Through the years, my husband Joe and I have stayed at some really nice hotels. Sure, there are a few places where we loved the staff or even the quirkiness of the place. But a few hotels stand out for their beauty alone:

• Grand Hyatt Kauai
• St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel London
• La Résidence Phou Vao, A Belmond Hotel

That being said, for every gorgeous hotel, there are plenty of hotels that are visually mediocre or just plain hideous. Like these…

The ugliest hotels in the world

Caveat – beauty, of course, is in the eye of the beholder. What one person may think is a wonderful piece of art may be “not all that” to someone else. If I’ve chosen what I consider to be an “ugly” hotel and you think it’s visually amazeballs, that’s fine. It won’t change my opinion of it, and it doesn’t mean either of us is right or wrong. Everyone has the right to an opinion…especially regarding visual appeal.

First World Hotel, Genting Resorts World, Genting, Malaysia

The First World Hotel is part of a hotel, shopping and entertainment complex called Resorts World Genting. Open in 2006, the First World Hotel holds the record as the largest hotel in the world (it lost the title to a Las Vegas hotel a while back, but then built another tower and became reigning champion again LOL).

It’s just so…big. Bright colors notwithstanding, it reminds me more of an inner-city projects than a hotel.

Hotel Holiday, Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina

Located in the heart of Sarajevo, the Hotel Holiday looks like a project made of yellow and orange LEGOs. Its bold colors are certainly making a statement, although I’m not sure if it’s “look at me” or something else.

Jokes set aside, the Hotel Holiday (nicknamed “Holiday Inn”) actually has a tragic history – during the Bosnian War, the hotel was bombed, shelled and burned and more than one fatality happened in and just outside the hotel at the time.

Ryugyong Hotel – Pyongyang, North Korea

Is a hotel really a hotel if it’s never opened?

Situated in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, the hotel began construction in 1987, with plans for it to have its grand opening in 1989. It still hasn’t opened. Here’s the backstory behind the whole hot mess of a hotel.

El Algarrobico – Almeria, Spain

Oh look! Another hotel that never opened.

If you’ve ever seen “Lawrence of Arabia,” you probably saw what was described as “an empty desert facing the beautiful sea.” The area, in Spain’s remote southern province of Almeria, doesn’t look much like it did then. But there were still patches that were undisturbed. That’s where a hulking, 21-story hotel was built…and almost (but not quite) finished, simply because political, financial and environmental interests weren’t on the same page at the same time.

So the hotel sits there, languishing, ruining what could have been a beautiful piece of an empty desert facing the beautiful sea.

What else?

There are, of course, other hotels that really should be on the “ugly” list. Which ones should we add?

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