On an island that sits between Antwerp and Ghent in Flanders, Belgium there is a hotel called the Hotel CasAnus. If you are looking at the hotel’s name and thinking, could it really have to do with the anus, you are not far off at all. The hotel is shaped like a giant human colon.
The hotel was originally an art sculpture created by Joep Van Lieshout, a Dutch designer. The hotel now is part of the Verbeke Foundation art park, which is one of the edgiest art venues in all of Western Europe.
CasAnus has double beds, heating and showers for its guests and costs just $150. The hotel is operated by Belgian art collectors, Geert and Carla Verbeke-Lens. They bought the hotel so they could add it to their 30-acre Verbeke Foundation park full of sculptures.
The Verbeke Foundation receives over 20,000 tourists each year, many of whom spend the night in the colon and actually enjoy their experience.
“I asked how people take to the experience – apparently it is universally positive. If the novelty of staying in a giant polyester intestine wears off then there’s always the thrill of spending the night quite alone in an artwork,” one visitor, Tom Hall, said about his stay.
Hall, who is also a travel blogger, wrote the following on Lonely Planet: “It is utterly silent and pitch black at night, so bring a torch if you want to creep around at night. It is as normal as sleeping in a slug-like space can be.”
The owners of the hotel live on the site and said, “guests are really happy to sleep undisturbed in a place surrounded by nature. They can see black swans and frogs and discover the stars in the night sky, as well as visiting all our different exhibitions. More and more travelers are coming to us from all over the world to explore what they call a ‘unique place’.”
