Top Five Worst Hotels for Claustrophobes

Sleep snug as a bug in a rug in these tiny hotel rooms, designed to make the most of a small space without sacrificing comfort.

Once you’ve enjoyed the close confines of your own capsule room, survival pod or spent the night in a tricked out sewer pipe, you may find regular hotel rooms to be a waste of space!

Warning: claustrophobes should exercise extreme caution when booking these rooms…

1. Capsule Hotels, Japan

Leave it to the tech-savvy Japanese to find a way to miniaturise room space with capsule hotels, where you trade a little elbow room for a lot of privacy.

Dorm rooms are outfitted with stacks of individual fiberglass cubicles just big enough to stretch out in (if you’re less than six feet tall) and equipped with a comfy bed, television and free Wi-Fi with AC outlets so you can recharge your gadgets. Though smoking and eating in the capsule is prohibited for obvious reasons, the self-catering kitchens and private bathrooms are at your disposal.

2. Pipe Hotel, Bottrop-Ebel near Essen

Admittedly, the thought of sleeping in a sewer pipe sounds mighty uncomfortable at first, but the innovative Das Park Hotel will make you think again. As comfy as a hobbit hole, these cleverly converted sewer pipes are located in a beautiful city park beside the Danube River.

Inside you’ll find a padded double bed platform with storage underneath, clean sleeping bags on top, an AC outlet with a light and a passive cross-ventilation system. The owners describe this unique concept as a “tool where the whole inner-city becomes the hotel lobby and the city is the host,” making the experience more like camping out than staying in a hotel,.” Furthermore, there is no set room rate, just pay what you can afford as you leave.

3. Pod Hotel, Amsterdam

Originally designed to be floating survival pods for the Norwegian navy, the Capsule Hotel has adopted these UFO-shaped vehicles for land and turned them into a comfy quarters where up to three people can store their gear and get a good night’s sleep.

Though nothing fancy, the pods contain double beds with thick furry blankets and a box of “survival food.” There is a chemical toilet inside, preferably for emergency use only.

4. Coffin Room at Propeller Island City Lodge, Berlin

If you love tight spaces, you’ll sleep like the dead at the Propeller Island Lodge where they offer beds shaped like coffins, complete with lid.

Below is a labyrinth room where you’ll find regular bunk beds if you get too creeped out, but if you make it through the night you’ll rise and shine with a new found respect for what vampires must go through!

5. Karosta Prison, Latvia

Cramped conditions are expected in a jail, right? No need to elaborate on how tiny the rooms are at the Karosta Prison, what’s bizarre about this hotel is the staff. They dress as prison guards and if you so desire will give you the authentic treatment — complete with bed checks, abusive language and a trip to the dreaded latrine.

On the other hand, the VIP suite in the Warden’s Office is quite spacious and has room service!

Looking for more crazy places to stay? Check out our top five jail hotels or the five hostels your mother would hate.

Words: Lela Lake

Image credits, with thanks: 1 2 3 4 5