When planning a dream trip, heart-shaped tubs don't necessarily spring to mind among required resort amenities, like sea views and a celebrity-chef restaurant, but cheesy romantic hotels and oddball themed rooms can be amusing for quick trips.
CREDIT: Hotel de Vrouwe van Stavoren; Stavoren, Netherlands. Photo courtesy of Hotel de Vrouwe van Stavoren.
The Madonna Inn – San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Since opening in 1958, this hotel has gained a reputation for its many themed rooms. A Cave Man den is chiseled from stone and filled with animal prints, and the Heaven room is adorned with golden cherubs. Covered in pink roses, the Madonna Suite is named for Phyllis Madonna—the widow of the founder, not the Material Girl (rooms from $179 per night; madonnainn.com).
Tom Meinhold.
V8 Hotel – Stuttgart, Germany
Stuttgart, home of Mercedes-Benz, is considered the birthplace of the gas-powered automobile. In the Car Wash room at the V8, visitors sleep in a converted 1973 Mercedes and simulate the car-wash experience with a full-body dryer in the bathroom (rooms from $180 per night; v8hotel.de).
Frank Hoppe.
Cove Haven Pocono Palace – East Stroudsburg, Pa.
In the four-level Cleopatra suite at this East Coast honeymoon spot, there's a 7-foot-high hot tub shaped like a Champagne glass, a mini heart-shaped pool and an in-room massage table. Even the hotel's most basic rooms have the Poconos' iconic heart-shaped tubs (suites from $235 per night;covepoconoresorts.com).
Courtesy of Cove Haven Entertainment Resorts.
The Shady Dell – Bisbee, Ariz.
Guests of the Shady Dell sleep in restored midcentury trailers, each filled with 1950s artifacts like vintage issues ofLife magazine and old radios that play era-appropriate programs. The property's de facto canteen, Dot's Diner, was built in Kansas in the '50s, moved to Los Angeles and finally transported to the Shady Dell by flatbed truck (trailers from $87 per night; theshadydell.com).
Courtesy of The Shady Dell.
Wigwam Motel – Holbrook, Ariz.
This Arizona motel's rooms look like Native American tepees with a few upgrades. Since the structures are made out of concrete, each wigwam has lockable doors, air conditioning, and indoor plumbing (teepess from $54 per night; sleepinawigwam.com).
Courtesy of Wigwam Motel.
Circus, Circus; Las Vegas, NV
The largest permanent big top in the world is on the Vegas Strip. Circus, Circus has a roller coaster, a snack bar on a functioning carousel—featured in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas—and a trapeze (rooms from $56 per night; circuscircus.com).
CREDIT: vegas / Alamy.
Adventure Suites – North Conway, Mass.
This hotel prides itself on being like a theme park with sleepovers. Many rooms have funky custom beds: In one room, a giant oyster frame closes around those sleeping within; the Dragon's Lair features a round pendulum mattress that hangs from the ceiling (adventure suites from $109 per night;adventuresuites.com).
Courtesy of Adventure Suites.
Excalibur – Las Vegas, Nev.
Even on the Vegas Strip, this castle-shaped, King Arthur-themed resort stands out. During the Excalibur's Tournament of Kings, guests watch a joust reenactment and eat whole Cornish hens and potatoes with their hands (standard rooms from $32 per night;excalibur.com).
