This was published 6 years ago
Top 10 unsettling hotels revealed in Secret Marvels of the World, Lonely Planet's new book
By Edited by Julietta Jameson
The Stanley Hotel, Colorado.Credit: Alamy
IT'S WONDERFUL, IT'S MARVELLOUS
You've gone down the Grand Canyon, up the Eiffel Tower and clamoured the Colosseum. Now you're ready for some off-the-ticket line action away from the madding crowds. In its new book, Secret Marvels of the World, Lonely Planet leads an adventure into the world's lesser-known sights and attractions.
Here are the top 10 unsettling hotels.
HOTEL VIRU, TALLINN, ESTONIA
KGB spy room on 23rd floor at Hotel Viru is now a museum.Credit: Matt Munro
Foreign visitors weren't funnelled into the Hotel Viru for its views. Under Soviet rule, surveillance was rife in Tallinn, and each of the 60 rooms in the Hotel Viru was bugged. Today, the hotel has a KGB Museum in the former surveillance room. See sokoshotels.fi
RYUGYONG HOTEL, PYONGYANG, NORTH KOREA
People walk past the under construction 105-storey pyramid shaped Ryugyong Hotel where men are seen working on a driveway.Credit: AP
Don't try to stay at this 105-storey hotel in the world's most secretive country. Rumours are rife about why this vast triangle is unfinished after 30 years of construction and $750 million invested.
KAROSTA PRISON, LIEPAJA, LATVIA
Test your masochistic side at a century-old ex-military prison in Liepaja, complete with bullying staff and a rusty door slamming shut. Try not to dream of the Nazi and Soviet prisoners locked in this very cell. See karostascietums.lv
THE STANLEY HOTEL, COLORADO, US
This 1909 hotel, near Rocky Mountains National Park, inspired Stephen King to write his masterpiece The Shining. It's also the location of repeated sightings of its long-dead owners. See stanleyhotel.com
NO MAN'S FORT, HAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND
The threat of attacks by Napoleon III stirred the British to fortify their sea defences, building No Man's Fort with a team of divers. Showered by gunfire during two world wars, it now hosts a luxurious hotel. See solentforts.com
HOTEL CRYPT, MAINE, US
Awaking in a coffin is a nightmare, but you pay for the privilege in Lewiston, Maine. The former resident of the crypt, Father Wallace, lay here for more than a century; now it's your turn. The pine coffin sleeps two. See hotelcrypt.com
CASANUS , STEKENE, BELGIUM
Snuggle up in a bulging, 10-metre-long bowel, 20 kilometres west of Antwerp. This realistic replica of a large intestine, created by artist Joep Van Lieshout, sleeps two people in the spare bedroom inside. See verbekefoundation.com
HENN NA HOTEL, NAGASAKI, JAPAN
Huis Ten Bosch, a replica Dutch village now features a hotel staffed entirely by robots. Credit: AP
This automated hotel is either unsettling or efficient, depending on how you feel about mechanical receptionists, a robot porter and facial recognition. Oh, and two of the reception robots are dinosaurs. See h-n-h.jp
HOTEL CECIL, CALIFORNIA, US
Credit: Alamy
Inspiring TV's American Horror Story, this hotel was the site of three murders and many suicides, a former residence of serial killer Richard Ramirez, and where student Elisa Lam met her unexplained death in 2013. To escape its reputation, the hotel rebranded as Stay on Main. See stayonmain.com
ALBERGO BURCHIANTI, FLORENCE, ITALY
Even guests who are sceptics at check-in emerge the next morning with tales of ghostly maids and poltergeist groping. At least sleepless nights allow time to admire the ceiling frescoes and four-posters. See hotelburchianti.it
Reproduced with permission from Secret Marvels of the World, © 2017 Lonely Planet, lonelyplanet.com
See also: So bad, it's good - the world's worst waxworks museum
See also: Ten signs the restaurant you've chosen is terrible
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