A crane that is a luxury hotel, a hangar transformed into a tropical resort and a sleepover in a sewage pipe: The world's most unusual buildings given a new lease of life for tourists

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How do you fancy holidaying in a crane, bedding down in a sewage pipe, or building sandcastles in an old air force hangar?

Some of these unusual buildings have been turned into unlikely tourist hotspots by astute businesses keen to give them a new lease of life.

All around the world, once-tired buildings, historic landmarks and even old abandoned planes have become truly unusual hotspots, offering a unique experience for visitors.

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At first glance you wouldn't believe that this old crane actually contains three luxury suites and a Jacuzzi area

The 136-year-old Spitbank Fort, found in the Solent, was originally a gun emplacement to protect British waters. Now it has been transformed into a nine-bedroom luxury resort.

And who would have thought a crane could be used as anything other than an aid to develop construction. The Hotel Faralda in Amsterdam, the 'crane hotel,' boasts three luxury hotel suites, a spa pool and a TV broadcasting studio.

Here, MailOnline Travel takes a look at some tourist stop-overs around the world whose history is a far-cry to how they look today.

Krausnick Airship Hangar, Germany - Now a holiday resort

With sandy beaches, clear blue water and palm trees, this looks like a spectacular and luxurious sun-kissed resort.

Holidaymakers can be seen relaxing in swimming shorts and bikinis. Even the occasional flamingo can be spotted.

With sandy beaches, clear blue water and palm trees, this looks like a spectacular sun-kissed resort - but in reality it is inside an old plane hangar in Germany

But not everything is as it seems at Tropical Islands.

The 'resort' is actually located on the site of a former Soviet military air base in Krausnick, Germany. 

Tropical Islands is inside a hangar built originally to house airships designed to haul long-distance cargo. As these incredible pictures show, the resort contains a beach, a lagoon, water slide and adventure park.

Tropical Islands attracts up to 6,000 visitors a day and in its first year attracted 975,000 visitors

The hangar as it appears in the winter season... but inside it's a very different story

Guests can enjoy numerous restaurants, evening shows and can also relax in a sauna.

A range of options are available for stays, from the basic to luxury. Accommodation includes quaint looking cottages and even beach tents.

As well as flamingos, free-flying canaries also fly around the site.

It is believed that the hall which Tropical Islands is located in is the biggest free-standing hall in the world.

Tropical Islands has a maximum capacity of 6,000 visitors a day. In its first year of operation back in 2004 it attracted 975,000 visitors.

A range of options are available for stays, from the basic to luxury. Accommodation includes cottages, pictured, and even beach tents

Maritime crane in the Netherlands is now a luxury hotel

This crane in Amsterdam boasts three luxury hotel suites, a spa pool and a TV broadcasting studio catering to holidaymakers who aren't afraid of getting high in the Dutch city.

The 50-metre maritime crane, one of the world's oldest and highest, was doomed for decay after being branded 'impossible' to develop.

But just three years later, the crane is hosting elite guests for its swanky rotating suites decked out by a top team of interior designers and its panoramic-view pool, now called The hotel Faralda in Amsterdam.

The hot tub at The hotel Faralda in Amsterdam, the Netherlands; one of the swankiest hotels in Holland, after its former life as a crane

How the crane used to look, when it was used for more agricultural purposes on the docks

The 250-ton crane, rising from the ground at the hip NDSM site on the River Ij's banks, was saved despite the creation of the hotel being dismissed as 'technically impossible', according to its spokesman Edwin Kornmann Rudi.

Mr Rudi said: 'But after years of preparation there was a point of no return. Nowhere else in the world is there something as unique, as big and high as this hotel.

'This has put an end to the fight against the decline of the historic harbour crane. 'The Grand Dame has finally reached her destination as the most extravagant Crane Hotel in the world.

