One Hotel With Zero Stars

My one experience staying in a youth hostel instead of a hotel was memorable. To shower, you had to hold a lever with one hand and do everything else with the other. Washing my hair was a challenge. Towels and soap were not included. Hot water was.

That's more than you can say for the new Zero-Star Hotel in the Swiss Alps. Set in a Cold War nuclear bunker, luxury is redefined, and not for the better:

Instead of providing enough hot water for every guest, each morning after the hotel opens a wheel of fortune determines who gets to shower first, and who gets the ice-cold water leftovers. The luxury service, however, includes hot-water bottles to make the bunker more comfortable.

The 54-bed windowless hotel offers guests TV monitors with a live feed from the outside world, fresh cookies baked by the town's residents and the original military bunk beds (luxury rooms, for about 20 Euros, upgrade you to antique Biedermeier beds).

"No one will ever want to sleep there," quipped one of the town's council members. But Patrik and Frank Riklin, the artists who "decorated" the bunker in its ultra-minimalist style, disagree:

The rest of Switzerland has tons of civil defense facilities in idyllic surroundings," gushes Patrik. "People could hike from bunker to bunker. And bunkers will definitely go down well with Japanese tour groups.

Related: Ice Hotels, Unusual Hotels