Tag Hotel

Designed by Sahabat Selojene, the Piturooms in Indonesia is one of the skinniest hotels in the world! It only has a width of 280 cm, and is an ingenious solution to combating a challenging and complicated inner-city plot. It is nestled in Central Java on a narrow site that is stuffed between an alleyway, a neighboring garden, and surrounding homes. This little space had a lot of potential, and the hotel owners wanted to turn the lack of space into a highlight, converting it into a unique skinny hotel!

Designer: Sahabet Selojene

Piturooms has a height of 55 feet and a length of 31 feet. It features a well-designed interior that accommodates seven hotel rooms, an entrance lobby, a compact lounge, as well as a small outdoor terrace area close to the top of the building. A crisscrossing staircase functions as the focal point of the space, with all the hotel rooms placed around it. There is a tiny elevator as well which is intended for luggage and disabled access. The seven hotel rooms feature different color schemes and house a double bed, TV, and bathroom with shower, sink, and toilet.

“With a size of only 2.8 x 3 x 2.4 m [9.1 x 9.8 x 7.8 ft], each room has the ability to provide an intimate shell of a primitive sleeping nest while still addressing modern living with its compact yet fully equipped amenities in its interior,” said Sahabat Selojene. “The addition of various original artwork in each room introduces an even more personal touch and acts as a starting point for each different theme.

Selojene connected the various rooms, floating steps, and the narrow corridor with grating as flooring to build a unique transparent and see-through effect inside the entire building. This gives the space a larger and more expansive feel, providing it with a certain openness. The openness also allows air streams to be generated between the external walls and the opaque canopy on every floor.

The Piturooms makes for a unique and comfortable stay in the heart of Central Java. If you’re interested in staying, you can book a room for almost US$55  per night.

When people speak of hotels, they probably think of towering buildings in the middle of cities or near beaches and tourist hot spots. Few will probably imagine one built on desert landscapes, surrounded by imposing mountains on one end and a sea on the other. They probably wouldn’t even be able to imagine how the hotel would be composed of towering spires that seem to be made from the very same rock as the mountains. That combination of elements, however, is exactly what NEOM’s latest ambitious project is proposing, creating a picturesque tourism escape that resembles fantasy or sci-fi fortresses built from mountains, which is actually also the blueprint for this hotel and residence dream.

Designer: NEOM

Imagine riding a boat across a sea and gazing at an imposing mountain range across the horizon. As you near the coast, you notice what seem to be stone pillars rising from the ground, their shadows during the day and lights at night casting an almost otherworldly atmosphere around them. This majestic view is actually your destination, and that’s the kind of adventure that the Siranna is meant to offer, a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and a journey into an ultra-luxurious and dreamy location where sea, mountains, and wadi intersect.

To be built on the Gulf of Aqaba coastline in Saudi Arabia, the Siranna is a complex that will be home to a 65-key hotel and 35 exclusive residences that promise top-of-the-line resort amenities, from beach clubs to spas to wellness facilities. Despite the seemingly dry environment, the experience will also include outdoor adventures, whether on foot or on horseback, to explore the awe-inspiring landscapes that surround this man-made structure. Even the way you get to Siranna will be a breathtaking journey that starts with a boat ride to a secluded bay and then a trek through the mountain’s natural rock formations before finally reaching the property.

The design of the architecture is quite unique and distinctive, with hexagonal pillars that make up both the vertical buildings as well as horizontal spaces. The towers have a single window that runs through the height of the pillar, resulting in a rather striking vertical pattern of lights at night. If you’ve ever seen fictional cities or castles built on the side of mountains, this rather unusual space definitely fits the bill.

Just as unusual as its design is the actual construction of Siranna, intended to support sustainable living and conservation at the same time. The hotel is almost literally carved into the mountainside, allowing it to seamlessly blend with its surroundings while also minimizing intervention in nature and preserving the surrounding landscape. In an age where skyscrapers are eating up the land and blocking the skies for the sake of human convenience, the NEOM Siranna represents an escape not only from the mundane but also from the devastation we inflict on the planet.