The crane hotel is certainly an imposing structure, and has an unusual luxury that isn't associated with this kind of structure

'It is also the most talked about wedding location in the Netherlands. We've had people getting married in the studio, sleeping in one of the three suites and having their wedding night start in the hot tub at the top of the crane.'

Alongside deluxe dining and sumptuous suites, the steel colossus also boasts a private business club where internationally oriented companies and stakeholders to use the crane for all sorts of sessions.

The suites are the most expensive in the Netherlands after developers splurged £660,000 building EACH room, setting customers back by £340 each.

The Secret Suite in The Hotel Faralda will offer a panoramic view over Amsterdam and the river as well as some night-time luxury

Solent defence station in the UK is now luxury fort

Standing a mile out to sea, Spitbank Fort had a £3million conversion over two years ago to transform it into a luxury hotel that can sleep up to 18 people.

The 136-year-old gun emplacement was built to protect the country's fleet when Britannia ruled the waves.

Just a mile off the coast, found in the Solent, it was almost destroyed by bombing in World War Two and ceased all military functions in 1982.

The rooftop fire pit aboard the Spitbank Fort can provide couples with the perfect romantic moment

Following a dramatic transformation, it's now a stunning hotel location, costing as much as £5,000 a night to rent out.

In addition to the incredible ocean views, guests can enjoy the wine cellar and games room.

Many of the fort's original features have been kept intact, with the gun ports transformed into bedroom windows offering sea views and gunpowder rooms making cosy snugs.

The 15ft granite walls of the fort mean guests are well protected from the roughest of weather.

The bedrooms are classy to the extreme; fluffy rugs, exquisite bed-linen and glitterball chandeliers are on offer here

It was originally constructed to protect England's coast from a possible French invasion and later used during both world wars to defend Portsmouth Harbour from attacks.

During the Second World War the fort was decimated by Nazi bombs before it was revamped and turned into a night club in the 1990s.

Clarenco worked alongside English Heritage to ensure many of the original features of the fort, which is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, were preserved.

It used to have room for 150 soldiers, who slept in hammocks, but now guests can relax in the lap of luxury in nine spacious bedrooms.

The hotel provides boat transfers from nearby Portsmouth and Gosport in Hampshire, and is situated in the Solent.

The hotel provides boat transfers from nearby Portsmouth and Gosport in Hampshire

Sewage pipes are now unique hotel in Germany and Austria 

In one of the more unique concepts, travellers to Germany and Austria accommodation in refurbished sewer pipes.

The Das Park hotel has converted the 6ft-tall, 9.5tonne concrete structures into cosy rooms that include double beds, luggage space and even power points to charge mobile phones and digital cameras.

There are three 'suites' located in a public park in the Austrian city of Ottensheim, while there are five suites located in Bernepark, Germany (pictured)

The Das Park hotel rooms even feature wall paintings by Austrian artist Thomas Latzel Ochoa

However, there are no windows - apart from a small circular airhole near to the top of the pipes - and guests must use toilets and showers in local public buildings.

There are three 'suites' located in a public park in the Austrian city of Ottensheim, while there are five suites located in Bernepark, near Essen in Germany.

Guests are required to book their rooms at the hotel's website. Upon acceptance of the booking, guests receive a code to unlock the door to their pipe.

The thick cement keeps the interior comfortable and eliminates noise from outside while the concrete walls are cool on hot days and comfortably warn in winter.

Tourists can book the hotel for up to three nights free of charge, or pay 'whatever they can afford' in some of the programmes initiated by the owners

Jumbo jet is now £300-a-night plane suite in Costa Rica

This old jumbo jet destined for scrap was salvaged and converted into a luxury hotel suite.

The £300-a-night plane hotel suite is perched on a purpose built ledge within the Costa Rican rainforest and offers flight fans the chance to play captain for their stay.

For a staggering £2,100 a week guests can enjoy the novelty of sleeping in the converted 1965 Boeing, which once carried passengers around the world with Colombian Avianca Airlines.

