Unique countries like Thailand are home to unique people who create incredibly unique hotels. Any standard hotel room in Thailand can offer a killer view and give you access to a variety of interesting temples, shops, and restaurants. For those after an experience that is above and beyond the standard, expect to be impressed with the accommodations the country offers.
Unique places to stay in Thailand can be found in any major city throughout the country. Though, the most peculiar hotels are often found in the middle of nowhere. Whether you’re interested in a treehouse experience, a room with an ocean view, or sleeping in a giant fruit, we’ll introduce you to the wildest and the weirdest.
What kind of unique experience are you searching for? Some tourists define unique as extravagant and rare. Other travelers want something that will make their Instagram more interesting, while a select few are just after a bizarre experience. We’ll list something for every type of explorer.
Hello Kitty House (permanently closed)
If you’re looking for a fun hotel room for a young daughter, we highly recommend the Hello Kitty House in Bangkok. This room can only be found on Airbnb under the name Kitty Lovely Room. This Airbnb is located near Sutthisan, just North of Bangkok’s city center.
The owner, Jidapha, has created a room that is completely covered in Hello Kitty memorabilia. From the curtains to the bedspread, everything in this room is stylized after Hello Kitty. Even the toilet is themed after the popular Asian children’s cartoon character.
You might find a few copies elsewhere in Asia but nobody goes to the level of detail that Jidapha does. The sponges in the sink are in the shape of Hello Kitty, too. The bright pink curtains partially block the sun’s bright light in the afternoon. This creates an effect of a unique pink light that brightens every square inch of the room.
Whether you’re a lifetime Hello Kitty fan or just looking to troll your boyfriend during your vacation, this Airbnb is equal parts charming and fun.
Rin Beach Resort
If you’re visiting Koh Pha-ngan for the notorious Full Moon Party, it’s important that you stay close to Haad Rin Beach. We highly recommend Rin Beach Resort, located just 2 minutes away from the famous beach. Many people stay on the other side of the island to save a bit of money and avoid the giant swarms of party-goers.
These individuals don’t consider the inevitable future that awaits them come 4 in the morning. If you’re intoxicated and covered in neon paint, how are you going to get home? The likely answer for these poor, drunk fools involves the bed of a pickup truck. If you stay at Rin Beach Resort, you can walk home easily.
At an extremely reasonable rate of $80/hight, you can stay in their nicest room. Rin Beach Resort offers a giant wooden boat situated on land right beside the beach. It is the perfect accommodation for those afraid of rare monsoons, as your boat will just sail off with the waves!
Haad Khuad Resort
If you’re after a completely isolated experience with all the luxuries that modern day travelers demand (like wifi and non-squat toilets). Haad Khuad Resort offers bungalows right on the beach shore so you can wake up with the sunrise on the horizon. This area (Bottle Beach) can only truly be accessed by a boat taxi from Chaloklum. The occasional offroad loving local might be willing to take you on the single dirt road but expect a dangerous ride.
Haad Khuad Resort is set apart from its competitors because of a single factor – their awesome staff. Every person with a decent sense of humor leaves positive reviews of this humble beachside hotel. One of their employees, who goes by the name Monkey, plays guitar and sings fake songs about the heartbreak of a ladyboy lover. Some people leave negative reviews but those people are generally dead inside.
The hotel restaurant is the best place to eat on the island. The isolation of this hotel will leave you in a peaceful state of mind. In the daytime, you can hike up to the top of a nearby mountain that offers a gorgeous lookout point. If you’re in Koh Pha-ngan and not interested in the Full Moon Party, this place is a must see.
Le Palais Hotel
When we think of Asia, our minds often conjure images of temples and old Buddhist ruins. Another hotel located on Koh Pha-ngan capitalizes on this imagery. Le Palais Hotel has been under construction for 20 years. This Angkor Wat style temple hotel is perpetually being improved.
Le Palais sits on the Southern side of the island and offers an incredible view of the ocean. You can kill two birds with one stone by staying at this resort. There’s no need to visit a temple on the other side of the island because your hotel is quite literally a temple itself. I might even argue that the architecture here is more important than that of any real temple within 50 miles.
ARTpartment
ARTpartment is a small boutique accommodation that’s perfect for an artsy family during their vacation in Bangkok. This home turned hotel is extremely unique. The ARTpartment is located near Thonglor and the hipster RCA bar district for those who enjoy a fun night out.