High-rise buildings seem to be the trending design in architecture, but some visionaries plan to take that to the extreme. Concepts and even actual construction of buildings seem to defy logic and physics in order to create a striking skyline that will be remembered for centuries. With their riches and resources, countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia seem to be in a race to erect towering structures that will provide not only shelter but also the ultimate luxury, unlocking vistas that would be unimaginable by current standards. The latest dream to be revealed would take root on the Gulf of Aqaba in northwestern Saudi Arabia, where not just one or even two but three towers will rise like sharp needles that pierce the heavens to offer a lavish escape from the stresses of the future.

Designer: NEOM

The Gulf of Aqaba, which forms one of the northern tips of the Red Sea, paints quite a dramatic picture because of the marriage of two geographical extremes: a coastal strip and a desert plain. Erecting skyscrapers would mar this picturesque scenery, but having just two creates an even more striking effect, like alien obelisks rising from the sands to act as portals to other worlds. It is perhaps not by coincidence that NEOM describes the Epicon as a gateway to the future, particularly the future of hotel and resort tourism for the region.

The main structure of the hotel concept is two asymmetrical towers, one 275 meters (902 feet) in height, the other only 225 meters (739 feet). The 41 key hotel and luxury residences comprise 14 suites and apartments and the two towers are connected by an elevated platform with exposed structural beams. In fact, the entire design of the Epicon towers has this industrial aesthetic from a distance, enhancing the mystique of the structure and creating a distinctive skyline that easily promotes the resort by itself.

This key motif is also employed in the Epicon resort that lines up the coastal shore, featuring 120 rooms and 45 residential beach villas. The single tower mirrors the twin hotel skyscrapers on a smaller scale, creating a play on perspective that serves to magnify the imposing presence of the twin towers. The distance between these two amenities generates an atmosphere of adventure and travel when going from one location to the other as if journeying between different worlds connected by a common vision and culture.

This otherworldly theme is especially evident at night when those structural beams are illuminated to create a visual not unlike futuristic towers from science fiction. It’s designed to invoke feelings of awe, wonder, and curiosity, inviting people from all walks of life to lose themselves in a luxurious experience away from the mind-numbing routines of daily life. The resort and hotel may be envisioned to offer first-class experiences and world-class service when it finally opens its doors, but Epicon’s design alone already entices visitors with epic moments of luxury, peace, and inspiration.

Nestled in the easternmost state of Mexico, Quintana Roo is the stunning hotel Boca de Agua. Designed by Mexico City architect Frida Escobedo, who is the winner of the 2024 Charlotte Perriand Award, the hotel is located next to the Bacalar Lagoon which is defined by clean blue waters that instantly invite you in. The crystal clear waters of the lagoon seem like an instant relief from the heat of the Mexican environment! The Boca de Agua is a family of minimal wooden treehouses that are surrounded by lush greenery and foliage.

Designer: Frida Escobeda

The holiday destination is brimming to the top with greenery in an effort to have a positive and calming impact on the guests’ mental health, while also positively affecting the natural environment. “Since my early twenties, I started suffering from crippling anxiety,” said Boca de Agua’s founder Rodrigo Juarez. “The only times I was able to get out of this frustrating loop was when I would spend extended periods of time in nature. Since this realization, I began a long journey to try to develop a project in the intersection of natural conservation and mental health – and Boca de Agua was born.” Juarez wanted to extend that calming sensation he experienced in nature to others, providing them with a peaceful haven of sorts.

The hotel includes 22 raised structures, some of which are one-bedroom, while others are two bedrooms and two restaurants. One of the restaurants features a stargazing platform on top. The property also includes a lagoon deck, a petanque court, and a spa with four mature chaká trees surrounding it.

Besides being a lush and relaxing location, the Boca de Agua hotel also aims to engage local small businesses and provide employment to emerging professionals from underrepresented groups. The design of the hotel is also sustainable and is highlighted by an Escobedo staple, which is latticework. The latticework ensures natural ventilation and shade while providing the space with an artisanal and charming vibe. At the same time, it ensures that the site utilizes timber, and employs local labor and construction techniques, irrespective of its modern design.