Hotels are meant to be your home away from home. Often, though, especially with the advent of boutique and luxury hotels, they are even more than that, they become experiences in and of themselves.

Today’s hotels are about creating a new experience. Rather than being a home away from home, they have become an escape from home.

Everywhere you look there are various themed hotels that have cropped up in all corners of the world. You can find a designer hotel with art themed rooms in practically every major city. There are hotels dedicated to fashion, to music, to being sustainable, to books and to celebrity personalities. And the public loves it.

Of course, you’ve got your standard beachside paradises, fully equipped with peace invoking reflecting pools, shabby-chic villas with mosquito netting romantically slung around the beds and organic chocolate covered coffee beans on the pillows; and you’ve got your upscale, metropolitan affairs, architecturally zeitgeisty structures that double as upstanding lessons on high class and elegance as well as those staid, institutional hotels which never go out of style.

But, for those looking for something different, for something a little more off the beaten track, something more adventuresome or creative, there are a host of options out there.

Here’s a look at some of the world’s most unique and unusual hotels.

The Magic Mountain Hotel, in Panguipulli, Chile, at the center of the Huilo Huilo nature reserve, is a hotel in the shape of a mountain. Water spouts from the top of the mountain, cascadeing down the sides creating a spectacular sight. This is definitely not your ordinary hotel. It’s set in the middle of a forest in beautiful southern Chile; there are hot tubs made out of tree trunks, perched on a wooden deck overlooking the woodlands; and there’s also a nearby golf course. Rooms start at around $170USD per night.

In Sweden, visitors to Jukkaskjarvi can stay in a hotel made out of pure, solid ice. Although there are several ice hotels in the world, this one was the original Ice Hotel; it’s also the world’s largest hotel made out of ice and snow, covering some 5500 square meters. The hotel started out as a small igloo built on the Torne River, as an art exhibit. Some visitors decided to sleep in the igloo and the ice hotel concept was born from there. Today there are several ice hotels all over the world.

The Harlingen Lighthouse, in Holland served as a beacon for sailors and their ships for over three centuries. Today, the lighthouse had been converted into a romantic getaway for couples. There’s only a few rooms, so book ahead.

The Franklin Feel the Sound in Rome is dedicated to the aural pleasures, i.e. music. Guests can check out the hotel’s extensive collection of CDs and vinyl records. Each room comes equipped with high tech stereo equipment, and the concierge will gladly point out all the concerts and shows happening during their stay.

Damian Papworth loves assisting travelers on their Gold Coast Holiday. As such, for additional convenience he has built a search engine to find Gold Coast hotels Australia.