137 Pillars Suites, Bangkok
Height: 145 m (443 ft)
Number of rooms: 179 + 34 suites
Price from: 196$
The boutique hotel occupies the upper floors of the tower built by famous Palmer & Turner architects in the touristic district of Sukhumvit. 137 Pillars offers four royal suites named after periods of Thai history: the Sukhotai Kingdom, the Ayutthaya Kingdom, the Thonburi Kingdom, and the Rattanakosin Kingdom. The smallest of the suites, Sukhotai, is 70 sq m (753 sq ft), so you can imagine the sizes of other suites. Every happy owner of a suite has a personal butler who works 24/7. Besides, they get in-room private wine cellars, mood lighting, walk-in wardrobes, en-suite marble bathrooms, opulent bathtubs, built-in TVs, and a superb Bose sound system. The hotel has a glorious infinity pool on the rooftop, from where guests can enjoy the Bangkok skyline. Next to the pool, the cabana lounge is set, providing guests with amazing cocktails. On the 26th pool, there is an exclusive club lounge, Baan Borneo, available only to the hotel’s residents.
Four Seasons Hotel, Bahrain
Height: 201,5 m
Number of rooms: 237 + 57 suites
Price from: 450$
Placed on the island in Bahrain Bay, this architectural masterpiece was designed by creators of Dubai’s famous landmark Burj Khalifa — Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Guests can admire gorgeous views over the city of Bahrein from every room through oversized windows. The hotel offers seven restaurants, four of which are led by celebrity chefs. Moreover, Four Seasons boasts its state-of-the-art spa using ethically sourced ingredients and implementing Middle Eastern and Asian healing methods. Next to the building is a 160-m (525-ft) white sand beach, an excellent entertainment option for families, along with a kid’s waterpark with seven fantastic slides and a 1,200-litre pool.
Grand Lisboa, Macau
Height: 261 m (856 ft)
Number of rooms: 1,350
Price from: 118$
The resplendent casino hotel, also known as Asia’s Las Vegas, features a golden tower and a reflective dome, which makes it visible from nearly all of Macau. The tower’s form resembles a lotus flower — a sacred symbol in Buddhism and Hinduism. The elliptical domed eight-storied base was created with inspiration from the Faberge egg. At night, its facade is lit by 1,2 million LEDs turning into a gigantic screen. Gambling options are numerous: 270 gaming tables and over 700 slot machines! Dining options are equally varied, with eight exquisite restaurants and bars, including two Michelin-starred restaurants. The restaurant Robuchon au Dome, situated in the Grand Lisboa’s dome, boasts an incredible panorama of the sprawling Macau.
Porta Fira Hotel, Barcelona
Height: 114 m (375 ft)
Number of rooms: 311
Price from: 108$
The quirky raspberry-coloured curved building, designed by Japanese architect Toyo Ito, has won the Emporis Skyscraper Award. All the rooms are designed in a minimalistic modern style, offering unobstructed views of Barcelona. Urban rooms are decorated in neutral colours, while Privilege and Elegance (on high floors) rooms feature red, white and black colours and are more spacious. The largest family rooms (two connecting privilege rooms) feature soundproof walls. Among other facilities that Porta Fira offers are a health club, fitness centre, sauna, and massage/treatment rooms. The hotel’s highlights are a spiral restaurant and a spiral bar serving creative Mediterranean cuisine.
Spotty Bogota Centro
Height: 100 m (328 ft)
Number of rooms: 74
Price from: 24$
This is a unique member of our list since this is not a hotel but a hostel — maybe even the most luxurious hostel in the world, part of a chain of Spotty Hostels. The building is in the city centre, next to all the major landmarks and attractions, making it a great option for people lacking personal transport. Spotty’s pride is the rooftop terrace featuring a pool, a jacuzzi, and, of course, a stunning panorama. Like in all the hostels, the kitchen is shared but spacious, modern, and fully stocked. Moreover, Spotty’s premises include a laundry room, a coworking room, a gym and a yoga room. There are two types of bedrooms: mixed dorms with bunk beds equipped with curtains and detached rooms with private bathrooms. What signifies Spotty, among other accommodations, is its entertainment options. Various communal spaces include a gaming room, a cinema room, and a rooftop, where the hostel hosts live music concerts and cool parties.
J Hotel, Shanghai
Height: 632 m (2073 ft)
Number of rooms: 165 + 34 suites
Price from: 625$
Literally, China’s top spot to spend the night, J Hotel, is the world’s third tallest skyscraper, with rooms and suites placed on floors 86 to 98. It also boasts one of the highest restaurants worldwide, Heavenly Jin, located at the impressive height of 556 m (1824 ft) on the 120th floor. The rooms’ interiors stagger the imagination with their unbelievable opulence. Decorated either in Chinese or contemporary styles, they feature glaze, lacquer, metal, crystal, enamelwork, and mosaics, creating unique designs in every room. The most expensive, the Shanghai Suite, is 380 sq m and includes a living room, a study, a kitchen, a walk-in dressing room, and even a physiotherapy area. The price for this piece of luxury is befitting: around 34,400$ for a night. Of course, J Hotel has a spa, too: the Reiki Spa and fitness centre have a yoga room, a spectacular 160-sq m swimming pool and a 130-sq m viewing deck overlooking the dazzling city of Shanghai.
