FANTASY FRIDAY: World’s Wildest Hotels

Do you ever wish you could just escape the every day grind and just check into a luxury hotel and live out your fantasy? Well I went searching for the most unusual hotels around the globe that can take us on a virtual trip to help us forget about our troubles.

Check out these hotels that bring the best in art, design, and adventure all under one roof courtesy of pointclickhome.com

1) 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.

2) 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.

3) 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.

4) 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.

5) Barcelo Raval Hotel, Barcelona, Spain

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.

6) 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.

7) 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.

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