Grand banqueting halls, opulent lobbies and vast ballrooms; you could easily be forgiven for thinking this was a collection of photographs was documenting some of Europe’s grandest hotels. However, a closer look will reveal the majestic rooms to be engulfed in swathes of dust and moss; hotels that once hosted royals and high society abandoned to the elements. This is the latest result of urban exploration photography, going beyond “no entry” signs to capture images of dilapidated buildings across Europe. IT worker Thomas Windisch, from Graz in Austria, indulged his passion for photography by traveling across the continent, visiting over 100 abandoned hotels along the way. Here: inside a hotel in Austria. (Photo by Thomas Windisch/Caters News)

The Soyuz TMA-11M capsule with the International Space Station (ISS) crew members Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin and U.S. astronaut Rick Mastracchio lands south-east of the town of Dzhezkazgan in central Kazakhstan, May 14, 2014. The first Japanese to command a space mission and crewmates from the United States and Russia landed safely in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, wrapping up a 188-day stay aboard the International Space Station. (Photo by Dmitry Lovetsky/Reuters)

Since its unveiling in 2006 this masterpiece created by Frank Gehry to house the Hotel Marqués de Riscal has become a highly sought after contemporary, luxury retreat. Design, art, gastronomy, wine and the lush landscape all combine to create a memorable sojourn.

The V8 Hotel in Stuttgart is a car-lover’s heaven, it´s a theme hotel with a design clearly inspired by the car world. The Hotel is located in an auto museum called Böblingen’s Meilenwerk in Stuttgart, Germany. The hotel features themed rooms fit for both mechanics and car enthusiasts alike, it has four single rooms, 19 double rooms, tower suite and 10 theme-based rooms designed to impress visitors.

Marina Bay Sands is an integrated resort fronting Marina Bay in Singapore. Developed by Las Vegas Sands, it is billed as the world's most expensive standalone casino property at S$8 billion, including cost of the prime land.

A visitor relaxes in a sleeping module at Tokyo's tube Hotel “Capsule Inn Akihabara” on February 6, 2007 in Tokyo, Japan. The two-square-meter sleep modules are equipped with a TV, Radio and Wireless LAN and are priced at 3500 yen per night. Uptil recently it has mainly been the office workers who stay at such tube hotels when they cannot go home, but recently they are attracting many foreign travellers due to their Japanese style. (Photo by Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images)

Hotel CasAnus has all the elements of a great weekend getaway. It's just shaped like a giant human colon. On a small island, nestled between Antwerp and Ghent in Flanders, Belgium, this quaint structure is designed like a humongous intestinal tract, complete with an anus replica.
Originally an art sculpture created by the Dutch designer Joep Van Lieshout, CasAnus is now a part of the Verbeke Foundation art park, one of Western Europe’s edgiest art venues.

19 individually themed and hand crafted art suites have been newly designed by creatives from across the world – from a swedish artist who made a giant snow elephant in the room, to a french team who fused snow, ice and disco into a groovy sleeping experience. Each year, the hotel creates a new series of artist-designed accommodation spaces that add to the existing landscape of private rooms. (Photo by Icehotel.com/Exclusivepix Media)