An overnight stay at a hotel can be an adventure in itself. How can you not be impressed when you wake up in a glass capsule on a steep cliff or admire the northern lights through the transparent ceiling of a cozy igloo. We have selected ten of the most unusual accommodation facilities for those who are tired of the standard Bed & Breakfast.
Boutique hotel made from shipping containers
Upper Gudauri, Georgia
To book
In the mountains of Georgia, at an altitude of more than 2 thousand meters, a boutique hotel was recently built from sea cargo containers. It is located in Upper Gudauri, about 120 kilometers from Tbilisi. Just two hours by car - and you are in the most luxurious cargo container in the world.
Architects Sandro Ramishvili and Irakli Eristavi tried to do everything possible to ensure that the environment was not harmed during the construction of the Quadrum Hotel. That is why the hotel follows the local landscape, cascading down the mountain slope. The hotel's terraces offer panoramic views of the Caucasus Mountains.
Quadrum has standard single and double rooms, a suite, and also adjoining rooms designed for large groups. The ski lift is located a five minute walk from the hotel.
Igloo
Finland, Saariselka
To book
We think it would be difficult to find a more suitable home for admiring the northern lights. The modern igloos on site are made of durable thermal glass, through which you can clearly see everything around. Each house has a double bed and a bathroom.
You can spend the night in warm igloos throughout the entire northern lights season, that is, from about August 20th until the end of April. An overnight stay under a glass dome will cost €400 per day.
Hotel on the border of Israel and Palestine, opened by Banksy
Bethlehem
To book
Banksy, as you know, doesn’t do anything for nothing. And the opening of a hotel on the border between Israel and Palestine became another social statement by the artist. The purpose of the message is to destroy the stereotypes formed in Israeli society towards Palestinians.
The building is located in Bethlehem, next to the concrete wall that was erected on the border. The hotel is called Walled-off Hotel. It has 10 rooms, and the windows face a concrete wall. Each room receives no more than 25 minutes of sunlight per day. The walls of some rooms are decorated with Banksy graffiti. The building also houses a small museum dedicated to the wall that separates Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
Hotel in a cargo crane
Copenhagen, Denmark
To book
The sea is calling, but the waves make you seasick? The Krane Hotel can be called a good alternative to all sorts of overnight boat trips. It is located in a port in the north of Copenhagen. The hotel is quite stylish, cozy and very expensive - the cost of one night in a crane is € 2,500 per day.
The property has been converted from an actual old cargo crane that was built in 1944. The tower crane cabin is located at a height of 15 meters. There is a separate bedroom for two, a spa area with a jacuzzi, a sauna, a meeting room and several terraces - in general, everything for a comfortable stay.
Hotel in a former prison
Roermond, Netherlands
To book
In the Netherlands, over the past ten years, the number of criminals in the country has fallen to the lowest level in Europe - 57 prisoners per 100 thousand people. Therefore, they decided to be original and convert some empty prisons into hotels.
This is how the House Arrest Hotel in Roermond appeared. This is a former prison from 1863, whose cells have been converted into luxurious suites. Here you can even rent an entire bay to host a party for up to 200 people. The hotel offers The Jailer, The Lawyer, The Director and The Judge suites. Of course, the hotel has access to Wi-Fi, TVs, a gourmet restaurant, a fitness center and a sauna. Room prices start from €112 per night.
Hotel in a glass capsule on a cliff
Peru
To book
If you're afraid that your heart will sink into your heels and never come back, some friendly advice - it's better not to poke your nose in here. The hotel, consisting of transparent capsules, is located 122 meters above the ground. There are two ways to get there: climb the steep mountainside or go down on a zipline. The ascent on your own takes about an hour and a half.
The hotel consists of only four capsules. One of them is a public space where the living room and dining room are located. Three more capsules are rooms, each of which is equipped with a miniature toilet. Each of these rooms offers breathtaking views of the Peruvian Andes. The hotel does not have a shower, so visitors are advised to bring at least one liter of water and wet wipes. But the hotel owners assure that these are trifles compared to the opportunity to spend the night right on the slope of the Peruvian mountains.
“Hanging” in such a capsule will cost about €430 per night. This amount includes everything a traveler might need.
Wooden owl house
Bordeaux region, France
To book
Not quite a hotel, but a very original accommodation facility, located in the Bordeaux region in southwestern France. Here you can spend the night in charming wooden houses in the shape of forest owls. And most importantly - it's free.
These houses were built to encourage people to get out of stuffy cities and be in nature. The Les Guetteurs ("observers") houses were designed and manufactured by contemporary art studio Zébra3 as part of the "Shelters" campaign.
The plywood buildings have three floors. Inside there are round white beds, and windows offer scenic views of the nearby wetlands. You can only stay here in the warm season.
Bubble house
Ireland
In the heart of an Irish lakeside forest, the Finn Lough Estate offers a truly transparent bubble to stay in. Inside each such bubble-house, the surrounding nature is visible from all sides, 180 degrees. During the day you can enjoy the beauty of the forest here, and at night you can watch the starry sky.
Seven bubble houses offer guests comfort and luxury accommodation. Unusual numbers They are furnished with designer furniture, some even have a bathtub and a coffee machine. The cost of an overnight stay in a transparent room starts from € 230.
