• Dezeen is an architecture and design website that is celebrating current design innovations around the world through its second annual Dezeen Awards.
  • This year, 53 projects were announced to be on the Dezeen Awards interiors shortlist, which was culled from the original 259 projects included on the longlist. The winner will be announced in October.
  • Business Insider compiled the list of featured hotels that made the interiors shortlist.
  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

From jungle bungalows in Tulum to converted bridge houses in Amsterdam, the second annual Dezeen Awards are recognizing innovative interior design worldwide.

With over 4,500 project entries from 87 different countries, 75 leading figures in architecture and design are judging the projects to determine the best of the year. Judges are assessing each project based on 3 criteria: beauty, innovation, and benefit.

Read more: The 19 best hotels in the world in 2019

In July, a longlist featuring 259 projects was released. In the first week of September, a shortlist reduced to 53 projects was released. The winner will be announced in October.

Presented below, in order of price point, are the five hotels featured on this year's shortlist. Almost all fall under $200 per night.


1. ℃ (Do-C) Gotanda is a modern capsule hotel in Tokyo featuring minimal interiors and a rough, industrial look.

Foto: Sleeping capsules at ℃ (Do-C) Gotanda.sourceDezeen.com

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Prices: Start at $45 per night

This capsule hotel, located in a Tokyo red-light district, was redesigned and completed by Jo Nagasaka/Schemata Architects in 2018. Previously, it was also a capsule hotel; the renovation solely provided fresh interiors.

Source: Dezeen, Do-C Gotanda


A public bath in the basement was transformed into showers and a sauna. Existing interior finishes were stripped and reconstructed to provide for a more unfinished look.

Foto: Public showers in the basement of the hotel.sourceDezeen.com

Source: Dezeen.com


The capsule sleeping pods, the hotel's sole accommodation, are big enough to comfortably fit a twin sized mattress.

Foto: The main set of sleeping pods.sourceDezeen.com

Source: Dezeen, Do-C Gotanda


Guests can book accommodation for as little as an hour.

Foto: The basement showers in use.sourceDezeen.com

Source: Dezeen, Do-C Gotanda


According to Dezeen, this hotel made it onto the shortlist because of its simple but effective interiors overhaul.

Foto: The hotel entrance.sourceDezeen.com

Source: Dezeen, Do-C Gotanda


2. Jungle Keva Hotel is a hotel that describes itself as fusing the elements of its design with the nature that surrounds it.

Foto: The view from the bedroom.sourceCésar Béjar

Location: Tulum, Mexico

Prices: Start at $105 per night

Jungle Keva is a boutique hotel situated in the Mayan jungle.

Source: Dezeen, Jungle Keva


It consists of five lodges, each of which boasts a mezzanine, terrace, and an indoor-outdoor bathroom.

Foto: The indoor-outdoor bathroom at Jungle Keva.sourceCésar Béjar

Source: Dezeen, Jungle Keva


The hotel was designed by Jaque Studio with the local greenery in mind, keeping 70% of the original vegetation by constructing lodges amongst pre-existing clusters of trees.

Foto: The terrace view from one of the lodges.sourceCésar Béjar

Source: Dezeen, Jungle Keva


Palm leaf-lined ceilings and natural wooden finishes allow the lodges to blend in with their surroundings.

Foto: An open floor plan emphasizes the jungle beyond the bungalow.sourceCésar Béjar

Source: Dezeen, Jungle Keva


The hotel has been recognized for its environmentally minded approach to design.

Foto: An inward facing view of the bedroom.sourceCésar Béjar

Source: Dezeen, Jungle Keva


3. SWEETS hotel is a collection of 28 tiny bridge houses along Amsterdam canals that were reimagined as individual hotel suites.

Foto: An example of a SWEETS hotel bedroom.sourceMirjam Bleeker

Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands

Prices: Start at $132 per night

The suites can accommodate two guests each.

Source: Dezeen, SWEETS hotel


The bridge houses once boarded Amsterdam's many bridge keepers, but with a centralized bridge control system, the structures lost purpose.

Foto: One of the former bridge houses, now a hotel suite.sourceMirjam Bleeker

Source: Dezeen, SWEETS hotel


In 2012, Space&Matter, a local architecture and design studio, proposed redesigning them as guest suites in the spirit of experiential travel.

Foto: A peak inside one of the suites.sourceMirjam Bleeker

Source: Dezeen, SWEETS hotel


They have been working on the project ever since, with 15 of the 28 bridge houses currently accepting reservations.

Foto: 2 people can stay in one of these bridge houses.sourceMirjam Bleeker

Source: Dezeen, SWEETS hotel


The Dezeen Awards shortlist recognizes SWEETS hotel for "combining modern initiatives with industrial heritage."

Foto: Another bedroom in a SWEETS hotel suite.sourceMirjam Bleeker

Source: Dezeen, SWEETS hotel


4. Dream and Maze are two renovated accommodations within The Other Place, a boutique hotel in Guilin Litopia, China.

Foto: The bedroom in the Dream guest suite.sourceChao Zhang

Location: Guilin Litopia, China

Prices: Start at $139 per night

The hotel has 10 different, dreamlike, themed guest rooms.

Source: Dezeen, The Other Place


The renovation was spearheaded by Shenzhen-based Studio10. The design was inspired by the works of M.C. Escher, a graphic artist known for his mind-bending artwork of impossible constructions.

Foto: The design elements are meant to confuse.sourceChao Zhang

Source: Dezeen, The Other Place, M.C. Escher


The final design is meant to create a mysterious atmosphere and employ elements of optical illusion.

Foto: This is the Maze guest suite.sourceChao Zhang

Source: Dezeen, The Other Place


The 650 square foot rooms were completed in 2018. Each room relies on a pale pink and forest green monochromatic color scheme, on top of the unexpected architecture, to transport guests to an alternate reality.

Foto: False doorways and staircases in the Maze suite.sourceChao Zhang

Source: Dezeen, The Other Place


Dezeen included Dream and Maze on its shortlist because of its "serene and fresh environment … with the aim to distance spaces from busy, everyday life."

Foto: The entrance to the Dream suite.sourceChao Zhang

Source: Dezeen, The Other Place


5. Radar Station is a cozy vacation rental home inside two prefabricated timber sheds erected in 1961 on the coast of Kent, England.

Foto: The living room at Radar Station, a one bedroom vacation rental in Dungeness, UKsourceBilly Bolton

Location: Dungeness, United Kingdom

Prices: Start at $1,098 per night

Source: Dezeen, Mulberry Cottages


The timber sheds were redesigned by UK-based designer Johnson Naylor into a one-bedroom beach vacation rental home in 2018.

Foto: Looking into the home.sourceBilly Bolton

Source: Dezeen, Mulberry Cottages


It maintains the exterior shed form, but the interiors were redesigned to be "gentle, natural and calm," according to Dezeen.

Foto: The 1961 timber shed structure remains untouched.sourceBilly Bolton

Source: Dezeen, Mulberry Cottages


The interiors reflect the landscape with a light color palette.

Foto: The bedroom in the rental home.sourceBilly Bolton

Source: Dezeen, Mulberry Cottages


The living area features yellow as a pop of color, mirroring the color of indigenous flowers in the area.

Foto: The living and dining area of the rental home.sourceBilly Bolton

Source: Dezeen, Mulberry Cottages