It’s also extremely close to Iron Fairies, a hip and trendy bar that serves delicious craft cocktails. To give you an example of how interesting this neighborhood is, ARTpartment’s most bizarre neighbor used to be the Pooltime Cafe, a coffee shop that was home to 3 curious and silly raccoons. You could play with the raccoons for a small fee before they closed their doors.
Every room has a giant handpainted mural on the wall. In fact, these murals match the respective theme of each room as the bedroom designs are crafted around a specific famous artist. Their bathtubs (yes, there are multiple) are luxurious and seem as though they have been inspired by a high-end interior design magazine. They might be the highlight of the apartment.
If you book the ARTpartment, you’ll have access to all 4 rooms in the home. They even offer a complimentary DIY breakfast and midnight snack. They truly think of everything to make your experience cozy and warm.
The designer has managed other hotels previously featured in Cosmopolitan, which happens to be the exact word one should use to describe this hotel. While a hotel might not be the right word (as you’ll have the whole place to yourself), we’re not exactly sure what to call it. Whatever this rental is, it’s definitely unique.
Circus Hostel
For most in Thailand, the town of Pai in the North elicits thoughts of hippies and begpackers (yes, that’s spelled correctly). The famous Pai Circus School Hostel might be responsible for this association. At the very least, it plays a pivotal role in the shaping of this small city’s culture. This hostel is exactly what it sounds like.
Many kids threaten to run away from home as children. My parents used to say “What is your plan? Are you going to join the circus?”. Well, it turns out that’s actually an option if you find yourself in Pai. On their website, they advertise slacklining and fire-twirling at least 5 different times.
If daily campfires, communal ukeleles, and free hugs are your “vibe”, then this is exactly the place for you. If air conditioning and nice showers are more of your thing, we recommend staying at a hotel chain elsewhere in town. It’s the perfect place for like-minded people in elephant pants to meet up.
The Pai Circus Hostel advertises ‘Circus Jams’ quite often. The concept of a Circus Jam is quite simple – they give you large sticks, baton, juggling balls, etc. and then you light these objects on fire and toss them repeatedly into the air. They do not charge any fee in order to play with large sticks on fire.
All jokes aside, fire-twirling is a huge craft in Thailand. The islands in the South feature fire-twirlers almost every night and are quite lax about letting newcomers try this out. If you’re going to the South after Pai, this is a great way to learn skills that will surely impress some of the island locals.
The Circus Jam is completely run by volunteers. Therefore, your teacher’s skill level is likely to vary from week to week. Don’t be afraid of fire-twirling. I know that sounds ridiculous but I’ve seen so many people accidentally hit themselves with the fire and nothing happened. Unless you’re being completely careless and are willing to let the enflamed item touch your skin for more than 5 seconds at a time, you’ll be alright.
The Library
Koh Samui is one of the more famous islands in the Southern Thai islands. If you’re interested in staying somewhere modern, elegant, and luxurious during your time in Koh Samui, look no further than The Library hotel. In an extremely futuristic (and slightly odd) move, they have dyed their infinity pool red.
The Library is so modern and cutting edge that they say things like “The Library stands as a seamless example of how design can tastefully merge with comfort, quality and the timeless power of nature”. They have 46 studios, suites, and poolside villas throughout their property. Honestly, their sense of luxury is unmatched throughout the 3 islands of Koh Samui, Koh Pha-ngan, and Koh Tao.
Swiss Valley Hip Resort
If you’re visiting Thailand, you probably wish to sleep in a hotel or resort that is properly Thai-influenced. The Swiss Valley Hip Resort might be more suited to Thai citizens who wish to travel throughout their own country. Who knows?
Maybe you’re Swiss, have been in Thailand for a very long time, and are feeling homesick. If that’s the case, then the Swiss Valley Hip Resort is exactly the hotel for you. Located in Ratchaburi (and not the Swiss Alps), these accommodations act as a bizarre transportation device. They’re located in a mountainous region themselves, so it’s not drastically different if you set your imagination free.
You can find traditional Swiss architecture throughout the entire complex – from the rooms to the property’s giant windmill. It’s not all Swiss per se. For example, they also have a red British telephone booth and several tractors (which seems a little more Texan). There’s even a non-functioning airplane on site.