Mirror cube on wood
Sweden, Harads
To book
Another hotel for privacy in nature is located in Sweden. Travelers are offered accommodation in a mirrored cube, which seems to magically hang on a tree. The cube reflects everything that surrounds it: forest, clearing and sky. That is why a structure measuring 4x4x4 m may not be immediately noticed. And to prevent birds from crashing into the unusual house, the cube is covered with infrared film. Birds, unlike people, see it.
The entire interior of this room is made of birch plywood. In addition to a bedroom for two, there is a living room, a bathroom and even a roof terrace inside. On one of the trees there is a separate sauna built for eight people. The mirror cube awaits travelers willing to shell out €500 per night (breakfast included).
Individual temporary hotel Blink
All over the world
Order
The British company Black Tomato invented and launched a unique Blink service for those who want comfort even in the desert. Travelers can spend the night anywhere on the planet (within the law, of course) in a specially built individual temporary hotel. The hotel is designed based on the wishes and tastes of the client. Black Tomato promises that a luxurious five-star hotel-tent will be installed anywhere and will last as long as needed. Travelers choose the type of accommodation themselves. It could be a tent, dome, sphere, yurt, tropical villa or lodge.
The prices for such a vacation are decent, to put it mildly. These vary depending on location and length of stay. For example, for three nights in Morocco you will pay about $10 thousand, and for a four-day trip to Bolivia you will have to pay $29 thousand per person.
You need to order the service 3-5 months before the expected date of your vacation, so that the company’s specialists have time to develop and build an exclusive dream hotel.
Photos - official hotel pages
The peculiarity of this hotel is that the interior of the rooms is based on films shot in the city of Yaroslavl: “Ivan Vasilyevich Changes His Profession”, “Afonya”, “Crew”, “Kotovsky”, “Doctor Zhivago”, “The Incredible Adventures of Italians in Russia”, “Twelve Chairs”, “Big Break” and many others. This allows guests to plunge into the unique atmosphere of a particular time and feel like the hero of their favorite film.
2. Hotel Palacio de Sal, Uyuni Salt Flat, Bolivia.
This hotel was built quite recently - in 2007. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that the entire hotel is made of salt - walls, floors, roofs, furniture and even beds. The hotel has 16 rooms with all amenities, a living room, a dining room and a bar. The hotel has a real fireplace, and on the second floor there is a spacious terrace for lovers of the starry sky. Due to its “unusuality” and proximity to the Uyuni salt marsh, the hotel is in great demand. One of the hotel owners' demands is: “We strongly ask visitors not to lick the walls!”
3. Hotel Poseidon Undersea Resort, Poseidon Island, Fiji.
This hotel attracts the attention of tourists with its underwater rooms. The rooms are located at a depth of 15 meters. Each room is a separate “capsule”, the walls of which are made of special transparent resin-plastic. While living in your room, you can watch the life of marine inhabitants around the clock by turning on a special light that will attract their attention. There are a total of 25 capsule rooms and one luxurious room with an area of 300 sq. m. meters, designed in the form of a submarine from the novel by J. Verne. There is also a large panoramic restaurant underwater. Despite the very high price(the cost of a week's accommodation per person is from $15,000), there are practically no vacancies here.
4. Giraffe Manor Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya.
The hotel occupies a huge area and is surrounded by magnificent ancient forests. But it is not this that attracts tourists, but the herd of giraffes that live on the territory of the hotel. Giraffes are the rightful owners this place and are free in their movement. They are very friendly and are not averse to popping into your living room for tea and a nice chat. Due to their height, they also look into the bedrooms on the second floor to attract attention and in the hope of getting some kind of delicacy. Also on the territory of the hotel live antelopes, hyenas, wild boars and more than 200 species of birds.
5. Magic Mountain Hotel, Valdivia Province, Chile.
This hotel is located in a nature reserve, surrounded by lakes and forests. In order not to disturb the delightful picture of nature, the hotel was built in the shape of a mountain. The hotel looks like a home fairy gnomes, all overgrown with plants, and a waterfall flows from the top of the “mountain”. To get inside the hotel, you need to cross the suspension bridge. Inside there are full rooms with all amenities. The hotel is small, only 13 rooms and each has the name of a bird living in the reserve. The hotel also has mini golf, a restaurant, a bar, and a sauna. Outdoor hot tubs made from tree trunks are naturally heated.
6. Crazy House Hotel, Da Lat, Vietnam.
The hotel is built in the shape of the trunk of a large magical tree, climbing the steps of which you find yourself on different levels where cave-like rooms are located. Each room in the hotel is decorated in a specific style - there are “Bear”, “Ant”, “Tiger” rooms and others. The hotel has an endless number of corridors, passages, different levels, stairs. Despite the amazingness and unusualness of this place, I would not recommend staying here, since according to hotel rules, the door to the room must always be open so that anyone can admire the intricate rooms.
7. Seaventures Dive Resort, Sipadan Island, Malaysia.
The hotel is in the sea and is located on a former oil rig. Getting here is not easy, but the hotel is extremely popular among divers from all over the world. This hotel cannot be called luxurious, since the rooms are former cabins of oil workers. Most rooms are modest in size but equipped with everything you need. The main treasures of this hotel are hidden right under the oil platform; you just have to dive into the water and the whole diverse and amazing underwater world will open to you.
