We travel to be taken out of our day to day norms. The scents, sights and sounds overwhelm and indulge our perception. Booking the right hotel is a vital factor in crafting the best travel experiences. With the advancements in technology & design, new hotel developments are pushing the boundaries of luxury hospitality. I've picked five outrageous luxury hotels whose architecture you will want to experience once construction is completed.

1: Gangneung Resort // PyeongChang, Seoul, Korea

2018's Winter Olympic destination, PyeongChang, Seoul, will see a new exciting hotel designed by-architecture firm Planning Korea. Titled, The Gangneung Resort Hotel, it will feature a combination of condominiums and hotel suites (with 946 rooms total). The sleek figure eight structure features two crisscrossing slopes lined with gardens, the buildings configuration optimizes occupants’ views of the water and surrounding mountains. The hotel features a stunning leisure deck with an infinity edge pool situated beneath an LED-lit ceiling that can double as a media facade. Planning Korea's design inspiration came from the ecological structure of plankton found just offshore.

2: Shimao Wonderland Intercontinental // Songjiang, Shanghai, China

Shimao Wonderland Intercontinental is a one-of-a-kind hotel built into a 90m-deep water-filled quarry located 35km outside of Shanghai. The hotel is penned to become one of IHG’s flagship properties in China. Shimao Wonderland Intercontinental will consist of 380 rooms spanning 19 stories (including underwater levels that will contain an aquarium, restaurant, and guest suites), with only two floors protruding above the quarry's surface. Atkins Global, the architect firm responsible for the design is no stranger to unorthodox architecture, they designed Dubai's iconic Burj-Al-Arab. Shimao Wonderland Intercontinental has been underway for quite some time due to its complex construction, but it is expected to be completed by 2017.

Atkins Global incorporated sustainable initiatives within the project, harvesting solar energy via photovoltaic panels and extracting geothermal energy from the earth.. The firm topped the hotel with a green roof, it acts as an insulator, reducing energy needs to provide heating and cooling while seamlessly blending the structure into the surrounding environment.

3: City of Dreams Hotel Tower // Cotai, Macau

Casino gaming and resorts developer Melcro Crown Entertainment has tapped world-renowned architect Zaha Hadid to create the fifth hotel tower in the City of Dreams resort development.

Scheduled to open in early 2017, the 40-floor hotel features a dynamic exposed exoskeleton, fluid sky-bridges which serve as leisure spaces, 780 guestrooms, suites, and sky villas, plus a sky pool, lounge, and spa on top of a mix of restaurants and meeting/event spaces.

4: Dawang Mountain Resort Changsha // Changsa, Hunan Province, China

Located at the site of a historical cement mining pit and lake in the Hunan province’s capital of Changsha, architecture firm Coop Himmelb(lau)’s Dawang Mountain Resort is my personal favorite on the list. The futuristic micro-city will contain an “ice and snow world” complete with its own indoor ski slope, water park, commercial hub, and five-star hotel comprised of 270 single and double-bed guestrooms, plus 60 executive suites, and a six-room presidential pad. Completion is slated for 2017.

5: The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences // Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Ending the list with definitive wow factor is the U.S. $1.4 billion phase II expansion to Atlantis, The Palm, Dubai. The Kerzner International property will soar 46 stories into the air and is a stone's throw from its pink predecessor. Designed by New York-based architecture firm Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, the lego-like structure will feature 800 hotel rooms and 250 sky residences. The staggered design was carefully planned to allow for hotel rooms and residences to have expansive outdoor terraces with private pools and gardens. The property is being touted as a “foodie paradise,” with several upscale restaurants incorporated into the unique design. One of the hotel's standout features is its "spa bridge" which connects the residence and hotel towers and is topped by an infinity edge sky pool some 295 feet off the ground. This hotel is definitively Dubai, over-the-top and iconic. Put this property on your hotel bucket-list for late 2017.