The £300-a-night plane hotel suite is perched on a purpose built ledge in the Costa Rican rainforest

Inside the two-bedroom, two-bathroom suite, which includes a kitchenette, dining room and a terrace with a sea view

The suite is part of the Costa Verde resort, which is located on the edge of the Manuel Antonia National Park, Costa Rica.

The rainforest resort charges guests the same price to sleep in the converted plane as a room at The Ritz, London.

Airplane enthusiasts can have full run of the two-bedroom, two-bathroom suite which also includes a kitchenette, flat-screen tvs, a dining room, and a terrace with a sea view.

There is a specially crafted observation deck, which has been built on top of the plane's wing.

The inside of the jumbo jet is furnished with hand-carved teak panelling from the former cockpit to the tail which is all harvested locally in Costa Rica.

The jumbo jet, which was destined for scrap has been transformed into a top notch hotel

World Heritage-listed prison is now a youth hostel in Australia

Fremantle Prison YHA, Western Australia's only World Heritage-listed building, has been transformed into a youth hostel where worldly travellers can spend a night behind bars in the cells previously occupied by hardened criminals.

A renovation of the famous institution's Women's Prison which took nine months.

The north-western complex of the prison was built in the 1850s and originally served as the cookhouse, bakehouse and laundry but the closure of Perth Gaol meant a place was needed to keep female prisoners.

The usual fear of dread when entering a prison has changed to one of intrigue at Fremantle's unique offering

Hangings, floggings and some famous escapes once took place in the prison soon to be filled with smiling faces

They were transferred to Fremantle and the wing was secured by an extra wall to keep them in, with varying results. And as Western Australia’s criminals increased with the population, the division was further extended until it was rendered redundant by the building of the specialist Bandyup Women's Prison in 1970.

The entire prison was closed in 1991 and its historic status has since been confirmed and honoured by Unesco, a blessing and a curse as far as the hostel is concerned.

Perfectly manicured lawns have replaced the dirt-covered yard that prisoners would have used for exercise in the former jail

The Fremantle Prison's Women's Division has been transformed from a place for incarceration to a haven for young travellers

‘The status as a World Heritage site added many challenges to the development, which was shelved a number of times before finally receiving approval in April 2014,' Abbott says. Building approval was officially given the green light the following month.'

The prison itself was built by convicts between 1851 and 1859, and was consequently referred to as the Convict Establishment.

It remained a prison for 136 years until it closed, with the Women's Prison part of the property used as education facilities by TAFE School of Art and Design from 1993 to 2009.

A combination of new and old is found at the Fremantle Prison's new short-term accommodation

Former lighthouse is now £1million property in the UK

Once used to guide boats away from the rocks as they made their approach towards Bristol Harbour, the 18th century lighthouse property in Dale, Pembrokeshire, has eight bedrooms and an observation lounge.

Alongside panoramic views of Skomer Island and Milford Haven, the house, currently used as a holiday rental, also has a private, heated swimming pool.

Built in the 1700s under the instruction if Trinity House, the body which oversees safe shipping in Britain, the lighthouse is no longer functioning

Split into two properties, the main tower and a self-contained three-bedroom annex, the lighthouse has long been used as a holiday rental.

Estate agents Coasty Property and Estates says it makes for the perfect family home.

'This property is stylish and is furnished comfortably reflecting on a nautical theme, it has a well equipped kitchen, large dining area, and windows on three sides give an almost 360 degree sea view,' said Sophie Evans, managing director.

In the lounge, an old stone fireplace acts separates the living area from dining room where half of an oak boat is mounted on the wall

The property comes with a private, heated swimming pool with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the Irish Sea towards Skomer Island

'This property has one of the most spectacular, breath-taking views of the beautiful Pembrokeshire coastline.

'Renovated to form a quality, spacious and exclusive home only yards from the cliff top and coastal path.'

While on first glance the property looks like a conventional lighthouse, it was used throughout the 18th century as a look out point for ships in the Irish Sea.