Sex swings, dance poles and mirrored ceilings: ‘love motels’ provide last-minute rooms for Cop16 delegates

Thousands more people than expected are at the biodiversity summit in Cali, Colombia, and hotels are full - leading the city's council to press less orthodox accommodation into service

Robert Baluku, a Ugandan delegate to the UN's biodiversity summit in Colombia, found himself between a rock and hard place when his team's accommodation was abruptly cancelled, leaving them stranded before the start of Cop16 in Cali.

The city's hotels were packed to capacity with thousands of country leaders, scientists, government ministers and UN negotiators, and Baluku was left scrambling for options - until the Motel Deseos (Desires) came to the rescue.