8. Hotel La Villa Hamster, Nantes, France.
The hotel consists of only one room with an area of 16 square meters. meters. According to the creators' idea, a visitor to this hotel should feel like a real hamster. The room has a container with grain, an iron barrel with drinking water, and a bed that you need to climb onto using an iron ladder hanging in the air. If you suddenly get bored or don’t fully feel like a real rodent, then the room has a large metal ring that even two people can run around. Upon arrival at the hotel, you are immediately given a hamster costume and invited to try your hand at a wheel.
9. Propeller Island City Lodge, Berlin, Germany.
The hotel is attractive because each room can safely be called a work of art and ingenuity; you will not find two identical ones. For example, one of the rooms is completely mirrored, while in the other the floor is inclined. Those who wish can spend the night in coffins or in a room with a bed screwed to the ceiling. There is a room - an exact copy of a prison cell, a room with two cages instead of beds, there is a room with strange mechanisms reminiscent of instruments of torture. And that's not all the surprises. If you are tired of the routine of everyday life and you urgently need new sensations, then this is the place for you.
10. Kumbuk River Resort, Ella, Sri Lanka.
The hotel is located on the river bank, next to a nature reserve inhabited by wild elephants, peacocks and other exotic animals. Waterfalls and pristine beaches are very close by. The hotel is built in the shape of a huge elephant. There are only 4 rooms inside, which can accommodate no more than 12 people. The hotel is quickly gaining popularity among fans of eco-tourism. Despite the wildness and pristine surroundings, the hotel has all the benefits of civilization. The hotel territory is full of tame chipmunks who are not at all averse to getting to know you. After relaxing at the hotel, you can safely boast to your friends that you spent the night in the “belly of an elephant.”
Incredible facts
The first thing every hotel owner thinks about is who will be its visitors.
Accommodation must suit the needs of visitors and be suitable for a two-week stay luxury holiday not always necessary for a one-day business trip. Likewise, for more adventurous visitors, a typical hotel setting may seem boring.
It is for these intrepid, quirky travel lovers that these unusual hotels were built.
The Mirrorcube Hotel, Harrads, Sweden
Hotel TheMirrorcube is a lightweight aluminum box, 4x4x4 in size, suspended around a tree trunk and covered with mirrors. The inn itself sleeps two people, and the room has a double bed, a small bathroom, a living room and a rooftop terrace. You can get to the hotel via a rope bridge connected to another tree.
The hotel is camouflaged under a tree canopy, and one-way mirrors provide a 360-degree view of the surrounding area. To prevent birds from colliding with reflective glass, the glass is coated with an ultraviolet color that is only visible to birds.
Icehotel, Jukkasjarvi, Sweden
Hotel Icehotel- This is the largest hotel made of ice and snow. Visitors can sleep on a bed made of snow and ice, like most of the furniture, in temperatures of minus 5 degrees Celsius.
Every year the entire hotel building melts down and is then rebuilt. In November, a team of architects rebuilds the rooms, bar and chapel from several tons of ice. And if you dream of walking in snow, then you should visit this hotel again, because each time it will be a different hotel.
Marmara Antalya Hotel, Antalya, Türkiye
Hotel Marmara Antalya consists of 208 rooms overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, the Taurus Mountains and Antalya.
This is the world's first revolving hotel. The top floor, which contains 24 rooms, rotates, giving visitors an ever-changing view. The hotel floats in a pool that holds 478 tons of water and, with the help of six electric motors, rotates 360 degrees at its base several times a day.
Dog Bark Park Inn, Cottonwood, USA
Hotel Dog Bark Park Inn (Hotel The Barking Dog, a large beagle-shaped structure, offers bed and breakfast accommodation and can accommodate up to four people at a time. Visitors can enter the huge dog's room through the balcony. There is a bedroom in the dog's head, a gazebo inside the dog's muzzle, and the toilet is hidden in a fire hydrant.
A huge beagle named SweetWilly, over 9 meters high, over 10 meters long and over 4 meters wide, made of wood and covered with plaster, and the ears are made of carpeting.
Jules Underwater Lodge, Key Largo, USA
Hotel JulesUnderwaterLodge is a former research laboratory and the world's first underwater hotel. It rests on stilts 1.5m from the bottom of a tropical lagoon, surrounded by aquatic wildlife.
To get inside, visitors dive 6.4 meters underwater and enter the room through the floor of the room. Compressed air prevents water from rising and flooding the room. Also, in order to visit this hotel you will need to take a 3-hour scuba diving course.
Tianzi Hotel, Hebei Province, China
Built in 2000, the 10-story building represents the Chinese gods. Ew, Lou And Shu, which symbolize good luck, prosperity and longevity. Hotel Tianzi is the largest hotel-like hotel in the world. God Shu, the one on the left is holding a peach in his hand, which contains a suite, and the entrance to the hotel is located at his right foot.
Sandcastle Hotel, Weymouth, UK
This coastal resort is made entirely of sand, with 1,100 tons of sand to be exact. The construction of the hotel, which was completed by 2008, involved 4 sculptors who built it over the course of a week, 14 hours a day. However, the hotel itself held out until the first heavy rain.
