Those queues at the buffet breakfast and busy reception desk will be a distant memory when you hire the whole hotel
 
1 The One Hotel
 
Siem Reap, Cambodia 
This stylish hotel in the heart of Siem Reap really does have all the amenities of a full-service hotel — there is even a boutique shop in the lobby, the chef will cook up mouthwatering delights and an in-house masseur will pamper or pummel you in your room, on request. The bedroom features a double bed draped in fine linen and you get an iBook, iPod and 32” TV to entertain you, and the granite tub in the bathroom has underwater lighting and a rainfall shower. From the private rooftop terrace, you can look out over Siem Reap’s old market area towards Angkor Wat — the largest Hindu temple complex in the world.
 
Details: From £155 per night, B&B (01285 750713,oneoffplaces.co.uk)

2 One by The Five
 
Paris, France 
Get some va-va-voom in romantic Paris with a stay at this sexy hotel on Rue Flatters in the Fifth Arrondissement — the single suite hotel comes with a video camera “for couples’ private use”, a cocktail station with ingredients for a special “love elixir” and a choice of five different fragrances for the room. The ceiling is painted with clouds and fibre-optic stars are suspended over a “floating” designer bed, and the walls drip with red velvet and mirrors to provide a suitable backdrop for your home movie. If you can pull yourself away, the vibrant Latin Quarter is close by, and the Rue Mouffetard, with its open-air market, is a short walk.
 
Details: From £396 per night (00 33 1 43 31 52 31,onebythefive.com)
 
3 Costa Plenti
 
Sydney, Australia 
Head to Double Bay, one of Sydney’s most exclusive beachside suburbs, for this one-bedroom hotel, convenient for the city centre and Bondi Beach. The brainchild of Fay Cohen, a local businesswoman, Costa Plenti features a large, contemporary, open-plan kitchen/diner/living area and bedroom with a double bed and the obligatory Egyptian cotton sheets. Hotel-style touches include a limo pick-up service, the chance to hire a private chef for your stay and room service delivered by a local restaurant — or a takeaway, to give it its proper name.
 
Details: From £520 per night, room only (00 61 2 9326 1166,costaplenti.com.au)
 
4 Hôtel Droog
 
Amsterdam, Holland 
More than just a place to stay, Hôtel Droog in the centre of Amsterdam is a design company, art gallery, fashion store, restaurant, beauty salon and hotel rolled into one and hidden behind the façade of a 17th century building. The one and only bedroom, on the second floor, acts as somewhere to lay your head, as well as a canvas for the company’s products, which can all be bought downstairs — from funkily shaped hot-water bottles to coat-hanger lamps. As well as a bedroom, you get a living space and a kitchen-diner, both with views over Amsterdam’s rooftops.
 
Details: From £260 per night, room only (hoteldroog.com)
 
5 The Harrington
 
Brighton
The Harrington sits on Church Street, just behind Brighton’s Royal Pavilion and dubs itself as a “no-tell” as well as a hotel. Apparently, discretion is a top priority: bookings are confidential, there are no staff and guests are met at a pre-arranged point to be taken to the hotel, before being left to their own devices. A winding staircase leads to the Chapel bedroom, which has 15ft-high ceilings and a stained glass window that overlooks the Brighton Corn Exchange, as well as a super king-size bed with luxury linens. Other luxury touches include Thémaé of Paris products, a Nespresso machine and the chance to book a butler, cocktail mixologist, spa therapist or chauffer.
 
Details: From £190 per night, room only (01273 604010,theharrington.co.uk)
 
6 Hotel Room
 
Helsinki, Finland 
They certainly have a sense of humour at the Hotel Room in Helsinki, where the bedroom is called Room Nr 1. The suite comes with a double bed, chocolate leather sofa, scarlet rugs and wallpaper by Janne Hänninen, a local designer. In the vibrant Kallio district, the hotel supplies guests with a surprisingly honest “treasure trove” map of the area with mini reviews of surrounding eateries and bars. Typical entries include: “Old boozers’ hangout. If you want to be hassled by smelly winos, it’s perfect.”
 
Details: From £100 per night, room only (00 358 40 8336 696,hotelroom.fi)
 
7 De Kromme Raake
 
Eenrum, Holland 
De Kromme Raake claims to be the smallest hotel in the world. Whether that’s true or not, it’s certainly put the small Dutch town of Eenrum on the map; before the hotel opened, its claims to fame amounted to “three cafés, a candlemaker and a mustard museum”. Housed in a former grocery store, the hotel has been designed in Art D eco style and contains a reception area with 40 pigeon holes (of which only one contains a key to the bedroom), a small living area, a bedroom with a king-sized bed and a spacious bathroom. To fit in with the quirky feel, instead of luxury robes, guests are offered long night shirts and night caps.
 
Details: From £120 per night, B&B (00 31 595 491 600,hoteldekrommeraake.nl)
 
8 Eh’häusl
 
Amberg, Germany 
What do you do if you have an 8ft (2.5 metre) space between two buildings? Put a wall on the front and back and a roof on the top to create a house. Originally built to satisfy a town regulation that couples wishing to wed had to own their own home, the “Wedding House” was turned into a hotel in 2008. Inside, there’s gilt-edged furniture, a spa bath floor, feature fireplaces and music piped into every room.
 
Details: From £195 per night, B&B (00 49 9621 378 54,ehehaeusl.de)
 
9 L’Ecume des Jours
 
Ghent, Belgium 
Another multipurpose space with an attached hotel room, L’Ecume des Jours is a part Art Deco, part Art Nouveau house in Ghent’s millionaire’s quarter that hosts exhibitions, concerts and cooking classes. The solitary suite has a double bedroom, separate living area and a large bathroom, and there’s a roof terrace with views over the old town. Fitting in with the artistic feel of the place, furnishings have been individually sourced: original claw-foot bath, silver grooming products, antique books and polished wooden floors.
 
Details: From £140 per night, B&B (i-escape.com)
 
10 Utter Inn and Hotell Hackspett
 
Lake Malaren, Sweden
We include these two as a pair, as they’re the brainchild of the wacky Swedish artist Mikael Genberg and were two of the first one-room hotels in the world. Utter (or Otter) looks like a small house floating on the waters of Lake Malaren, and guests are ferried to and fro by boat. At night, you bed down 3m below the lake’s surface. Landlubbers may prefer nearby Hackspett (Hotel Woodpecker), a similar concept but set in the branches of an oak tree in the lakeside town of Vasteras. Guests are winched up in the evening and winched back down the following day. 
Details: From £120 per night, B&B (vasterasmalarstaden.se/en/)

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