This tranquil resort offers everything a normal hotel might plus a sheep farm. I can’t imagine most other Swiss hotels offer that. You can buy food and feed these animals any time you please. They also have a variety of sporting activities available for your entire family.
Fruit Hotel (Ban Phasawan)
Fruit Hotel is the most unique hotel in Thailand – that is a personal guarantee. Their web presence is largely non-existent. Other articles that try to feature this resort often spell the name incorrectly, as there is no real translation from the Thai language. The closest translation is Ban Phasawan. The website was as challenging to find as the hotel.
It’s located in an isolated region near the Myanmar border. The only reasons people visit this section of Thailand stem from hiking, climbing, and outdoorsy activities. If you’re nearby the area (within 100 square miles), you have to visit this weird unique hotel. All the rooms are modeled after fruit.
That’s right. You will be sleeping in a giant fruit. They have a dragonfruit building, a durian building, a rambutan building, an apple building, a mango building. If you loved Spongebob Squarepants (or your kids loved the show), you can even stay in a giant pineapple. The resort’s architect certainly had an affinity for the obscure – or maybe he just really liked fruit.
This is the most bizarre hotel in Thailand. If you wish to sleep inside a giant grape, then look no further. The resort has surprisingly nice amenities but those pale in comparison to the idea that you would be sleeping inside of a fruit. It’s bananas!
Panorama Farm
If you’re not interested in sleeping inside of giant fruit, then maybe you’d like to sleep in a huge mushroom? Located just beside Khao Yai national park, the Panorama Farm is a resort with a mushroom theme. We don’t mean a place where hippies congregate in mass (that’s the Pai Circus Hostel – see above).
The room is not entirely in the stem, the bedroom portion lies in the mushroom cap. One might even say that the hotel offers much room. This unique resort experience is bright, colorful, and perfect for your Instagram. While mushrooms might grow in the dirt, the rooms certainly do not as these accommodations are clean and modern.
This isn’t a giant resort (obviously – that would be quite the sight). Though, one of the largest attractions here is the mushroom farm that sits next door to the resort. You can stay in a mushroom and then eat fried mushrooms for dinner.
Keemala Phuket
We seem to be on a bit of a food trend. If fruit or mushrooms aren’t your desired hotel experience, how about staying in a giant egg? While not actually modeled after a chicken’s egg, this luxury resort in Phuket offers a sleek, trendy sleeping arrangement that takes a similar shape.
There are a variety of different rooms that one can choose while staying at Keemala. Many of these rooms are built from different materials yet they flow together in a common theme. This motif at this 5-star resort is a far cry from many of the other resorts you can find in Phuket. The nightly price tag certainly proves that.
It’s quite easy to find a treehouse hotel in Thailand. This hotel is set apart as the treehouses offered here are more luxurious than the nicest room at any other hotel. The onsite spa and bar can ensure you get whatever sort of relaxing day you wish to have.
Baan Suan Noi Resort
Most people who travel frequently are keenly aware that The Hobbit was filmed in New Zealand. You can visit this Kiwi film scene but can’t stay in it. For ‘Lord of the Rings’ aficionados who demand an overnight experience, Baan Suan Noi Resort is the place to stay.
Keep in mind that the resort is meant to mimic a Hobbit’s home. If you’re a professional basketball player, the ceilings might not be ideal for your height. This quirky hotel under a hill offers several rooms and you’ll get to meet like-minded people. It’s always fun to visit with other hotel patrons in a new city, but here you can be sure that those around you have a similar affinity for Gandolf and Frodo.
500 Rai Floating Resort
This resort is situated entirely on water. The bungalows act more like houseboats and the layout of this resort creates a semi-circle on the famous Chiew Larn Lake. Chiew Larn Lake is equidistant from Phuket and Koh Samui, sitting almost exactly in the middle of the two famous tourist destinations.
Chiew Larn Lake is one of the main attractions inside the Khao Sok national park so it is ideal for those after isolated, private accommodations surrounded by natural beauty. As the hotel is located inside a national park, you can ensure that the operations are environmentally friendly.
Thai bungalows that sit on the water have existed for hundreds of years. Like their predecessors, this resort doesn’t offer wifi. It’s perfect for travelers who wish to unplug and experience the uninterrupted beauty of nature. Khao Sok national park has several famous landmarks like the nearby fishing villages and huge limestone structures that jet out of the lake’s center.