For $15 a night, visitors could sleep under the stars and wake to the tide splashing against the hotel doors. This hotel is not the best option for those who do not like sand in their swimsuit or those who need an enclosed toilet.
Hotel Karostas Cietums, Liepaja, Latvia
This hotel is a former military prison built in 1905, housing revolutionaries, enemies of the people during Stalin's times and later the KGB. While an exemplary hotel should be safe, clean and have good staff, the hotel Karostas, breaks down every fundamental notion of hospitality by inviting visitors to experience the eerie atmosphere of a prisoner.
Here you can sleep on rough prison bunks, eat prison food and experience less than friendly treatment from prison guards.
Hotel Kokopelli's Cave Bed and Breakfast, Farmington, New Mexico, USA
This one-room cave house, located 30 meters underground, was hewn out of the rock in 1980, with three holes for ventilation and electricity. Visitors can reach this bed and breakfast by walking down a steep cliff and stairs. To stay at the hotel you must sign a liability waiver.
Godiva Chocolate Suite Hotel, New York, USA
Chocolate manufacturer Godiva built this suite entirely out of chocolate, including the chairs, bed, artwork, lamps and walls. In 2008, the chocolate room was moved to the hotel BryantPark for Valentine's Day. Being incredibly sweet, this one hotel room intended more for food than for overnight stays.
Hotel Palacio de Sal, Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia
The hotel features a living room, dining room, bar and 15 bedrooms made entirely of salt. The hotel was built from salt blocks that were brought from the wide surrounding salt plains and held together with a cement-like mixture of salt and water. The only thing that isn't made of salt in this hotel are the toilets and the tin roof. A quick note: the innkeeper urges visitors not to lick the walls.
Kumbuk River Hotel, Buttala, Sri Lanka
The hotel is located on 16 hectares of desert along the river Oya Kumbukkan, where visitors can stay in the belly of a giant elephant. The two-story eco-hut is built from grass and branches, and on windy days the inn begins to sway.
Giraffe Manor Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya
This elegant six-room inn, modeled after a Scottish hunting lodge, is distinguished by the fact that giraffes' heads protrude from its windows. The hotel owners are simply obsessed with giraffes. In the estate you can see live giraffes, poking their heads towards guests in the hope of being fed. This place also houses a conservation center and an elephant sanctuary.
Hotel on wheels Hotelmóvil
Hotel Hotelmovil can be located anywhere there is ample public parking, being a two-story trailer with 11 bedrooms that can accommodate up to 44 people. This mobile hotel has an outdoor terrace, private bedrooms, flat screen TVs, Wi-Fi and luxury amenities that claim to be five-star.
HotelMarquesdeRiscal, Rioja Alavesa, Spain
Hotel Marques offers 43 uniquely shaped rooms in two sections connected by an impressive suspension bridge. The entire building rises on columns, which allows the space underneath to be used as an entrance platform.
The billowing titanium canopies that adorn the hotel are not only functional, but also pleasing to the eye of visitors. Nestled on sunny hills, these colored metal plates serve as an environmentally sustainable umbrella and temperature modulator.
Hotel de Vrouwe van Stavoren, Stavoren, Netherlands
Hotel de Vrouwe Converted wine barrels into four double rooms with standard amenities, bathroom and living room. Wooden barrels holding 14,500 liters of wine still smell like wine Beaujolais, which was once stored here. Even though the rooms are quite small, they are very durable and airtight.
HotelRyugyong, Pyongyang, North Korea
Also called Hotel of fate, Ryugyong once aspired to become the tallest hotel in the world. The 105-story, 3,000-room project was abandoned in 1992 for economic reasons, but construction resumed in 2008.
Instead of becoming the tallest hotel in the world, it became considered the worst designed building in the world.
IKEA Sovhotell Hotel, Stockholm, Sweden
For those who are pretty exhausted from shopping, there is a hotel in the center of the Stockholm shopping center Sovhotell.Company IKEA offers tired customers pillows, sleep masks and even soothing music. Here you can find single and double beds, and even a honeymoon room. It is possible that the company is simply tired of customers who constantly test the durability of their mattresses.
Reading time: 10 minThe most unusual hotels are located everywhere: in former water towers and trailers, prisons and libraries, in caves and ice castles, in trees and under water, in haunted houses and even in the crater of a volcano.
The latest news is that a Dubai company has announced a plan to build the first Lego hotel in the Middle East (and the seventh in the world) on the territory of Dubai Parks and Resorts. The Lego-themed hotel will be harmoniously located next to Legoland Dubai, which has more than 40 rides and attractions. Each of the 250 rooms of the miracle hotel and even the elevators will be integrated into Lego storylines.
The world's first Lego hotel appeared in 1991 in Denmark. The third, most famous, was built in Carlsbad. It cost the creators $50 million
There are more and more hotel wonders in the world and amateur travelers who want to try their delights for themselves. We have selected the most unusual hotels for an overnight stay to match the future Lego giant.
