Ten Wildest Hotels Around the World

From an underwater retreat to a leaning tower that surpasses Pisa, take a look at some of the wildest and most design-driven hotels across the globe



High thread count sheets are nice, but for a luxury hotel to really impress us we want outrageous architecture, decadent decor, and edge-of-the-earth locations. It’s a tall order, but with a search across the globe we’ve found the top hotels that shatter all expectation. So whether you’re planning an escape for a few days or just want to take a virtual trip around the world, check out 11 hotels that bring the best in art, design, and adventure under one roof.

Barcelo Raval Hotel, Barcelona, Spain (above)

The sheer chance to chill in this lobby would be a vacation in and of itself. The flashy new Barcelo Raval in Barcelona is girly and enticing. In the lobby, the hot magenta seating dominates against the dazzling sparkles of the interior column and stark black and white. Rooms start at $139. BarceloRaval.com


Commune by the Great Wall Kempinski, Beijing

Nestled in the Shuiguan Mountains and spread over eight square kilometers along the Great Wall of China, this collection of properties boasts some of the most creative and modern architecture in the area. Each of the 236 rooms and suites scattered across the commune offer views of the Great Wall. This one, the “See and Seen House” by architect Cui Kai, is a bona fide glass masterpiece. Rooms start at $366. CommunebytheGreatWall.com



Ice Hotel, Jukkasjarvi, Sweden

What first opened in 1990 as an exhibit by a French ice artist has since become a magical and rather chilly chance for guests from around the world to experience the feeling of sleeping in an igloo. Crafted from ice and snow, each year Ice Hotel is rebuilt by visiting artists and creators. Though the temperature never drops below 23 degrees Fahrenheit, guests don thermal underwear and hats and slip into a sleeping bag atop blocks of ice, a thick mattress, and reindeer skins. Here, a magical chandelier hangs in one of last year’s halls. Open December 10 to mid-April yearly. Rooms start at $303 per night. IceHotel.com



Boscolo Hotel Exedra, Nice, France

Though the recently opened hotel in France has been built in the Belle Epoque style, the hotel’s interiors are hardly antiquated. The bar, designed by Massimo Iosa Ghini, uses treelike sculptures and scattered lights across the walls and ceilings to create an organic yet futuristic feeling. Rooms start at $325. BoscoloHotels.com



Burj Al Arab, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Sitting on a man-made island located just off the shore, this modern and fanciful hotel has the effect of a sailboat drifting off to sea. At 321 meters high, this Tom Wright design stands as one of the world’s tallest hotel buildings and has become an icon of the Dubai skyline. Rooms start at $1000. Jumeirah.com



Hotel Fox, Copenhagen, Denmark

Composed of 61 rooms designed and decorated by 21 artists and groups, Hotel Fox takes art, urban living, and personal expression to a whole new level. Some of our favorites are the blue-and-yellow-checked masterpiece by Miami designers Friendswithyou; the playful expanse of aqua walls crafted by France’s Antoine et Manuel; the stark black-and-white words and statistics from E-Types of Denmark; and France’s Genevieve Gauckler's graphic space that literally commands guests to “SLEEP!” Rooms start at $165. HotelFox.com



Poseidon Undersea Resort, Fiji

Nestled in the cerulean waters of a Fiji lagoon and accessible only by elevator are suites submerged a full 40 feet underwater. No oxygen required, it has all the luxuries of an aboveground getaway but with an unparalleled view. A weeklong stay (at the price of $15,000 per head) is split between the underwater suite and beach cabana accommodations so visitors can still fall asleep to the waves and the hotel can handle the high-demand for ocean immersion. Opens in early 2010. Reservations can be made beginning September 15. PoseidonResorts.com



La Purificadora, Puebla, Mexico

Mexican hotelier Carlos Couturier turned a former 19th-century water-purifying center in a colonial city into this minimalist and modern traveler’s space. Here, the juxtaposition of purple modular furniture and an aquarium-esque pool against the traditional Iglesia de San Francisco is just one of the aspects that gives La Purificadora its old-meets-new charm. Rooms start at $155. LaPurificadora.com



Les Cols Pavellones, Olot, Spain

With doors, walls, ceilings, and even floors made completely of green glass and black steel, this surreal space is futuristic, eerie, and intriguing all at once. But though it may seem stark, the glass construction welcomes the influence of nature and adds organic style. Here, a glass floor allows a visitor to view the raw earth beneath. Rooms start at $355. LesCols.com



Hyatt Capital Gate Tower, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Slated to open in the fall, this leaning hotel will have the greatest angle in the world. We are eagerly awaiting this curvaceous tower, which has passed its halfway mark and is designed not to be the largest or tallest building in the world, but one with the most breathtaking aesthetic. Hyatt.com

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Worlds expensive Paintings | beautiful Paintings ever

10. $55,000,000 for Femme aux Bras Croises by Pablo Picasso (2000)

Beautiful painted various tones of blue are typical. The painting depicts a woman with her arms crossed staring at the endless nothing. This work, painted in 1901, was a part of Picasso's famous Blue Period, a dark, sad time in the artist's life.

