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9 Extraordinary hotels in Asia you’ll love staying at

Asia, the world’s largest and most diverse continent, is home to an incredible array of cultures, landscapes, and experiences — and its hotels are no exception. From secluded beach resorts on private islands to breathtaking cave retreats transformed into opulent escapes, Asia offers accommodations that go beyond the ordinary. Here are nine of the most unique hotels in Asia, each promising a stay you’ll never forget!

Conrad Maldives Rangali Island Resort – Maldives

Get up close to the sea life at Conrad Hotel Maldives Rangali Island Resort, an award-winning tropical island resort.

Sleep on the ocean floor at the hotel’s Muraka, the world’s first undersea residence with a master bedroom submerged 16 feet below sea level, designed with a 180-degree curved acrylic dome.

On the upper level, enjoy the outdoor deck and infinity pool.

Explore the depths and beauty of the Indian Ocean during the day and retire watching your private underwater aquarium at night.

Where else can you experience this island luxury?

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Sleep under the sea at Conrad Maldives’ underwater bedroom (Photo by Conrad Maldives)

Sun Cruise Hotel Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do, South Korea

Shaped like a cruise ship, this luxury hotel is perched at the edge of a cliff at Jeongdongjin Beach, famous for having the best sunrise in South Korea.

The rooms of this “luxury cruise ship on land” are nautical-themed and feature comfortable beds.

Besides the restaurants serving Korean, Western, and Japanese cuisine, Sun Cruise Hotel also boasts a 360-degree revolving bar and lounge on the top floor, giving guests gorgeous views while enjoying cocktails or wine.

The hotel’s unique architectural design makes it one of the top attractions in South Korea.

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Sun Cruise Hotel’s unique architectural design (Photo by Sun Cruise Hotel)

Crazy House Dalat, Vietnam

Creative and different, crazy but artistic. These are how the guests rave about Crazy House or Hang Nga Guesthouse in Dalat, Vietnam.

Famous for its unique architecture, rooms are individually themed and decorated like a fairytale house.

Walk around and be trapped beautifully in the works of Vietnamese architect Dang Viet Nga who designed the place “based on organic architectural principles to recreate nature.”

At Crazy House, you can explore the hotel’s architectural wonders or rest in the lush gardens and enjoy Dalat’s fresh breeze. Definitely a cool experience at one of the most unique hotels in Asia!

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Crazy House, Dalat, Vietnam (Image credit: Michael Karavanov on Wikimedia)

Kumbuk River Eco Resort Sri Lanka

Kumbuk River eco-lodge offers an authentic experience of rural Sri Lankan life.

Located near the bustling town of Buttala, the lodge sits on the banks of the mesmerizing river bordering Yala National Park, a premier wildlife sanctuary in the country.

Let nature surround you as you spend the night in the two-story Elephant Villa, truly one of Asia’s most unique hotels. Other unique accommodations include Tree Luxuria (a two-story house built in between two trees overlooking the river), Boat House (elephant-shaped house amidst a river paradise), and Jungle Cabin (cabin with two wings located right at the river banks offering private views of the river and the wild).

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Kumbuk River’s Elephant Villa (Photo by Kumbuk River)

Benesse House – Naoshima Island, Japan

Are you an art-architecture-design lover? Then you will surely fall in love with Benesse House, an accommodation facility located on the art island of Naoshima in Japan.

The hotel was built based on the concept of coexistence of nature, architecture, and art, offering a one-of-a-kind experience to its guests.

Both a museum and a hotel, with four buildings accommodating guests, the complex also features restaurants, a café, spa, and shops.

Imagine engaging with artworks everywhere you go in the complex — from the museum galleries to all parts of the buildings and surrounding area, blending beautifully with the natural environment.

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Benesse House Museum (Photo credit: httpbenesse-artsite.jpen)

Pipes Resort Cambodia

How about a cylindrical concrete space for a hotel room?

At Saracen Bay on Koh Rong Sanloem Island, Preah Sihanouk province in Cambodia, a beachfront hotel with unique architecture attracts honeymooners and travelers, the Pipes Resort.

Although the Pipes Room is only nine sqm in size, it features a full-size bed and a bathroom with a bathtub or shower. It also has floor-to-ceiling windows, offering magnificent views of the white sand beach and clear blue ocean. Other accommodation types are bungalows singles and bungalows twins.

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The PIPES Resort (Photo by The PIPES Resort)

Museum Hotel – Cappadocia, Turkey

Cappadocia is a popular destination that attracts many travelers. Its unique rock formations, otherworldly landscapes, and hot air ballooning experiences draw tourists from all over the world.

To make your Cappadocia trip more memorable, don’t settle for an ordinary hotel; stay in one of the cave hotels instead.

The luxurious Museum Hotel Cappadocia would be amongst the best choices for experiencing the culture and beauty of the region. Museum Hotel is not just another hotel carved out of the Cappadocia landscape. It features the wide antique collection of its founder Ömer Tosun, from the Ottoman, Seljuk, Roman, and Hittite periods, making the hotel a “living museum”.

Seaventures Dive Rig Resort Borneo

Does staying in an oil rig sound like an adventure to you? In Borneo, an oil rig was transformed into a modern scuba diving platform and resort, the Seaventures Dive Rig Resort, the world’s one and only dive rig as of this writing.

While the hotel still retains the appeal of a working rig, the rooms are comfortable, offering unique accommodation amidst a world-class scuba diving facility teeming with spectacular coral reefs.

And if there is one place that offers an unobstructed view of the breathtaking sunset and the surrounding area, it has to be the Seaventures sundeck.

Truly one of the most unique hotels in Asia!

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Seaventures Dive Rig (Photo by Seaventures Dive Rig)

Book and Bed Tokyo Japan

An accommodation bookshop — it’s the hotel concept that will capture the heart of every bookworm-traveler.

In Japan, a hostel brand invites you to a relaxing stay while reading your favorite author or exploring new books (or comic books) from the bookshelf. Book and Bed Tokyo is a unique bookstore-inspired accommodation that is truly a reader’s paradise.

Falling asleep while reading? That’s a guaranteed experience at this hostel. Book and Bed Tokyo provides this unique accommodation in several locations in Japan: Ikebukuro, Shinjuku, Asakusa, Kyoto, Shinsaibashi, and Fukuoka.

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Book and Bed Tokyo (Photo by Book and Bed Tokyo)

Whether you’re seeking luxury, architectural marvels, cultural immersion, or a quirky getaway, these nine remarkable hotels promise to make your journey as memorable as the destination itself. Start planning your stay and let these one-of-a-kind accommodations redefine your travel experience.

Read also

If you want to switch off, find your balance, and experience your next rejuvenating moment, go on a full ‘healthy’ trip to nurture your body, mind, and soul. Check out these top hotels in the region that are worth adding to your healthy vacation bucket list, places where wellness itself is the destination, where wellness means so much more than having a massage, a glass of fresh juice, or an hour in the gym.

Rhea Vitto Tabora is the Founding Editor-in-Chief of Travel Asia Now and Co-Founder of Asia Sustainable Travel. A travel journalist, she is passionate about sustainable tourism and believes in the importance of quality content in promoting responsible travel practices. For any stories to share, please email editor@travelasianow.net. As a former hotel professional, Rhea's expertise extends to hospitality sales and marketing. She provides strategic content solutions to enhance the online presence of hospitality and travel brands, driving direct bookings and generating organic traffic. Book now for a complimentary 30-minute content marketing consultation: https://bit.ly/MeetWithRhea

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