5 unique, quirky, and intriguing hotel renovations and openings to look out for in 2022

With thousands of hotels around the U.S. to choose from during your travels, it may be hard to narrow down the search. Many of these hotels will feature similar designs of clean, white walls, modest artwork, and offer a fitness center or lobby bar. Others will draw you in with their quirky decor, a full rainbow of color, themed rooms, and experiences unlike you’ll have anywhere else. 

If you’d like your hotel to be as memorable as the rest of the events on your trip, here are five unique hotel renovations to visit in 2022.

1. Cove Haven Resort, Lakeville, Pennsylvania

This retro resort is getting a few highly anticipated updates in the form of room makeovers and guest amenities. Cove Haven Resort, home to the first heart-shaped tubs, is quite possibly the leading contender for the kitschiest hotel still open today. In the 1980s it also became known as the home of the 7-foot-tall champagne glass whirlpool tub, designed by owner (and heart-shaped tub inventor) Morris Wilkins. These early additions are largely responsible for the resort’s continued fame, and some of the features that have survived every round of updates since. 

The Juliette Suite is the latest room getting a makeover, but it will still feature the signature tub, mirrored headboard, and round bed. Fans of the vintage feel might be sad to see the new version revealed, but many guests will be relieved to see the updates they’ve been asking for, such as less wall-to-wall carpeting, especially around the tubs. 

In addition to the rooms, the resort revealed new bowling lanes that will be available to use on your next visit. Whatever the updates may continue to be, it’s exciting to see such an iconic resort continue to host romantic getaways—as long as it keeps its signature tubs intact. 

2. Trixie Motel, Palm Springs, California

Beloved drag queen and RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars winner Trixie Mattel is currently renovating the Trixie Motel in Palm Springs California. According to Mattel, this seven-room motel will be the “glossiest drag motel of your wildest fever-dreams.” Designed with Dani of Dazey Den interiors, it’s sure to be a colorful experience from the inside out (read: a lot of pink). Expected to open in the spring of 2022, this motel will also come with its own TV series premiering on Discovery+ in June, so visitors can experience the full origin story leading up to the opening.

3. Urban Cowboy, Denver, Colorado

Urban Cowboy is a boutique hotel with locations in Tennessee and New York. One of Urban Cowboy’s notable sister properties, Nashville’s The Dive Motel, is known for its “Party Switch,” which operates a disco ball and radio in every room. The owners are working on expanding their family of boutique hotels to the newest location in Denver, Colorado. 

Expected to open in the fall of 2022, this new property will feature 18 rooms set in a historic downtown Denver mansion built in the 1880s. If their other locations show any indication of what’s to come, be prepared for warm hospitality, intricate and impressive design, delicious food and drinks, a peaceful, quality escape from your day-to-day life—and a really epic bathtub.

4. Hicksville Pines Chalet and Motel, Idyllwild, California

Hicksville Pines Chalet and Motel is a unique and quirky “bud and breakfast” in Idyllwild, California, that features themed rooms including “The 420,” a Dita Von Teese room, and a honeymoon suite complete with a heart-shaped tub. Beginning in February, the Damn Fine Coffee food-and-coffee truck will be open to guests of the motel, and in the spring, to the general public. (The name is a reference to Twin Peaks, a ‘90s cult hit tv show that also serves as inspiration for the theme of one of Hicksville Pines’ cabins). 

This marks the first time Hicksville Pines will allow non-guests on the property to get a glimpse into the full experience it offers. Menu items will include breakfast tacos, Hicksville’s World Famous Mari-Waffles (waffles shaped like a marijuana leaf), and a full array of barista drinks, including La Colombe Cold Brew. Lunch will also be served on weekends with a menu of Impossible Burgers, chicken and mari-waffles, and penis-shaped “Weiner Dogs” corn dogs. 

5. Lylyth Estates, Houston, Texas

The newly-opened Lylyth Estates is Houston’s first romantic-themed Airbnb. The female-owned space, which sleeps up to four people, is divided into four uniquely-designed areas. “The Red Room” features a one-of-a-kind heart-shaped bed, a ceiling draped in red velvet, a 3D rose wall, and mood lighting. “The Den” is an all-black living space complete with a projector and screen, fire place, 10-foot spinning pole, and sex dice. The kitchen features mood LED lighting, “sexual cookbooks,” and a mirrored ceiling. And “The Love Don’t Pay the Bill$” bathroom is covered in 100-dollar-bill wallpaper, with 24 karat gold accoutrements, green lighting, and an LED money sign. This sultry getaway isn’t afraid to bring you the gaudy, sexy interiors you might have only seen in a vintage love motel of the past.