- Ye Kya Chutiyapa Hai

Underground hotel in China

While China has been leading the trend in skyscrapers for the past decade, architects and designers apparently decided to turn things upside-down for a change. According to CNN, China recently broke ground on the first luxury underground hotel near Shanghai.

Located at the foot of a 100-meter (approximately 328 feet) abandoned quarry at Shanghai’s Tianmashan, the 380-room resort will have three levels above ground and 16 underground, and will also offer spa services, a sports facility and an underwater restaurant.

The property is being developed by Shanghai Shimao Property Group and designed by U.K. based engineering firm Atkins. According to SmartPlanet, the underground hotel is part of the larger project to build Shimao Shanghai Wonderland, a large-scale theme park. Reports say the hotel is expected to open in 2014 or 2015.

Just how much will this underground wonderland cost? If you're intrigued, industry experts say the nightly room rates will start at around $320 a night (RMB 2,000).

The hotel, The Intercontinental Shimao Shanghai Wonderland, will be managed by InterContinental Hotels Group (Photo: Shanghai Shimao Property Group/ Atkins)

Playing with LEGOs is such fun, but getting to stay in a real-life LEGO hotel!? It's every kid's (and some parents') dream come true! This LEGO-themed hotel is located at LEGOLAND in Carlsbad, California, and it is scheduled to open on April 5, 2013. The 250-room hotel stands three stories high and features a large amount of colorful figures and sculptures, built completely out of LEGOs.

Visitors to the hotel will be able to select their favorite toy theme—Pirates, Kingdom, or Adventure—and experience the fun of the popular building bricks in a round-the-clock world of excitement. Every room is filled with decor that will transport hotel guests into a unique and imaginary land. Search your pirate's cabin for clues to crack the code to the treasure chest, avoid the toy tarantulas, lizards, and scorpions on a great jungle adventure, or fight off dragons and become a family of royalty in your own personal kingdom.

Jail Turned Into Luxury Hotel — Hotel Het Arresthuis

Het Arresthuis is a 19th-century-prison turned luxury hotel in the Netherlands. The newly repurposed jailhouse has been completely redesigned with chic, spacious, modern motifs while maintaining its rich history as a former penitentiary. The building's new function invites visitors to take advantage of the hotel's unique Deluxe and Comfort suites while indulging in the venue's relaxing amenities—a sauna and a fitness center. Doing time never sounded so good!

The facility's 150 holding cells have be transformed into 36 luxurious rooms and 7 suites, including four special suites known as The Director, The Jailer, The Lawyer, and The Judge. These notable quarters are situated across the establishment's former warden chambers and sports area. Though they all offer similar perks like a comfy double bed, a rain shower, air conditioning, a flat screen TV, free WiFi, and even a personal coffee and tea machine, each suite is said to have its own character and style.

Additionally, the hotel has several communal areas that include a bar and restaurant. With a good sense of humor, the establishment jokingly assures visitors that they'll be offered a scrumptious menu that consists of more than just water and bread.

tarwood Hotels and Resorts is looking to grow its Sheraton brand aggressively during 2013, with 30 planned openings, predominantly in the Asia Pacific region. — Sheraton will open 15 new hotels across China over the next 12 months, including the striking Sheraton Huzhou Hot Spring Resort (pictured below), moving Starwood closer to its target of 80 properties in China by the end of 2015.

Expansion for the brand will also extend into Africa and The Middle East with the addition of four new hotels, including the Sheraton Medina Hotel in Saudi Arabia, Sheraton Dubai Mall of Emirates and the first in Tajikistan - Sheraton Dushanbe Hotel. Sheraton will also open two new hotels in Turkey, in the cities of Adana and Bursa.

In Latin America Sheraton will open its ninth property in Argentina with the Sheraton Tucuman Hotel. There will also be two openings in Brazil as it ramps up preparations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics, with the Sheraton da Bahia Hotel in Salvador and Sheraton Reserva do Paiva Hotel and Convention Center, located 30 minutes from Recife, opening in early 2014.

Hoyt Harper, global brand leader for Sheraton Hotels and Resorts said, "Sheraton is anticipating record-breaking growth, putting us on track to open our 500th hotel in 2015. The majority of our new hotel development is taking place in the world's fast-growing economies, while in North America, Sheraton remains one of the most sought-after brands for conversion opportunities." Images © MAD architects/Sheraton Huzhou

If there’s an intractable urban problem, whether involving housing thousands of people or preparing for an attention-grabbing event, there is always a one-step solution: Make it float!

This is Qatar’s plan, at least, for the 2022 World Cup. Faced with mounting criticism of its preparations for the event, and worries that it will not be able to manage hosting the thousands of attendees, the Gulf state has decided to look into several floating hotels that together would be capable of handling upwards of 25,000 people.

Designed by Sigge Architects in collaboration with Global Accommodation Management, the floating hotels would be linked to the mainland by boats and new transit lines. Ostensibly temporary, they would sit just offshore from Doha but would be equipped with their own utilities and power supply. Though this would undoubtedly be an expensive project, Qatar definitely has the resources to accomplish it. Just look at the plans for the Zaha Hadid-designed stadium—very spendy indeed.

While the designs may be luxurious, and their interiors draped in chic leathers and brocades, floating buildings are an inefficient solution to a temporary problem. When the event is over, will the hotels be towed to another location? Or will they sit offshore, slowly rusting like abandoned oil rigs?