No, you’re not losing your mind, this is just Crazy House, a budget-friendly guesthouse known for it’s zany architecture in the city of Dalat, Vietnam. Also known as Hang Nga Guesthouse to locals.
This 10-room stay, which often makes lists of world’s coolest, strangest, and most unusual hotels, was never meant to be an accommodation. It was actually built as a personal passion project by famed Vietnamese-born, Russian-trained architect Dang Viet Nga.
Rumor has it that she wracked up so much debt creating her dream building that she had to open it to the public — way back in 1990 — to defray the costs.
The five floor main house, still makes many travelers’ bucket list for it’s weird, almost twisted Grimm’s Fairy Tales vibe. Though children’s story-esque as it may appear, the house is actually inspired by architect Antoni Gaudí, primarily, although others have also cited Salvador Dalí and Walt Disney as pretty obvious inspo.
Inside and out, the building resembles a giant creepy tree and the rooms inside take different animal themes, based on creatures that might inhabit trees. Stay in the humble Termite (starting at VND540,000/US$23) room, or spring for the fancy Pheasant, with an intricately carved staircase leading to a sleeping loft, or the Land Eagle, with its own cozy fireplace in the shape of an egg (up to VND-2,340,000/US$101 with maximum occupancy).
To get away from the crowds, book the funky, freestanding, chapel-referencing Honeymoon Suite (starting at VND750,000/US$32) which is located steps away in the Spider Web Garden. They’ve even propped a mirror over the bed. Isn’t that romantic?
Visitors describe the curious structure as an expressionist and deeply organic work, and say that it’s worth multiple visits since the owner is constantly renovating the weird place. In the photos, notice the unusual spider web designs that make up window panes, mini caves for curling up with a book, sleeping nooks, secret tunnels, areas that appear to be covered in ice, and more details that mimic nature.
Called a work of pop art and often named on lists of the strangest buildings globally, some say it makes them feel like a child again due to its playful design, keeping it an evergreen feature in endless guidebooks.
FIND IT:
Crazy House
3 Huynh Thuc Khang St., Ward 4
Dalat, Vietnam
Rooms range from VND540,000- VND-2,340,000 (US$23-101)