SeaventuresDiveResort: an oilman's dream
On the island of Sipadan in Malaysia, they thought of building a hotel on a former oil platform. In 1988, it was given as a gift to a certain Suzette Harris. The businesswoman improved the tower as best she could, it was towed to the Sulawesi Sea and has since been used as a hotel for divers. Its peculiarity is complete privacy among endless waters Indian Ocean. And here you can dive underwater without leaving the hotel: just go under the water in the elevator. The hotel rooms were a bit cramped and the smell of oil was ingrained forever, but there are always more than enough divers here: the underwater world, one might say, is under your feet.
Unusual hotels of the world - economy class chic
The Jumbo Stay Hotel (Stockholm, Sweden) is nothing more than an economical (by European standards) Boeing 747 converted into an economical hostel. Previously he flew as part of airline fleets Singapore Airlines, Pan Am, TransJet, and since 2002 has served as a haven for travelers in love with aviation. The liner has only 31 rooms, including a suite - equipped in the former pilot's cabin with panoramic views of Stockholm-Arlanda Airport.
The saltiest hotel in the world
Palacio de Sal, also known as the salt palace, is located on the border with the Uyuni salt marsh in Bolivia at an altitude of about 3650 m above sea level. The hotel is built entirely from salt blocks - more than a million of them were used for furniture, walls, ceilings, ceilings and sculptures. The hotel on the edge of the world's largest salt marsh with an area of 10,582 km² (the bottom of a dry lake) appeared in 2007. Salar de Uyuni is known to be an important salt deposit in Bolivia and a famous tourist mecca.
Unusual hotels of the world - on wheels
Americans, who especially love unusual hotels, came up with the idea of making a hotel in mobile caravans in the retro style of the 50s. On the coast Pacific Ocean in California, the distinctive resort (occupies 23 hectares) “Airstream” now consists of 20 mobile trailers with kitchens, dining rooms and all amenities. There are hammocks, black and white television, your own bar on wheels and a million items from the era of President Dwight Eisenhower.
Unusual hotels of the world - almost like a Bedouin
Al Maha Desert Resort is just 45 minutes from Dubai and feels like a thousand kilometers away from civilization. The entire hotel consists of comfortable tents, arranged like Bedouin settlements, among sand dunes and grazing camels, antelopes. Each tent is designed in an ethnic style and contains dozens of unique crafts from local artisans. Guests are offered entertainment not in bars, but in falconry, camel safaris and archery exercises. Bedouins are Bedouins, but each tent has its own swimming pool, and the hotel itself is a solid “five”. Price
luxury - from $770.
For the opportunity to live like a Bedouin, albeit with your own pool, you need to pay about $800 per day
Unusual hotels of the world - a bird's eye view
Guests of Arlau Amazon Towers make their way to their room via hanging bridges, because the hotel is several wooden towers on the trunks of giant trees at an altitude of about 60 m above the ground. It has everything a hotel should: a restaurant, a conference room, a tower for newlyweds “Tarzan in Love”, just all this in the exotic atmosphere of the Amazonian jungle, where macaques jump, full of iguanas, colorful birds and even crocodiles. Among connoisseurs of natural beauty - wild bananas and orchids hanging from the window of the room - there are many celebrities who love unusual hotels, even politicians (Bill Clinton, for example). There are similar above-ground apartments in India: at the Creek n Crag’s hotel there are only two rooms made of bamboo and twine, but they are on the territory of an old coffee plantation, in the middle of a wild forest, and the verandas overlook the watering hole of the “locals”.
Unusual hotels of the world - railway romance
The Crown Plaza Hotel&Conference Center hotel complex is a real hub station, where guests are accommodated in decommissioned carriages and business events are held, it is included in the Register of National Historical Places(USA). In Indianapolis, the train station was once located in the business center of the city, so the sleeping cars on their own tracks are always the center of attention and are not empty. Each rarity is named and decorated in honor of celebrities of the 20th century - Charlie Chaplin, Winston Churchill, Cowell Porter, Jean Harlow. The piquant thing is that the station lives its own life and still misses regularly scheduled trains.
The unusual hotel still operates as a station. Photo 10bestmedia.com
Unusual hotels of the world - cave age
60 km from Granada (Spain) there is a complex of caves that have faithfully served people for more than 7 centuries. Once they took refuge here from the raids of Muslim armies, and in our time 23 grottoes have been developed by the Cuevas Pedro Antonio De Alarcón hotel. All his apartments are carved into clay rocks, and inside the caves there is always a pleasant coolness - regardless of the heat reigning outside. It sounds ascetic, but the hotel has a swimming pool, a solarium, and a jacuzzi. And nearby is the Sierra Nevada Nature Reserve, medieval castle, hippodrome The hotel's closest twin brother is the Turkish Gamirasu in Cappadocia, built on the site of a Byzantine monastery with a thousand-year history. The difference is that the coolness in the rooms here is created not by clay, but by rock made from volcanic ash.
People have been living in these caves for over 700 years!
Unusual hotels of the world - 80 thousand leagues under the sea
Hotel "Jules" Undersea Lodge" in Florida is a real miracle of engineering, created in honor of the great science fiction writer Jules Verne at a depth of almost 7 m under water. For fans extreme species sports and try out unusual hotels here is a paradise, because even the meter-wide portholes of the rooms offer views not of the sea, but under it, and while lying in bed you can admire all sorts of sea monsters, anticipating a quick dive in full equipment. The mangrove lagoon, parrot fish, and barracudas will become your neighbors for the night - and there is no point in staying here longer.
