1. ℃ (Do-C) Gotanda is a modern capsule hotel in Tokyo featuring minimal interiors and a rough, industrial look.
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Prices: Start at $45 per night
This capsule hotel, located in a Tokyo red-light district, was redesigned and completed by Jo Nagasaka/Schemata Architects in 2018. Previously, it was also a capsule hotel; the renovation solely provided fresh interiors.
Source: Dezeen, Do-C Gotanda
A public bath in the basement was transformed into showers and a sauna. Existing interior finishes were stripped and reconstructed to provide for a more unfinished look.
The capsule sleeping pods, the hotel's sole accommodation, are big enough to comfortably fit a twin sized mattress.
Guests can book accommodation for as little as an hour.
next slide will load in 15 secondsSkip AdSkip AdAccording to Dezeen, this hotel made it onto the shortlist because of its simple but effective interiors overhaul.
2. Jungle Keva Hotel is a hotel that describes itself as fusing the elements of its design with the nature that surrounds it.
Location: Tulum, Mexico
Prices: Start at $105 per night
Jungle Keva is a boutique hotel situated in the Mayan jungle.
Source: Dezeen, Jungle Keva
It consists of five lodges, each of which boasts a mezzanine, terrace, and an indoor-outdoor bathroom.
The hotel was designed by Jaque Studio with the local greenery in mind, keeping 70% of the original vegetation by constructing lodges amongst pre-existing clusters of trees.
Palm leaf-lined ceilings and natural wooden finishes allow the lodges to blend in with their surroundings.
next slide will load in 15 secondsSkip AdSkip AdThe hotel has been recognized for its environmentally minded approach to design.
3. SWEETS hotel is a collection of 28 tiny bridge houses along Amsterdam canals that were reimagined as individual hotel suites.
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Prices: Start at $132 per night
The suites can accommodate two guests each.
Source: Dezeen, SWEETS hotel
The bridge houses once boarded Amsterdam's many bridge keepers, but with a centralized bridge control system, the structures lost purpose.
In 2012, Space&Matter, a local architecture and design studio, proposed redesigning them as guest suites in the spirit of experiential travel.
They have been working on the project ever since, with 15 of the 28 bridge houses currently accepting reservations.
next slide will load in 15 secondsSkip AdSkip AdThe Dezeen Awards shortlist recognizes SWEETS hotel for "combining modern initiatives with industrial heritage."
4. Dream and Maze are two renovated accommodations within The Other Place, a boutique hotel in Guilin Litopia, China.
Location: Guilin Litopia, China
Prices: Start at $139 per night
The hotel has 10 different, dreamlike, themed guest rooms.
Source: Dezeen, The Other Place
The renovation was spearheaded by Shenzhen-based Studio10. The design was inspired by the works of M.C. Escher, a graphic artist known for his mind-bending artwork of impossible constructions.
The final design is meant to create a mysterious atmosphere and employ elements of optical illusion.
The 650 square foot rooms were completed in 2018. Each room relies on a pale pink and forest green monochromatic color scheme, on top of the unexpected architecture, to transport guests to an alternate reality.
next slide will load in 15 secondsSkip AdSkip AdDezeen included Dream and Maze on its shortlist because of its "serene and fresh environment … with the aim to distance spaces from busy, everyday life."
5. Radar Station is a cozy vacation rental home inside two prefabricated timber sheds erected in 1961 on the coast of Kent, England.
The timber sheds were redesigned by UK-based designer Johnson Naylor into a one-bedroom beach vacation rental home in 2018.
It maintains the exterior shed form, but the interiors were redesigned to be "gentle, natural and calm," according to Dezeen.
The interiors reflect the landscape with a light color palette.
next slide will load in 15 secondsSkip AdSkip AdThe living area features yellow as a pop of color, mirroring the color of indigenous flowers in the area.