[PHOTOS] All These Spaces Are So Awesome, It's Hard To Believe They Are Hotels

These design concepts sew urban living and hotel luxury so seamlessly. You'll be surprised at how unconventional these hotels are!

1. This hotel next to the Berlin Zoo gives you a little urban jungle feel with rooms overlooking the zoo's ape and elephant areas!

Located right in the heart of Berlin’s City West district within the Bikini-Haus building, the 25hours Hotel Bikini Berlin brings a unique mix of zoo and urban jungle together thanks to its prime location right beside the Berlin Zoo. With half of the rooms overlooking the ape and elephant areas of the zoo and the other half looking out over the landmark Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, it’s no surprise that the interior is just as diverse as its views, thanks to Berlin-based designer Werner Aisslinger.

 

 

2. This space refurbished from an 1885 building in Stockholm - you won't want to leave your room!

Scandic Grand Central hotel in Stockholm opened it's doors in November of 2011. Designed by Stockholm based firm Koncept, the hotel is housed in a building that dates back from 1885 – yet another glorious example of carefully resuscitated heritage building turned into contemporary gold in the hands of intelligent and talented Scandinavian designers

   

3. This ultra retro boutique hotel in Chiangmai bursting with nostalgic, eclectic energy

Located in the lovely area of Mae Yen / Mae Hee, Reverie Siam Resort enjoys a commanding position in the family fun, romance, sightseeing hub of Pai. Set 1.0 Km from the excitement of the city, this 4-star hotel commands an excellent location and provides access to the city's biggest attractions. With its convenient location, the hotel offers easy access to the city's must-see destinations.

 

  

 

4. This cosy yet fabulously retro hotel in London that boasts of refurbished furniture from the sixties

Ace Hotel Shoreditch, London is designed by London based Universal Design Studio, the exterior façade is broken up to blend with the historic context of Shoreditch, while the interior stays true to the bold and wild reputation of the Seattle, Palm Springs, New York and Portland hotels. Throughout the 258 rooms, the in-house flower shop, brasserie, juice bar and café, there’s a strong focus on local craftsmanship with very cool mix of refurbished retro furniture and bespoke features.

 

5. This intimate hotel in Valencia with modern fixtures next to stonewalls, under the roof of 19-century beams

The Caro hotel is a 5 star, urban and stylish hotel of 26 rooms, each one with not only interior design but a real soul. Located in the heart of the city, about five minutes walking from Valencia Cathedral and the Basilica, the Caro Hotel is the first historical monument-hotel in Valencia.

    

6. This luxe dessert-themed hotel in Melbourne with pops of candy colours against black and white accents - yum!

All guestrooms at the Adelphi Hotel feature an art-deco interior with bright fabrics, business style furnishing and multifunctional equipment creating a cozy atmosphere excellent for both work and relaxation. Business travelers will find a working desk with internet and direct dial phone outlet as well as some writing facilities. Leisure tourists will enjoy separately designed sitting area with mini-bar, TV access as well as city views.

Don't mind coming home to a beautiful space every day? You could make that a reality this year.
i-City is a 72-acre freehold township located in Shah Alam just off the Federal Highway. It is easily accessible with direct flyover connectivity to the Federal Highway and a quick drive to the NKVE. You'll love coming back home to hotel lifestyle and services provided by Best Western Hotel to i-City residents, 1.5 million square feet of retail heaven in Central Plaza (operated by the Thailand Central Retail Group), and 24-hour operations and entertainment. You deserve a tasteful getaway, every day.

Wildlife Overpasses Around The World: Working With Nature, Not Against

 

Rapid deforestation and excessive human intervention into wildlife habitat has lead to frequent straying of wild animals into human habitation. Intrusion into wildlife habitat typically occurs due to illegal encroachment and also when roads, railroads, canals, electric power lines, and pipelines penetrate and divide wildlife habitat. Wild animals attempting to cross roads often find themselves in front of speeding vehicles.

Road mortality has significantly impacted a number of prominent species in the United States and elsewhere, including white-tailed deer, Florida panthers, and black bears. According to a study made in 2005, nearly 1.5 million traffic accidents involving deer occur each year in the United States that cause an estimated $1.1 billion in vehicle damage. In addition, species that are unable to migrate across roads to reach resources such as food, shelter and mates experiences reduced reproductive and survival rates.

One way to minimize human-wildlife conflict is to construct wildlife crossings such as bridges and underpasses that allow animals to cross human-made barriers safely. 

Wildlife overpass in Banff National Park. Photo: Joel Sartore

The first wildlife crossings were constructed in France during the 1950s. Since then, several European countries including the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, and France have been using various crossing structures to reduce the conflict between wildlife and roads. In the Netherlands alone there are more than 600 tunnels installed under major and minor roads including the longest “ecoduct” viaduct, near Crailo that runs 800 meters.

Wildlife crossings have also become increasingly common in Canada and the United States. The most recognizable wildlife crossings in the world are found in Banff National Park in Alberta where the national park is bisected by a large commercial road called the Trans-Canada Highway.

To reduce to effect of the four lane highway, 24 vegetated overpasses and underpasses were built to ensure habitat connectivity and protect motorists. These passes are used regularly by bears, moose, deer, wolves, elk, and many other species.

