London - Fancy holidaying in a crane, bedding down in a sewage pipe, or checking in to a former prison?
Some of these unusual buildings have been turned into unlikely tourist hotspots by astute businesses keen to give them a new lease of life.
All around the world, once-tired buildings, historic landmarks and even old abandoned forts have become truly unusual hotspots, offering a unique experience for visitors.
l Maritime crane in the Netherlands
This crane in Amsterdam boasts three luxury hotel suites, a spa pool and a TV broadcasting studio catering to holidaymakers who aren’t afraid of getting high in the Dutch city.
The 50m maritime crane, one of the world’s oldest and highest, was doomed for decay after being branded “impossible” to develop.
But just three years later, it is hosting elite guests for its swanky rotating suites decked out by a top team of interior designers and its panoramic-view pool, now called the Hotel Faralda in Amsterdam.
The 250-ton crane, rising from the ground at the hip NDSM site on the River Ij’s banks, was saved despite the creation of the hotel being dismissed as “technically impossible”, according to its spokesman Edwin Kornmann Rudi.
“But after years of preparation there was a point of no return. Nowhere else in the world is there something as unique, as big and high as this hotel.
“This has put an end to the fight against the decline of the historic harbour crane. The grand dame has finally reached her destination as the most extravagant crane hotel in the world.
“It is also the most talked about wedding location in the country. We’ve had people getting married in the studio, sleeping in one of the three suites and having their wedding night start in the hot tub at the top of the crane.”
Alongside deluxe dining and sumptuous suites, the steel colossus also boasts a private business club where internationally oriented companies and stakeholders to use the crane for all sorts of sessions.
The suites are the most expensive in the Netherlands after developers splurged R12-million building each room, setting customers back by £340 (R6 000) each.
l UK’s Solent defence station
Standing 1.6km out to sea, Spitbank Fort had a £3m conversion over two years ago to transform it into a luxury hotel that can sleep up to 18 people.
The 136-year-old gun emplacement was built to protect the country’s fleet when Britannia ruled the waves.
Found in the Solent, it was almost destroyed by bombing in World War II and ceased all military functions in 1982.
Following a dramatic transformation, it is now a stunning hotel location, costing as much as £5 000 a night.
In addition to the incredible ocean views, guests can enjoy the wine cellar and games room.
Many of the fort’s original features have been kept intact, with the gun ports transformed into bedroom windows offering sea views and gunpowder rooms making cosy snugs.
Its 4.5m granite walls mean guests are well protected from the roughest of weather.
It was originally constructed to protect England’s coast from a possible French invasion and later used during both world wars to defend Portsmouth Harbour from attacks. During World War II the fort was decimated by Nazi bombs before it was revamped and turned into a night club in the 1990s.
Clarenco worked alongside English Heritage to ensure many of the original features of the fort, which is a scheduled ancient monument, were preserved.
It used to have room for 150 soldiers, who slept in hammocks, but now guests can relax in the lap of luxury in nine spacious bedrooms. The hotel provides boat transfers from nearby Portsmouth and Gosport in Hampshire.
l Sewage pipes in Germany and Austria
In one of the more unique concepts, travellers to Germany and Austria can sleep in refurbished sewer pipes.
The Das Park hotel has converted the 1.8m tall, 9.5 ton concrete structures into cosy rooms that include double beds, luggage space and even power points to charge cellphones and digital cameras.
However, there are no windows – apart from a small circular airhole near the top of the pipes – and guests must use toilets and showers in local public buildings.
There are three “suites” located in a public park in the Austrian city of Ottensheim, while there are five suites located in Bernepark, near Essen in the central part of the Rhur area in Germany. Guests are required to book on the hotel’s website. On acceptance of the booking, guests receive a code to unlock the door to their pipe.
The thick cement keeps the interior comfortable and eliminates noise from outside while the concrete walls are cool on hot days and comfortably warm in winter.
l World Heritage-listed prison in Australia
Fremantle Prison, Western Australia’s only World Heritage-listed building, has been transformed into a youth hostel where worldly travellers can spend a night behind bars in the cells previously occupied by hardened criminals.
A renovation of the famous institution’s women’s prison which took nine months.
The north-western complex of the prison was built in the 1850s and originally served as the cookhouse, bakehouse and laundry, but the closure of Perth Gaol meant a place was needed to keep female prisoners.
They were transferred to Fremantle and the wing was secured by an extra wall to keep them in, with varying results. And as Western Australia’s criminals increased with the population, the division was further extended until it was rendered redundant by the building of the specialist Bandyup Women’s Prison in 1970.
The entire prison was closed in 1991 and its historic status has since been confirmed and honoured by Unesco, a blessing and a curse as far as the hostel is concerned.
“The status as a World Heritage site added many challenges to the development, which was shelved a number of times before finally receiving approval in April 2014,” spokeswoman Emily Abbott says. “Building approval was officially given the green light the following month.”
The prison itself was built by convicts between 1851 and 1859, and was consequently referred to as the Convict Establishment.
It remained a prison for 136 years until it closed, with the Women’s Prison part of the property used as education facilities by TAFE School of Art and Design from 1993 to 2009.
Daily Mail