Khao Sok national park is often regarded by locals as the world’s oldest forest (though, we’re not entirely sure what that even means). We highly recommend this unique experience. There’s nothing quite like waking up in the middle of a lake. Unlike the famous movie ‘The Parent Trap’, you’re waking up in the middle of a lake willingly. Your bed is much nicer, too!
Khao Sok Tree House Resort
If you’re not interested in sleeping on a lake, there are other places in Khao Sok that offer unique accommodations. The experience of sleeping in a nice room inside a national park is a unique offering in and of itself. The Khao Sok Tree House Resort is another great option for nature aficionados.
Their website and reviews repeat the claim that Khao Sok is the world’s oldest evergreen forest so there must be some element of truth to the statement. This tree house is in the middle of the jungle. You’ll feel like you’re truly in a treehouse as a few of the rooms here are almost 50 feet off the ground. It’s certainly not a hotel for those afraid of heights.
Adding to the treehouse feel, each of these high-placed huts is crafted and made of wood. The treehouses aren’t necessarily tiny hotel rooms like one imagines either. They offer rooms that can accommodate guests reaching double digits. Though, nothing says romance like a charming room for two high above the forest floor.
The treehouse feel might be off-putting to some, but you’ll be far from roughing it if you stay at this resort. Each treehouse offers its own private bathroom, though, it’s not clear where the pipes are located?
Soneva Kiri
The wooden architecture of Soneva Kiri is extremely intricate and phenomenally crafted. The resort offers an incredible view of the Gulf of Thailand whether you’re laying in your bed, at the infinity pool, or relaxing on your deck. The artisan impression here blends well with the hyper-futuristic amenities one can observe and appreciate while here. The hotel has electric buggies that can bring you to higher or lower elevations around the property, like an outdoor elevator.
Soneva Kiri is found on Koh Kood, an island between Thailand and Cambodia. You can choose a room near the beach, on the forest slopes, or even a room situated upon giant stilts. The construction team did a phenomenal job building units around the existing physical features without needing to demolish the nature that makes this resort truly great.
If you’re not afraid of heights, you can even dine in a suspended pod on a cliff. This egg-like dinner table is positioned beside a waterfall and might be the most luxurious setting one could have for a romantic meal. The outdoor cinema and observatory will have you wondering why every hotel doesn’t offer these types of amenities.
Six Senses Yao Noi
Are you an eccentric millionaire vacationing with your young girlfriend? This is the ideal resort for you. Yao Noi is located in Phang Nga Bay, the Northern part of the Andaman Sea. The karst archipelago is famous for several landmarks featured in an old James Bond movie. The view from this resort is arguably the best view in the entire world.
The previous claim was not an exaggeration. Located in an isolated part of Thailand’s prettiest bay, the resort offers a sense of peace and quiet that isn’t attainable elsewhere. The natural materials used in the construction of this hotel give the authentically Thai impression that you’ve been transported to paradise.
There are a variety of room options available. We recommend booking one of the rooms that offer a private infinity pool. While swimming in solitude, you can have access to a view that is unrivaled in a region known for its incredible views.
No matter where you choose to stay in Thailand, you’ll be sleeping minutes away from excitement and adventure. Whether your budget is that of a shoestring traveler or a retired CEO, you’ll have access to beauty unparalleled in your hometown. You can have a unique experience anywhere in this country at any variety of prices.
Whether you want to stay in the islands at a place like Haad Khuad Resort on Bottle Beach or you prefer to find a themed Hello Kitty apartment in a nice Bangkok suburb, Thailand offers a ton of unique places to rest your head. Interesting accommodations can be challenging to find for some tourists, though it comes naturally to others. You just have to know where to look.
Related Questions
What are the most unique places to stay in Bangkok?
Bangkok is full of interesting and unique places to stay. Some of the best accommodations for alternative travelers are ARTpartment, The Secret Service Bed and Breakfast, Reggae Hostel, and the Bangkok Tree House. These hotels fit a variety of budgets and personality types.
What are the most unique things to do in Thailand?
Some of the most unique activities in Thailand include visiting Khao San Road, the Full Moon Party, Bangkok’s floating marketplace, the odd temple named ‘Sanctuary of Truth’, and another unique temple named ‘The White Temple’. You can even eat scorpions and drink snake blood if you’re really interested in a bizarre experience.
