Pictured: The bizarre FAKE hotel along an Australian highway – and confused motorists trying to book an overnight stay in one of the non-existent rooms

This hotel is a work of art.

Located along a highway on the outskirts of Melbourne, Australia, Hotel EastLink is meant to look like a real hotel, but it’s actually a sculpture.

The large-scale model of a high-rise hotel, which cost £655,000 (AUD1.2 million) to build, was designed by Canadian artist Callum Morton and unveiled in 2007.

This confused many passers-by, with some even trying to book a stay at the model hotel – although it has no rooms and cannot be entered. Hotel EastLink’s fan page says, “You’d be surprised at the number of inquiries we receive from people wanting to know room rates, availability and parking requests.”

Describing the concept behind the design, Morton said, “Drivers will see it from inside the car as a real hotel, and perhaps in time as a strangely decalcified prop that escaped from a theme park or a movie set.”

The “hotel” was designed by Canadian artist Callum Morton and inaugurated in 2007

He adds that the structure is “basically a gigantic folly” – a building designed for ornamental purposes.

It is 12 meters long, 20 meters high and five meters wide and has a construction made of steel, concrete and glass panels. Some windows light up as night falls, giving the hotel an eerie glow.

It is located along the northbound carriageway of the EastLink private toll road in the Dandenong area of ​​Melbourne.

The artist behind the design says motorists may see the sculpture as a “strange decalcified prop that escaped from a theme park or movie set.”

The structure is 12 meters long, 20 meters high and five meters wide. Image courtesy of Creative Commons

Epic drone footage from Instagram user zaim.fpv flies over and around the mesmerizing artwork. Some motorists tried to book a stay at the hotel, unaware that it was simply a work of art

The building was featured on the cover of American punk band Violent Femmes’ 2019 album Hotel Last Resort.

EastLink’s website says: “Taken out of context, without surrounding structures, the artwork seems out of place, as if it belonged to another time and place.”

Reviewing the site on Tripadvisor, user “Jeffry B” said it looked like something from a “parallel universe,” and commented, “Don’t try to get a bed at this fake hotel… Hotel EastLink does not accept guests and .” never done.’

With cult status in Melbourne, the hotel featured on the cover of American punk band Violent Femmes’ 2019 album Hotel Last Resort.

It is one of several large art installations commissioned on EastLink Road, billed as ‘Australia’s largest sculpture park’. Other signature artworks include a steel structure designed to look like a fallen roadside tree by artist Simeon Nelson and a sculpture by artist Emily Floyd in the shape of a giant bird.

The hotel is on the northern lane of the EastLink toll road in the suburbs of Melbourne (pictured).