the Space Club room at the Silken Puerta América Hotel. Designed by Pritzker award winner Zaha Hadid, the immaculate white or oil-black Space Club room bends the norms of classic accommodation. Follow the Sci-Fi-esque forms that merge the walls with the desk to the bed and the floor. As you lay on the bed and stare at the slick ceiling, you may have the sensation of floating in space or through the belly of an alien.
On a different floor, another Pritzker award winner, Jean Nouvel, takes guests on a sensory journey with materials and shapes that are an interactive invitation. Sleek lines, smooth materials, Tetris-like furniture fitting just right into the ultra-modern design, and the stunning floor-to-ceiling view of Madrid that elevates the room to celestial levels. A walk through the halls of the Silken Puerta América is a step closer to outer space without leaving Earth.
Nearest airport: Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport
Find a room at Silken Puerta América
Wanderlust – Singapore
Worlds collide when you step off the bustling Dickson Road of Little India into a world of innovation and “Industrial Glam” (as the hotel’s various designers, Asylum, :Phunk Studio, and fFurious, like to call it). The lobby greets you with a vintage print ad collage with a modern twist, giving just the right foretaste of the unconventional design behind each hotel room door.
In rooms with names like Pantone or Whimsical, you’ll be dreaming up a technicolour storm. With a giant rocket surrounded by stuffed aliens, you’ll feel like a cosmic explorer in the Space room. And let’s not ignore the large frosted-glass showers and bathrooms situated in the core of the rooms – a night at the Wanderlust is a radical hotel experience worth the detour.
Oh and for those eager to stay connected, ask to borrow the Handy smartphone at the lobby jam-packed with unlimited 3G data and a Singapore city guide!
Nearest airport: Changi Airport
Yas Hotel – Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Beneath the colour-changing canopy, discover the sleek Yas Hotel surrounded by the race track and marina
Nothing embodies futuristic advancement like an island created by man himself. Dominating the man-made Yas Island is the epitome of Abu Dhabi elegance – the Yas Hotel. Sleek curves and LED lights make up the incredible canopy that creates a peaceful universe of changing colours. One of the hotel’s main highlights is the possibility to watch race cars zoom by on the Yas Marina Formula 1 ™ Circuit at the hotel’s feet.
To get the full experience, find your seat under the canopy’s shade by the pool by day and grab a drink in the ultra-modern Rush bar and nightclub by night.
Nearest airport: Abu Dhabi International Airport
Henn na Hotel – Sasebo, Japan
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Henn, meaning “to change” in Japanese, is a futuristic hotel that strives on the extraordinary, so it’s no surprise you’ll see robots, robots, and more robots! From the multi-lingual robotic dinosaurs at the check-in desk, to the robotic arm that stores your luggage, or the robot porter who delivers them to your room, you might find yourself charmed by this ultra-technological way of communicating. Just wait until you register your face in the face recognition system for key-free wandering around the premises!
Henn na Hotel prides itself in the use of environmentally friendly structures like solar panels and cross-laminated timber (manufactured from sustainably managed forests), to create a conscious and comfortable atmosphere – a perfect break after a day of visiting the Huis Ten Bosch theme park the hotel resides in.
Nearest airport: Nagasaki Airport
nHow Hotel – Berlin, Germany
From inside and out, the nHow Berlin is a futuristic hotel full of the latest in technology
In a city already notorious for art and innovation, it just makes sense to lay your head down in the ultra-stylish nHow Hotel. Interior designer Karim Rashid may as well have had toffee apples and pinball machines in mind when bringing the nHow Hotel to life. Bright colours pop and lines bend into playful curves – there’s so much to take in before even reaching the panoramic view of the Spree River from the floor-to-ceiling windows in the dining area.
In-house concerts, art exhibitions and fashion shows set nHow Hotel on the map as the place à la mode to stay in the German capital. Innovation doesn’t stop there; LED lighting, floors made of recycled wood, locally sourced food and drinks – rest assured that they’ve thought of everything to make the stay as cool and delicious as possible.
For tips from locals, download our free city guide app for Berlin, momondo places, directly to your iPhone
Nearest airport: Berlin Schönefeld Airport
Iniala Beach House – Phuket, Thailand
View this post on InstagramStunning bedroom suite by a-cero
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The level of modern comfort offered at Iniala is other-worldly. Besides the highly skilled staff ready at your beck and call, you’ll be treating yourself to innovations supreme. Between the three villas and the penthouse, choose between memory foam floors, suspended beds reminiscent of silkworm cocoons, and sculptural ceilings.
Each villa embodies its own personality, sprouted from the imagination of architects and artist from across the globe, translated into curvaceous natural wood ceilings or sensual white leather furniture. Inspired by the generous and seemingly private views of the Andaman Sea, Iniala’s villas, housed under rolling roofs like two welcoming hands, invite you to indulge in your every desire.
Nearest airport: Phuket International Airport
Find a room at Iniala Beach House
NH Collection Madrid Eurobuilding – Madrid, Spain
Modern chic and technology meet at the NH Collection Madrid Eurobuilding
Standing tall in Madrid’s financial district, technology reigns at the NH Collection Madrid Eurobuilding making it the ideal place to stay when on a business trip. Replete with innovations like the LED vault screen on the lobby’s ceiling, 3D Holographic Technology, wireless inductive chargers, and sleep monitoring systems, this hotel is part of the Living Lab initiative, where guests can be the first to test some of the latest technological advances.
Catch a Real Madrid game at the neighbouring Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, dine at one of the hotel’s three mouth-watering eateries, and end your day taking in the view of Madrid’s skyline form your hotel room.
Nearest airport: Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport
Find a room at NH Collection Madrid