Unusual hotels of the world - a children's fairy tale
Sparkles Family and Celebration Theme Hotel is a dream for little travelers. A mini-hotel in the city of Blackpool (Great Britain) all resembles a white Dalmatian with black speckles, and inside there is tinsel, garlands, and pink boas all over the place. The walls of the rooms are plush, the chairs are shaped like high heels, and every lunch or dinner is a themed food celebration. And all the entertainment programs smack a little of either cheerful madness or childhood: slides, trampolines, dry pools. And the owners themselves are professional animators and dreamers.
Self-tested: where avid travelers spend the night
We asked famous traveler, journalist and TV presenter Mikhail Kozhukhov to recall the most unusual hotels from his practice. Moreover, we caught him immediately after his return from a long trip to Central America. It is difficult to count how many hotels in the world he has stayed in during his practice (and yet the host of the projects “In Search of Adventure” and “Around the World” has been traveling around the world for almost 30 years). However, the president of the Travel Club Mikhail Kozhukhov has the most vivid memories from just two incredible places, where he was lucky enough to visit once.
Mikhail Kozhukhov told us about the most unusual hotels in the world, in his opinion
...in the castle of the Marquis de Carabas
The first is in France. There is such a department number 17 there, also known as Charente-Maritime, where the Marquis de Carabas once lived. The writer Charles Perrault once met him in Paris and as a result, this nobleman became the prototype of the hero of the famous fairy tale “Mr. Cat, or Puss in Boots.” So the castle of this Karabas has been preserved; it stood ownerless for a long time, until an Italian family bought it and breathed life into it (private residential castle La Roche Courbon / Chateau de La Roche Courbon). There are several rooms equipped to the standard of a five-star hotel. The only negative is there is no kitchen. And when you stay there for the night, the castle, that is, its fence, is locked, leaving the guests alone.
It so happened that I was there with Vladimir Krestovsky, the leader of the Uma Thurman group. It’s absolutely fantastic to feel like the owner of a castle with all its dining rooms, huge tables, Marquesian utensils, ghosts (they have some kind of horse “grazing” there at night). And the castle is completely real - with a moat, a park, a stone one, with spiral staircases and loopholes. The sensations are unusual, incredible. Despite the fact that this is not some crazy money, the price is affordable for everyone who can afford the trip to France. It's silly to stay there for a week, but spending the night is a wonderful experience. And when morning comes, the gates open and breakfast is brought... you almost feel like the Marquis de Carabas.
The castle of the Marquis de Carabas is amazing in size. Photo panoramio.com
...in the land of David Livingston
In Zambia, there is a hotel near Victoria Falls called Sussi & Chuma. That was the name of the two natives who were carrying the malaria-stricken Livingstone (the famous explorer of Africa, anti-slave trade activist Dr. David Livingston, Scotsman who lived in the 19th century) and even then his body when the doctor died during the expedition. The hotel was built in national park on such high pillars, between which, that is, essentially, under you, elephants walk, all sorts of birds fly. The monkeys steal the breakfast you are served. The room is absolute comfort, just beyond the pale: heated mattresses, copper washbasins and other attributes of luxury.
What shocked me most of all was that there was a book next to the bed, with a note and a postal envelope in it. It was a letter from the hotel owners with the following content: we offer you one of our favorite books about Africa, we hope you like it. If you do not have time to read it before the end of your stay at our hotel, please send it to us by mail in the enclosed envelope. This is so touching! The highest manifestation of customer focus. And it's expensive. But it’s impossible to save on yourself all your life, and this is the high cost that remains in the memory forever, and then throwing away another broken TV you understand that you don’t mind the money spent, because the emotions and impressions are with you forever.
You lie down, read a book about Africa, and elephants walk under the house. Cedarberg Travel Photos
Travel bloggers: on trips - 200 days a year
Orest Zub and Marta Trotsyuk do not specifically look for unusual hotels: they value comfort. However, the rich experience of moving is not without adventures; we still came across several special places.
The couple spends more than six months traveling
Unusual hotels of the world -Africa and Japan
“We recently visited East Africa, and the most unusual place to spend the night there was a small guesthouse in the National Park. Queen Elizabeth in Uganda. What was amazing was that we were immediately warned: not a single step out of the house at night, there were a lot of wild animals around, and the most dangerous ones were hippopotamuses, they come out of the water and rummage around in search of food, often attacking people. By the way, these are the animals that kill the most people in Africa, not lions or leopards. We saw one in the water, but weren't really looking for adventure at night.
By chance, through the Airbnb resource, we ended up in an incredibly traditional room, like in films about samurai. Such minimalism has not been seen anywhere else: in the room there was only tatami (mats on the floor), a wardrobe built into the wall from which mattresses for these tatami were pulled out, there was a sliding door, almost cardboard walls - and that’s all!”
