Have you always dreamed of spending the night in the London Eye ferris wheel?

Neither have I. Who knew this was even an option? But now, thanks to a new contest from TripAdvisor Rentals, two non-acrophobic guests will get to be the first people in history to sleep over in the iconic London landmark.

I’m not sure if this is resumé material, but it does sound pretty cool. TripAdvisor and furniture e-tailer Wayfair are apparently turning one of the glass capsules into a “rainforest-inspired luxury penthouse” (rendered above), which after one night will be traded for three nights in a TripAdvisor rental nearby.
The question is: Does the London Eye suite qualify as one of the world’s weirdest hotel rooms? After all, the bizarre bar has been set very high indeed:

Dog Bark Park Inn, Cottonwood, Idaho
Let’s face it: Who hasn’t wanted to spend a night in what this hotel’s website dubs “the world’s biggest beagle.” Yes, this two-storey dog-shaped B&B — the collar reads “Sweet Willy” — sleeps four guests, who must enter via the, er, anatomical exit. Once inside, you’ll find a queen-size bed in Willy’s tummy, a loft room in his head and a reading nook in his muzzle. You may even get to chat with proprietor Dennis Sullivan, and gain some insight into what it takes to be a self-taught chainsaw artist.

Propeller Island City Lodge, Berlin, Germany
Where to start with this temple to surreal stays? Its 15 artist-designed rooms range from “Freedom,” a “friendly prison cell” with a (literally) en suite toilet, to the caged beds and voyeuristic bathroom of “Two Lions” down the hall. But what really catches our eye here are the coffin beds of “Gruft” — “crypt” in German — which apparently caters to “all those ‘Nosferatus’ who cannot wait for that which awaits us all.” (It’s the buffet breakfast, right?) If the Nosferatus in question get a little too freaked out, regular beds are available right below the coffins.

Giraffe Manor, Nairobi, Kenya
You awake after a peaceful night’s sleep in one of this hotel’s six lavish bedrooms, get showered and dressed, and head downstairs to the light-filled sun room for breakfast. You pour cream into your coffee, spread jam on your toast, and offer a slice to an endangered Rothschild giraffe that has poked its head through a window to join you. Yes, you read that last part correctly: the Giraffe Manor and surrounding grounds offer the only place in the world where you can feed giraffes over the breakfast table, from your guestroom window or at the front door.

Dasparkhotel, Ottensheim, Austria
Fact is, if you’ve got five 10-tonne pieces of concrete drainage pipe just lying around, you might as well turn them into hotel rooms, right? Turns out the “sleep-pipes” are quite comfortable, with double beds, plush bedding, a cute little lamp and a nifty storage space for luggage. Toilets, showers and a café are located in a surrounding public park, the site of a former water purification plant. Drainage pipes housing guests where a sewage treatment plant once stood — was that ironic touch intended? Another innovative touch: room rates are pay-what-you-can.

Harbour Crane, Harlingen, Netherlands
What works for concrete pipe goes double for a disused timber crane in this Dutch port town. Unlike the sleep-pipes, however, the crane is luxuriously outfitted for two guests with a touch-screen entertainment and lighting system, Charles Eames furniture and an oversized shower/bath. The rooftop patio offers stunning panoramas of the Wadden Sea, which will change when guests grab the crane’s controls and slowly swing it around 360 degrees.

Jumbo Stay, Stockholm, Sweden
Who knew sleeping on an airplane could be this comfortable? Of course, the Boeing 747-212B in question never leaves the tarmac of Stockholm Arland Airport, and is split into 25 rooms for up to three adults, a four-bed dorm, and a “luxury suite” in the converted cockpit offering panoramic views of the runways. There’s even an onboard café — sadly lacking in those cute little airplane bottles — along with a left wing observation deck in case you’ve ever wanted to stand on a Jumbo Jet’s wing (and who hasn’t?). And according to staff, there are no life vests under any of the beds.

Airbnb's quirkier properties get plenty of attention thanks to incessant "OMG!" media coverage. "These bizarre rooms will blow your mind!" the digital headlines scream, and proceed to reveal sleepovers in New York and London taxi cabs, gypsy caravans, chuck-wagons, airplane cabins...the list goes on.

