Imagine having a hotel all to yourself, apart from the person you’re sharing a room with. At these quirky one-room properties, you can do just that.
But these aren’t your average small-scale guest houses. From a crane by the ocean and an anus to a communist-era TV tower, CNN rounds up the quirkiest one-room hotels where you can stay in 2019.
Harlingen Harbor Crane
What happens to cranes that are no longer in use? In the case of the Harlingen Harbor Crane, located in the shipping town of Harlingen in the Netherlands, it was remodeled into a one-room hotel.
From 1967 to 1996, the crane unloaded timber from Russia and Scandinavia. In 2001, the crane was sold and it took the new owners two years to turn the former machine room into a cozy space.
Guests access the room, which sits at 49 meters (160 feet) in the sky, via an elevator made from the original external ladders of the crane. With floor-to-ceiling windows, the space can be rotated 360 degrees – this is operated via a control panel inside the room. There’s also a small outdoor deck.
One feature that will please those who seek true solitude during their stay? Breakfast is delivered up to the room via a special elevator – no human interaction necessarily.
Dokkade 5 8862, NZ Harlingen, The Netherlands; +31 517 414 410
One Room Hotel
Dominating the skyline the Czech capital city of Prague, the communist-era Žižkov Television Tower is often ranked among the world’s ugliest buildings. But for travelers looking for the best views of Prague without the tower in the way, the One Room Hotel within it should be high on your list.
Perched at 66 meters, the One Room Hotel features east-facing windows, offering unmatched views of the city. The only accommodation inside the tower, One Room Hotel also offers its guests a limousine and a driver. The tower also houses an observation deck and two restaurants.
Mahlerovy sady 2699/1, Prague 3-Žižkov; +420 210 320 081
Hotel CasAnus
When it comes to hotel exteriors, it doesn’t get any funkier than this.
Located halfway between Antwerp and Ghent in Belgium, Hotel CasAnus – or “Anus House Hotel” – is an art installation in the shape of … a colon.
CasAnus is the brainchild of Dutch artist Joep van Lieshout, who created a series of installations between 2005 and 2008 depicting human organs.
The exteriors of the structure are painted dark red, save for a depiction of an anus which is in yellow. Inside, the accommodation is painted a serene white.
The hotel is managed by Verbeke Foundation, a modern art museum that also offers other unique one-room concepts housed inside life-sized art installations.
9190 Stekene, Belgium; +32 378 922 07
Central Hotel
Formerly a shoemaker’s studio, the Central Hotel in Denmark consists of a 12-square-meter (130 square feet) room, and sit above a five-seater cafe.
The hotel’s website warns travelers that the room is not for families since it’s impossible to add an extra bed – but that’s not the only thing unusual about it.
To add to the cozy vibe, the majority of the furniture – the pull-out table, mini-bar and wardrobe – is built-in.
Tullinsgade 1, 1618 København, Denmark; +45 332 100 95
Eh’häusl
The Eh’häusl (“Marriage House”) Hotel is located in Amberg, Germany. It has a floor space of 53 square meters (570 square feet) and measures just 2.4 meters (8 feet) wide.
The house dates back to 1728. The story goes that, back then, a law required couples to be homeowners before they could get married. In order to help lovebirds bypass this law, a businessman built a house in a narrow space between two existing properties. Couples could buy the home as a temporary measure, then sell it to the next couple once they were wed.
Seminargasse 8, 92224 Amberg, Germany; +49 962 137 854