In the United States, thousands of wildlife crossings have been built in the past 30 years, including culverts, bridges, and overpasses. These have been used to protect Mountain Goats in Montana, Spotted Salamanders in Massachusetts, Bighorn Sheep in Colorado, Desert Tortoises in California, and endangered Florida Panthers in Florida.

The Netherlands contains an impressive number of wildlife crossings – over 600, that includes both underpasses and ecoducts. The Veluwe, a 1000 square kilometers of woods, heathland and drifting sands, the largest lowland nature area in North Western Europe, contains nine ecoducts, 50 meters wide on average, that are used to shuttle wildlife across highways that transect the Veluwe. The Netherlands also boasts the world’s longest ecoduct-wildlife overpass called the Natuurbrug Zanderij Crailo. This massive structure, completed in 2006, is 50 m wide and over 800 m long and spans a railway line, business park, river, roadway, and sports complex.

Ecoduct Borkeld in the Netherlands. Photo credit

Wildlife overpass in Banff National Park. Photo credit

Ecoduct Kikbeek in Hoge Kempen National Park, Belgium. Photo credit

Ecoduct, Kootwijk in the Netherlands. Photo credit

Photo credit

An Elephant underpass in Kenya.

Do you think this is a good idea? Should we be implementing these wildlife crossings in every place we can? We think so. If you feel as we feel please consider sharing this story with your friends by clicking on the tabs below this post.

Sources/credits:

http://wildlifecontrol.info/pubs/Documents/Deer/Deer-Vehicle_factsheet1.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildlife_crossing

http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/ab/banff/plan/transport/tch-rtc/passages-crossings.aspx

http://arc-solutions.org/new-solutions/

Credits: AmusingPlanet

Hello Kitty Cafe in Korea

Hello Kitty Cafe in Korea | Hello Kitty is a fictional character produced by the Japanese company Sanrio, first designed by Yuko Shimizu. Hello Kitty is portrayed as a female white Japanese bobtail cat with a red bow. The character is a staple of the kawaii (cute) segment of Japanese popular culture. The Hello Kitty trademark has spread globally and for that, in 2003, Sanrio earned over $1 billion annually in sales outside of Japan. Hello Kitty was originally aimed at pre-adolescent females. Hello Kitty’s market has broadened to include grown up consumers. She can be found on a variety of products ranging from school supplies to fashion accessories and high-end consumer products. Now that it has become so popular, there is even a cafe with Hello Kitty theme in Korea and Japan.

Outside of the cafe

One of the Hello Kitty Cafe in Korea is located at Hong Dae (Hong Ik University Station, Subway Line 2). Anyone who are enthusiastic with Hello Kitty will be amazed when they see such cutesy stuff.

Signage outside the cafe

Stepping inside this cafe will give one a soothing vibe that was comfortable and peaceful. It is pink overload, nevertheless the ambiance  was set perfectly for a nice conversation over a cup of coffee with your friends.

The cashier counter

As Korean are famous with their tradition of having elegant chat in a coffee house or even a restaurant, the Koreans are keeping this elegant chat in business. Cushions of cuteness, twee-flavored coffee, waffles, splashed and sprayed with Hello Kitty theme is all what is expected to be found in this cafe.

Cappucino with Hello Kitty face powdered on top

Interior of the cafe

All this is combined with a pink walls, Hello Kitty memorabilia, which will make the guest of mostly kawaii Korean girls and even families and tourists feel so comfy and as if they are in a cartoon world even for a while. It will indeed be an unforgetable visit.

Source: AsiaObscura

Wedding with the Penguins at Underwater World Langkawi

Wedding with the penguins at Underwater World Langkawi – Langkawi is a very well-known island in Malaysia. It is also known as the Jewel of Kedah as it is part of Kedah state. Langkawi is said to be a heaven for shopaholic as it is a duty-free island which is what traveling is all about apart from relaxing the mind, body and soul. Being one of the most visited place in Malaysia by both the locals and the tourists, Langkawi have many destination of attraction to draw the attention of its visitors eyes. Underwater World Langkawi is one of them. It is one of the largest marine and aquaria of hundreds of fresh water creatures. With 34,701 square foot oceanarium, Visiting to Underwater World Langkawi provides the tourists with a one stop shopping, eating and entertainment package as it is located adjacent to a shopping centre and cafes nearby.

Underwater World, Langkawi

To boost up its attraction for the tourists, Underwater World Langkawi had organised an event that is slightly different from the other. On 10th of May 2012, they held a wedding ceremony for Underwater Wold staffs, three of them, with penguins!

   

Couples waving at the crowd

Time to feed the penguins!

The couples sit on makeshift dais while being witnessed by the penguins inside their tank. The couples were then to feed the penguins with their food while sitting inside the penguins tank. They performed the ceremony with two different species of penguins which are African penguins and Rockhoppers.

This event make it through the Malaysia Book of Record

This event is one of the event that is recognised by the Malaysia Book of Records. The wedding in the penguins tank last for 15 minutes and the couples were of course accompanied by the Underwater World staffs in order to ensure the couples safety and to make sure that the event went smoothly as they are dealing with penguins. Nevertheless, everything turned out smoothly and the wedding ceremony is a huge success for Underwater World Langkawi.

Sources: Langkawi Updates | Images: Underwaterworld Langkawi FB