Hotel Unique

Sitting in the Jardins District of São Paulo, Brazil, is a towering 80-meter ship that would fit better in an ocean than a residential neighborhood. This giant inverted arch, complete with porthole-shaped windows, is the peculiar Hotel Unique, which welcomes guests aboard to a boat-shaped modernist fantasy.

Known locally as “The Watermelon,” the strange half-moon crescent shape of Hotel Unique is one of the lodging’s main draws, and it greatly influences the shape of its rooms. The hotel’s designer, Ruy Ohtake, takes full advantage of the oddly slanted walls by artistically placing TV sets on the slant and extending tables to reach the edge of the curvature, despite the uneven ground beneath them.

Just as fascinating as the rooms’ angled slants is the rooftop terrace, which features a gourmet restaurant and a panoramic view of South America’s largest city. Atop the terrace is a blood red outdoor pool, complete with underwater music. In the lobby, one can find a large blue circular cushion and a 15-tier stack of liquor bottles. On both the inside and out, Hotel Unique seems to live up to its name.