The National Park in Uganda offers untouched nature and amazing air. Photo: vesveter
Unusual hotels of the world - Southeast Asia
“Many people dream of living in a wooden tree house by the beach and falling asleep to the sound of the surf. We also had such a dream, but after the first night in a bungalow in Cambodia, we realized that it was not so romantic when biting mosquitoes fly through huge cracks, the wind blows sand, and you have to go down to the ground to use the toilet. After the second night in such Robinson-like conditions, we moved 200 meters from the beach to standard comfortable conditions.
Two years ago we traveled around Taiwan and spent a week in a tea meditation center. This is a gathering of people who worship tea. For a week we woke up at dawn, meditated for an hour, had breakfast, then had discussions about tea for three hours, and in the evening again meditation and food (vegetarian). And once in Bali we lived for 3 weeks in a family estate that resembled temple complex with many chapels. This typical middle-income family numbered several dozen people, they brought us food in the morning and generally created complete comfort. But the feeling that we were living in a monastery did not leave us.”
In Cambodia, recreational conditions are quite spartan. Photo flickr
Unusual hotels of the world - South America
“Last year, on the way from Argentina to Chile, crossing the Andes, we stopped at the foot of Mount Aconcagua (the highest in the world outside the Himalayas, 6900 m above sea level). The only place to spend the night was the climbers’ camp: a place where equipment is prepared and things are sorted out before climbing. In the lowlands we were languishing in 40-degree heat, but here it was freezing, we put on all the clothes we had, huddled together to keep warm, but what kept us warm was the queen mountain nearby. By the way, the camp was located next to the climbers’ cemetery, and the dead were regularly carried off the mountain.”
Unusual in Ukraine: UPA number and tipi
A review of the most original hotels in our country was made for us by the head of the Igotoua tourism project Tatyana Smirnova
History in the palm of your hand
Hotel “History” in Polyanitsa fully lives up to its name: it is dedicated to different stages development of our state, the concept provided for the reconstruction of the brightest pages of its history. Each hotel room is decorated according to a specific important period. So, for example, there are numbers “Trypillia”, “Scythia”, “Kievan Rus”, “Princely”, “Cossacks”, “UPA”.
In wigwams
Indian village (Krasnik, Ivano-Frankivsk region) is a real camp of North American Indians for those who since childhood dreamed of living in real tipi tents, like in the movies. Moreover, guests can enjoy canoeing, fishing and American lunches, barbecue over an open fire and sit on primitive wooden furniture - stumps.
In Indian village you can feel like a real Indian
Transparent and vintage
Art Hotel has occupied a niche of sophistication and extravagance in the Ukrainian hotel business. It is located in a building built at the end of the 19th century, where one of the city's first cinemas once functioned. Films are available to guests to this day, just like jazz concerts in the improvisation restaurant. The rooms are located in the attic and have transparent ceilings, so it is always light here during the day and romantic at night.
In ethno style
Unusual hotels in Ukraine can be found even in the middle of nowhere: for example, the unique rural green tourism complex “Frumushika-Nova” is located right in the steppes Odessa region. People come here to take a break from the noisy city and annoying infrastructure, and also to live in eco-huts, like the Bessarabian villagers of the 19th and early 20th centuries, and get acquainted with the ethnographic museum on the territory of the complex (like the capital’s “Pirogov”). There are stylized houses of a hunter, huntsman, fisherman, and also a sheep farm and natural sheep cheeses (they say one of the largest in Europe).
The Frumushika-Nova complex has cozy little houses. Photo frumushika.com
Also find out where the most beautiful underground museums of the world, and where in Kyiv you can take an unforgettable selfie. Or give our little robot a chance to prove himself, who will select exciting reading especially for you! Click "
Hey everyone!
Having once again watched the magnificent, in my opinion, film “The Shining”, based on the book by the cult writer, the king of horror Stephen King, I started thinking about unusual hotels (of course, this article will not talk about such “unusuals”).
Questions arose about how many there are in the world and how unusual they are, whether they exist in our country and what is needed (and whether it is needed at all) for an ordinary hotel to become unusual.
Let's think for a moment what vacation means to you and me and what is needed to make it memorable in a hotel near Moscow? We need a room in which we will live, food (preferably included in the price, this is important for us), entertainment, such as billiards, bikes, a swimming pool, and so on, as a bonus, a beach and gazebos on the shore. When I say about the beach, I obviously mean summer.
In any hotel of the Yakhonta chain you will find everything listed and even more.
But recently I began to notice that vacationers are making more and more demands and complaints. In my opinion, all this is spoiling by foreign resorts. Favorite phrase: “For the same money, I can go to Turkey or Egypt, to a 4-5 star hotel, where it will be all inclusive and also the sea.” Honestly, I’m tempted to say: “What did you forget here then? If it's so bad here? or “Dude, why compare candy with a cutlet? Come back to reality and look at things soberly!” All these resort countries they live off tourism, it is developed there, I don’t know what, this train was launched a very long time ago, unlike our country.
What can we say, the lion's share of the population loves innovations and unusual things) Crafts, barbershops, quest rooms (also known as performance quests, walking quests, quests using modern technologies, labyrinth quests, etc.), anti-cafes and much more are used wildly popular.
So, every area of our life is gradually changing, some like it, others not so much. Let's talk about the sphere hotel business. How can she surprise us? Our Motherland tries to keep up with modern trends and also boasts unusual hotels.