But in my experience, bed and breakfasts have always been a bit quirky. Back in October of 2001, for instance, my future spouse and I decided to get out of Toronto for a weekend of strolling through Ontario's fiery fall foliage. The Siberi*inn seemed ideal. Set in a leafy forest between Barrie and Orillia, it was close to the Ganaraska Hiking Trail and was priced within my modest means. Its moniker was a bit odd, but the B&B was home to a pair of Siberian huskies, the website explained, so I figured the owner was fond of both word play and his dogs.   

But the Siberi*inn went waaaaay beyond fondness. Upon entering, we were greeted by the vacant stares of dozens, possibly even hundreds, of furry husky dolls (pictured) arranged along a staircase facing the front door. Sporting an airbrushed husky sweatshirt, our friendly and soft-spoken host, Mike Pidwerbecki, showed us to a comfortable room containing a husky bed spread, husky doilies, husky artwork, husky candles, more husky dolls, miniature husky figurines and, yes, a husky board game (pictured below).

In a kennel behind the property lived Mike's real huskies, which tore around the surrounding forest trails with more energy and enthusiasm than we could possibly muster. They were quite charming, in an exhausting sort of way, and for a moment I considered asking Mike if he would be willing to part with his disconcertingly lifelike husky footstools.

The kicker, however, came the next morning at breakfast. I had not considered the possibility that the dogs were being raised for culinary purposes...until Mike presented us with "husky paws" studded with blueberries and slathered in maple syrup. The Siberi*inn's pancakes, you see, consisted of one big blob of batter and five smaller blobs arranged around it in paw-like fashion. 

I recommended the place to friends for years, but sadly, the Siberi*inn is no longer in business. According to Mike's website, "the huskies have moved to the sledding trails in the sky."

His new preoccupation, it seems, is his 2004 Audi TT S line (pictured below). So maybe he's postponing the Audi*inn's opening until the doilies arrive...

Why is it that airlines, hotels, tourism boards and other travel-industry players get so giddy on April 1? It could be a release, of sorts, after 364 days of sternly telling everyone to turn off cell phones or imploring guests to stop using so many damn towels already. I’m looking forward to seeing what gets cooked up tomorrow, but until then, let’s see if you can tell the real travel-industry news from the April Fools fakery (answers at the end):

1. Lego reveals that theme park staff has started sanding down the “sharp” edges of bricks at Legoland in Windsor, England, after new EU health and safety rules come into effect.

2. Hotels.com announces plans for off-shore “pontrooms” for soccer fans attending the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Reached by boat and serviced from the mainland by an amphibious front desk, the rooms run from five-star "Ile Flottante Suites" — with Jacuzzis and canopy beds — to glass-bottomed Aquari Rooms.

3. The Hotel Erwin in Venice, Calif., unveils an “ink and stay” package that includes $100 toward a tattoo and a bottle of tequila to numb the pain. A $500 bonus is offered if the tattoo says “I Heart Hotel Erwin.”

4. With hotel rooms in London scarce and expensive during the 2012 Summer Olympics, and with traffic restrictions in the U.K. capital making life difficult for cabbies, David Weekes launches “Hail-A-Hotel” (pictured below), a traditional black hackney carriage that transforms into overnight accommodations.

5. Virgin Atlantic begins growing fresh herbs and vegetables in a specifically designed patch (pictured above) in the galley of all aircraft for Upper Class passengers.

6. Australian billionaire Clive Palmer unveils plans to build Titanic II (pictured below), which will have the same dimensions as its predecessor — 840 rooms and nine decks – but will be “designed so it won't sink," the mining and tourism tycoon says.

7. Virgin Airlines and Nest Labs join forces to bring “Total Temperature Control” to the airline, allowing passengers to personalize the climate at their seats.

8. Switzerland’s Gemsstock ski resort becomes so concerned about the short-term summer shrinkage of its Gurschen glacier (pictured below) that it starts wrapping plastic fleece around an area of ice the size of six football fields. 

9. Parque EcoAlberto, a Mexican ecological reserve about 800 kilometres south of the real U.S. border, launches the “caminata nocturna” guided night hike, in which participants follow a fake smuggler under real barbed wire fences in an effort to cross a fake border patrolled by fake police officers with real guns that shoot blanks.

10. WestJet Airlines launches its "Kargo Kids" program, creating a separate "VIP" area for children in aircraft.

ANSWERS: 1: Fake. 2: Fake. 3: Real. 4: Real. 5: Fake. 6: Real. 7: Fake. 8: Real. 9: Real. 10: Fake.