Actually, they've already been imagined for you, courtesy of the winners of a just-concluded design competition called, "Hospitality Transformed: Resort Hotels in 2055."

Sure, they're imaginary, but they offer insights on how the travel trends of today may give rise to the hotels and resorts of tomorrow.

The competition invited entrants to explore how and where hotels and resorts might be built in an age of advanced technology and customizable consumer experiences. Using advanced building-modeling software, architecture students from 84 universities in 24 countries set out to answer the question: "What will our vacation experience be like in the year 2055?"

"I was impressed with the students' ability to envision technology that has yet to be invented," says Howard Wolff, senior vice president at Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo, a destination design firm that helped sponsor the contest. "They tackled some tough issues like sustainable design and urban revitalization without losing sight of the guest experience and the human desire for personalization and customization."

Truth be told, I'm not too sure what that last bit means, but I do know this: George Jetson would love these places. What do you say we take a peek inside?

An urban oasis

The way Lionel Leow and Yanling Tay of the Delft University of Technology see it, 80 percent of the world's population will live in dense urban centers by the year 2055. Surrounded by a metastasizing expanse of steel and concrete, they'll become desperately hungry for a natural world that's increasingly out of reach.

So why not bring nature to the city? Their Hotel Archipelago (Second Place) would do just that by enclosing everything -- rooms, restaurants, gardens, and grounds -- inside a massive glass box. Lining the sides of the structure, guestrooms and suites would overlook a hermetically sealed landscape complete with pools, walkways, and gardens modeled after those of Europe, China, and Japan.

The result would be a rejuvenating haven for nature-starved travelers. Either that, or it will be the biggest terrarium the world has ever seen.

Then there's the Vu'ng Nu'oc Hotel (Honorable Mention), designed by Ryan Dick, a student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Set in Halong Bay, off the coast of Vietnam, his proposal would utilize a dam, man-made reservoir, and luxury houseboats to create a self-sustaining resort in a place currently devoid of any infrastructure at all.