Femme aux Bras Croisés was sold for $55,000,000 November 8, 2000, at Christie's Rockefeller in New York City.

9. $60,500,000 for Rideau, Cruchon et Compotier by Paul Cézanne (1999)

This painting by Paul Cézanne, painted in ca. 1893-1894 was sold for $60,500,000 at Sotheby's New York on May 10, 1999 to "The Whitneys". Whitney, born into one of America's wealthiest families, was a venture capitalist, publisher, Broadway show and Hollywood film producer, and philanthropist.

8. $71,500,000 for Portrait de L'Artiste sans Barbe by Vincent van Gogh (1998)

Portrait de l'artiste sans barbe ("Self-portrait without beard") is one of many self-portraits by Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh. He painted this one in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France in September 1889. The painting is a oil painting on canvas and is 40 cm x 31 cm (16" x 13").

This is an uncommon painting since his other self-portraits show him with a beard. The self-portrait became one of the most expensive paintings of all time when it was sold for $71.5 million in 1998 in New York.

7. $76,700,000 for The Massacre of the Innocents by Paul Rubens (2002)

The Massacre of the Innocents is one of two paintings by Peter Paul Rubens, depicting an episode of the biblical Massacre of the Innocents as related in the Gospel of Matthew.

This painting by Peter Paul Rubens, painted in 1611, is the only painting in this list which was not painted in the 19th or 20th century. It was sold to Kenneth Thomson, 2nd Baron Thomson of Fleet for $ 76,700,000 at a 2002 Sotheby's auction.

6. $78,100,000 for Au Moulin de la Galette by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1990)

Bal au moulin de la Galette, Montmartre was painted by French artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir in 1876. On May 17, 1990, it was sold for $ 78,000,000 at Sotheby's in New York City to Ryoei Saito, the honorary chairman of Daishowa Paper Manufacturing Company, Japan.

At the time of sale, it was one of the top two most expensive artworks ever sold, together with van Gogh's Portrait of Dr Gachet, which was also purchased by Saito. Saito caused international outrage when he suggested in 1991 that he intended to cremate both paintings with him when he died. Saito died in 1996 ... but the painting was saved.

5. $82,500,000 for Portrait du Dr. Gachet by Vincent van Gogh (1990)

This painting by the Dutch Impressionist master Vincent van Gogh suddenly became world-famous when Japanese businessman Ryoei Saito paid $82.5 million for it at auction in Christie's, New York.

Vincent van Gogh actually painted two versions of Dr Gachet's portrait. You can view the other version, with a slightly different color scheme, at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.

4. $95,200,000 for Dora Maar with Cat by Pablo Picasso (2006)

This painting near doubled its presale estimate and fetched a record $95,200,000 at auction at Sotheby's on May 3, 2006. It was sold to anonymous buyer and the ownership of the Dora Maar au Chat is still unknown to the general public.

Painted in 1941, Picasso's controversial portrait (one of his last) is sometimes described as an unflattering depiction of Dora Maar, who was an artist/photographer and mistress of Picasso whose relationship lasted ten years during the 1930s and 40s.

3. $104,000,000 for Boy with a Pipe by Pablo Picasso (2004)

Garçon à la Pipe was created during the artist's famous Rose Period, during which Picasso painted with a cheerful orange and pink palatte. The oil on canvas painting, measuring 100 × 81.3 cm (slightly over 39 × 32 inches), depicts a Parisian boy holding a pipe in his left hand.

The record price auction at Sotheby's New York on May 4, 2004 was a bit of a surprise to art buyers, since it was painted in the style not usually associated with the pioneering Cubist artist.

2. $135,000,000 for Adele Bloch-Bauer I by Gustav Klimt (2006)

The record-breaking sale - which followed a court order by the Austrian government to return the painting to Bloch-Bauer's heir - was the culmination of a years-long dispute over the painting looted by Nazis during World War II.

Painted by the art nouveau master Gustav Klimt in 1907, the portrait was purchased in 2006 by cosmetics heir Ronald S. Lauder.

1. $140,000,000 for No. 5, 1948 by Jackson Pollock (2006)

According to a report in the New York Times, on November 2, 2006, the painting was sold by David Geffen, founder of Geffen Records and co-founder of Dreamworks SKG, to David Martinez, managing partner of Fintech Advisory Ltd, in a private sale for a record inflation adjusted price of $140 million.
Shearman & Sterling, LLP issued a press release on behalf of its client, David Martinez, to announce that contrary to recent articles in the press, Mr Martinez does not own the painting or any rights to acquire it. The sale was never confirmed.

Painted by expressionist Jackson Pollock in his trademark "drip" style, the 4' x 8' painting is said to have been purchased by entertainment mogul David Geffen in November 2006.

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