'Garbage Hotel' Opens in Madrid

A new 'garbage hotel' that popped up in Madrid might be the trashiest ever. The inn features walls covered with litter dragged ashore by tides, garbage recovered from landfills, and junk picked up at flea markets.

With wallpaper made out of a colorful collage of trash and decorations that include torn Persian rugs and repurposed musical instruments, the five-bedroom garbage hotel is part art installation, part actual sleeping quarters.

German artist Ha Schult, creator of the hotel, tells AFP he hopes the temporary guesthouse will cause visitors to think about the mass amount of waste tourism generates, specifically when it comes to ocean pollution.

Located in the Plaza de Callao in the heart of Madrid, the hotel was unveiled just in time for Madrid's hosting of the annual international tourism trade fare.

"We wanted to show what our holidays could become if we don't clean our beaches," says spokeswoman Rose Piqueras.

Approximately 30-40% of the objects that make up the temporary guesthouse were picked up on beaches in the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

The hotel can be visited every day between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. until its doors close January 23. Overnight stays in the hotel are being raffled off on Facebook by Corona, which is sponsoring the garbage hotel.