I present to your attention unusual hotels in Russia:
Hotel at the stadium
Yes, that's right) Hotel at the stadium. Kazan is a wonderful city; it offers accommodation on the eastern stand of the Kazan Arena. For football fans there is no better option. The room's windows overlook the football field. The world, of course, is not surprised by this, since there are similar hotels in the USA and Canada, but in Russia this hotel was the first!)
Hotel at the Hermitage Museum
This hotel, of course, is not located in the museum itself, but is a continuation of it. The hotel is located in St. Petersburg and amazes with its luxurious design. The number of rooms is designed in Baroque and Rococo style, and the apartments will help you transport yourself to the residences of Russian emperors, which provides an excellent opportunity to extend your acquaintance with the museum’s collection.
And what’s most interesting is that this is the only hotel in the world operating under the museum brand. This is where we definitely stood out) It’s nice, isn’t it?)
Hotel "Castle of Dreams"
The hotel is located in Domodedovo and the number of rooms, which has only 6 rooms, is almost beyond description. It really looks like a castle from a dream (it’s hard to even imagine who dreams of this). Everything is not as scary as you might have thought, but on the contrary, fabulous and unusual.
Here you can see apartments stylized as a marine abode; the bed is made in the form of a huge white shell (a sea shell, not a washbasin). And here's another room called "Garage", where the bed looks like a red convertible. In the “Heaven” room you will sleep on a bed in the shape of a fluffy cloud; in the “Hayloft” room you will surprise guests with a bed in the shape of a cart in sunflowers. Sounds interesting)
Chamber hotel "Library"
This is my personal favorite! It’s immediately clear that books are everywhere here, you can read whatever you want for your pleasure, and the icing on the cake is that you can exchange your book for any one from the “Library”).
The numbers here are called “volumes” and are inspired by classical literature. There are not many rooms here, only 10 - you can find yourself in the work “The Master and Margarita”, through the looking glass of “Alice in Wonderland”, relax with “The Great Gatsby” or “Eugene Onegin”, and also plunge into summer with the work “Dandelion Wine” "
Castle Hotel Nesselbeck
I decided to include this hotel in this selection because of its incredible atmosphere. Here you can truly visit the Middle Ages. Nesselbeck is located near Kaliningrad.
How do you feel about crossing the seas and oceans and finding out what surprises there? Let's go)
Marmara Hotel Antalya
This hotel is comfortably located in Turkey, on the Falaise rocks. If you just see it in a picture, then most likely you will think that this is the most ordinary Turkish hotel. But! This is the only revolving hotel in the world. While falling asleep you will admire the view of the pool, and when you wake up you will have a beautiful view of the sea. But the surprises don't end there. The three lower floors are completely submerged in water.
Balancing Barn Hotel
This hotel is located in the UK and is rightfully included in the list of the most unusual hotels in the world. The length of the hotel is about 30 meters, 15 of which hang over the slope. Its beauty is that the landscape changes as the plane tilts. First you admire nature from the ground level, which gradually reaches the level of the tree crowns.
Hotel "Magic Mountain"
The Chilean hotel resembles a gnome's house or a volcano, which is covered with lush green plants, and a waterfall rapidly descends from the top. One gets the feeling that this hotel was created by nature itself. You can only get to the hotel via a suspended wooden bridge. The rooms (13 in total) are named after the birds that live in the reserve, on the territory of which the hotel is located.
Propeller Island City Lodge
This hotel can be found in the capital of Germany, Berlin. You definitely won’t find two identical rooms here, each is a work of art. For example, one of the rooms is completely mirrored, but when you go into another, the floor there is inclined. Here (if you so desire) you can spend the night in a real coffin or in a bed screwed to the ceiling. And if you want, you can stay in a room that is an exact replica of a prison cell. Thrill-seekers and those who think that life is boring and dull are definitely here)
Hotel La Villa Hamster
I saved this hotel for last! Of course, I’m not a special connoisseur of France, but the French really surprised me here. There is only one room in this hotel. If you've ever wanted to feel like a hamster, then this is the perfect option. In the room you will find a container with grain, a barrel of water, a bed, which can only be climbed using an iron ladder that hangs in the air. The designers thought through everything to the smallest detail, where have you seen a hamster that doesn’t like to run around in a wheel? So here it is, if you get bored you can run around in it (even together). Well, to really feel like a hamster, to be in his shoes, so to speak, upon arrival you will be given a hamster costume)
Everyone is looking for a holiday to suit their taste, and the modern world is doing everything possible for this. We are so different that some people will really enjoy living in a room stylized as a prison cell, some will sleep in a cart bed, and some will really enjoy being a hamster (yes, this hamster hotel still haunts me) . But it’s worth considering that “unusual” hotels are mostly chosen for their unusualness and atmosphere, and not for their service.
And even “ordinary” hotels try to keep up and please their guests with service, amenities and entertainment. Yakhonts are among them, we are developing and improving. Yes, Yakhonty cannot offer you rooms in a tree or underground, but it can offer something else, no less important... rest for the soul, in peace, surrounded by native nature and fresh air. I think it's worth a lot.
Learn new things, experiment, become better and never give up!