Pendry Chicago
Height: 153 m (503 ft)
Number of rooms: 383 + 13 suites
Price from: 228$
The oldest skyscraper hotel on the list, Pendry, or Carbide & Carbon Building, was built in 1929 with a design created by the Burnham Brothers in the Art Deco style. Today, this elegant building, though not the tallest, is still considered Chicago’s iconic landmark. It is believed that the architects intended to create a structure resembling a champagne bottle, which it really does. The building is exceptional not only inside but also from the outside: take a look at its facade made of polished black granite with dark green terra cotta and gold leaf decorations. The top is crowned with an Art Deco spire. Pendry’s impressive appearance made it a popular Hollywood filming site. The grand entrance stuns with bronze and black marble ornaments gleaming on the black granite background. Only in 2004 was the tower turned into a hotel; before, it continued serving as the office for the company that built it, Carbide and Carbon Co. The restaurants and halls are decorated in a calm, cosy, yet glamorous style. Rooms, for their part, are more contemporary and minimalistic. As usual, the skyscraper features a rooftop bar called Chateau Carbide, which is set both indoors and outdoors.
Fairmont Doha
Height: 211 m (692,3 ft)
Number of rooms: 362
Price from: 494$
Doha, the capital of Qatar, is Dubai’s rival in terms of magnificent architecture. So, in 2022, Katara Towers were opened on the occasion of the Qatar World Cup. Two symmetrical towers are bent to shape the space between them like a circle. This is a blend of traditional Arabic culture with contemporary culture that takes inspiration from two crossed swords (scimitars) depicted on Qatar’s coat of arms. Yet, it’s not only the exterior of the building that awes Doha’s visitors: inside, in the hotel’s hobby, you can admire the immense chandelier made of thousands of lighting spheres. In fact, this is the tallest chandelier in the world, with a length of 57 m (187 ft). Dining options are represented by five restaurants, including a tea lounge and a Japanese restaurant, which also features amazing views of Doha. Rooms have splendid designs inspired by Middle Eastern style in modern interpretation; bathrooms, for example, are decorated with thousands of genuine gold tiles.
Tomamu the Tower, Japan
Height: 121 m (397 ft)
Number of rooms: 535
Price from: 112$
This Japanese countryside resort, Hoshino, is a unique destination consisting of two skyscrapers and two towers amid pristine nature. The uniqueness of this complex is its minimal environmental footprint: the buildings are expanded upwards, not by sprawling on the ground, so the land around remains intact. Outdoor options are numerous, with canoeing, rafting, golf, fishing, hot-air balloon rides, and skiing available. Tomamu is also a sought-after wedding venue, with an ice chapel and a chapel on the water set on the premises. The view opening from the top floors is unparalleled due to the hotel’s location in an environment free of high buildings that obstruct views in the cities. What you can see is Hokkaido’s wonderful mountains and expansive forests. Rooms in Tomamu belong to three types — standard, family, and mamrakuda, which means a baby room intended for families with small kids. Interor designs are very creative, with some of them having a theme, like, for example, a cloud room. On site of the Hoshino Resort, there are plenty of exciting amenities, like a wine house with dozens of options; Mina-Mina Beach, the indoor pool 80 m (262 ft) long, with artificial waves, placed in a huge hangar-like building; Tomamu Farm, where city dwellers have an opportunity to interact with such animals as sheep, goats, horses, and cows; Tomamu Pond, where fishing enthusiasts can hone their catching techniques; an excellent skiing slope right by the towers; and the Unkai Terrace on Mount Tomamu, on the height of 1,088 m (3,570 ft), accessible on the Unkai Gondola that needs 13 minutes to take you to the top. The terrace is equipped with giant chairs perfect for gazing at the surrounding beauty, the clover-shaped bridge, and the «cloud pool», a panoramic hammock.
Atlanta Marriott Marquis
Height: 169 m (554 ft)
Number of rooms: 1,663 rooms (including 94 suites)
Price from: 133$
The brutalist tower of Atlanta Marriott Marquis is among the most impressive skyscrapers on this list. The building was designed by the award-winning American architect John Calvin Portman Jr. It is one of his several buildings in the Atlanta district known as the Peachtree Center. Now, Marriott Marquis is only the 15th high among the skyscrapers in Atlanta, which doesn’t hinder it from remaining an iconic landmark. From the outside, the building’s curved shape resembles a bottle of Coca-Cola, which brought it the nickname «Coca-Cola building» as well as «the pregnant building». Back in 1985, when the hotel was opened, it had the highest atrium worldwide, 143 m (470 ft) high, the title being taken in 1999 by the Burj Al Arab in Dubai. Still, the Marriott Marquis’s atrium is a truly impressive sight: 52 stories from the lounge to the ceiling are crossed by several bridges and two elevators. The shafts are surrounded by curved balconies, forming an ideal symmetry to the right and the left. While riding in a panoramic elevator, you can observe the skeletal interior structure of the hotel, which may look a bit intimidating, yet luxurious and bizarre. The guests staying on the 42nd — 46th floors get an exclusive concierge lounge offering the panorama over Atlanta’s downtown.
Having read about and looked at all these splendid skyscraper hotels, did you get a wish to stay in one of them? If you did, visit the website hotelin.com, where you can search for hotel price options collected from dozens of booking platforms. The multitude of choices and abundance of filters will ensure you find the best price possible, enabling you to spend more on attractions in your chosen destination. Prepare for your life’s most elevated and upscale stay — may it make you feel like you are in the seventh heaven!
