Unusual Stays Around The World
Normally, when you're on vacation, your hotel is simply the place you crash at the end of the day. However, there are some hotels that are experiences in themselves. Here are 20 of the quirkiest hotels around the world that put your local Hampton Inn to shame.
1. Jules' Undersea Lab
20 feet below the surface of a mangrove lagoon, this hotel is one unlike any other. This Key Largo hotel is an underwater habitat where divers of all skill levels can live, eat, and sleep underwater. Jules' Undersea Lab is also a functional research station.
2. Costa Verde Hotel
The Boeing 747 hotel in Stockholm may have closed down (RIP) but there's still one other plane where you can snooze without leaving the ground. Costa Rica's most exclusive suite is a refurbished 727 in the middle of the rainforest. With hand-carved teak furniture and ocean views, you've never seen a plane like this.
3. La Balade Des Gnomes
Western Europeans have a certain whimsy that we lack on the other side of the Atlantic. No hotel better exemplifies this fairytale whimsy like Belgium's La Balade des Gnomes. Inspired by fairytales and mythology, each of these hand-carved and painstakingly-detailed rooms take theming to the next level.
David Brooke Martin on Unsplash
4. Palacio De Sal
Bolivia is home to the world's largest salt flat. So, naturally, there's a hotel not only in the middle of the salt flat, but made out of salt. More than 1 million salt bricks went into constructing the Palacio de Sal and, no, you are not allowed to lick them.
5. Giraffe Manor
You may have stayed at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge, but what if we told you there's something better? Giraffe Manor is a boutique hotel in the suburbs of Nairobi. In addition to human guests (of whom there have been many rich and famous), the hotel is also a center for endangered Nubian giraffes!
6. Conestoga Ranch
Glamping isn't anything new, but Conestoga Ranch in Utah offers camping with a pioneer twist! Rather than traditional rooms, guests stay in their choice of tents or modernized Conestoga wagons. Don't worry, the accommodations have luxury fixings and plumping, so you needn't worry about dysentery.
7. Crazy House
Also known as Hang Nga Guesthouse, Vietnam's "Crazy House" certainly lives up to its name. Da Lat is a sedate mountainside resort town with one major exception. Planned using fantastical paintings rather than blueprints with rooms made of hollowed-out tree trunks, the Crazy House must be seen to be believed.
8. Bed And Book
If you've ever dreamed of sleeping in a bookstore, this Tokyo hostel is for you. Guests sleep surrounded by more than 4000 books which, yes, are available for purchase. You don't need to worry about bringing your own reading material, at least.
9. Sun Cruise Resort
Cruises aren't for everyone; that's why Korea's Sun Cruise Resort keeps its ship firmly on dry land. A cruise ship on the side of a mountain so you get all the beauty of the high seas without the seasickness. Salt water pools and ocean sounds broadcast over loudspeakers help heighten the experience.
10. Icehotel
Think you can handle the cold? If you're the sort of person to sleep with a fan on high in the depths of winter, then you should check out Sweden's ice hotel. Open between December and April, the Icehotel is the first hotel entirely constructed of ice with more than 80 rooms filled with icy art.
bjaglin from Lund, Sweden on Wikimedia
11. Hôtel de Glace
If you want to check out the ice hotel but a trip to Sweden is out of your price range, never fear! There are ice hotels around the world, including one an hour outside of Quebec City. If you don't want to chance the cold, tours are also available in English and French, seven days a week.
Marc-Lautenbacher on Wikimedia
12. Pioneertown Motel
You can't accuse the town of Pioneertown, California of chickening out of their local branding. Located just outside Joshua Tree, this town is purposefully stuck in the 1880s. Pioneertown was constructed as a living set by some of Hollywood's most famous silver screen cowboys in the 1940s, and it's stayed that way ever since.
13. Henn Na Hotel
Nothing can ruin a night quicker than uncomfortable human interaction; that's why Japan opened a chain staffed almost entirely by helpful robots. Droids don't do all the work, but the novelty of being waited on hand and food by automated helpers is unbelievably charming. If Japan is too far, there's a branch in New York.
14. Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort
Glass igloos have become popular for glamping in picturesque locales with minimal light pollution. The glass igloos at Finland's winter wonderland resort allows guests some of the greatest Northern Lights viewing in the world. The igloos even come with special aurora alarms for when the skies are particularly active.
15. The Clown Motel
Is this Nevada motel home to the scariest rooms in America? People who are afraid of clowns would certainly say so. Part kistchy, part creepy, the Clown Motel is the sort of attraction that could only exist in America.
16. The Queen Mary
The Titanic may be at the bottom of the ocean, but if you go to California, you can stay in the next best thing. RMS Queen Mary is a 1930s ocean liner permanently docked at Long Beach where it operates as a museum, convention space, and hotel. You don't even need to worry about icebergs.
Sfoskett~commonswiki on Wikimedia
17. Marmara Antalya
Marmara Antalya doesn't look too special, but looks can be deceiving. This Turkish hotel is the world's only revolving hotel. Well, the whole building doesn't spin, but the 24-room loft does, at a gentle pace that allows visitors to take in the cityscape.
18. Skylodge Adventure Suites
We hope you aren't afraid of heights if you book a stay at this Peruvian hotel, which fully lives up to its name. Perched cliffside in Cuzco's sacred valley, this hotel consists of transparent dangling pods. A must-do for adventure junkies not prone to vertigo.
19. Richardson Hotel
On the surface, the Richardson Hotel looks like your average historic hotel. However, this stately home-away-from-home had a former life as a 19th-century psychiatric hospital. While there are no ghosts (that we know of) this hotel has lovely architecture and green spaces a short walk from downtown Buffalo.
Andre Carrotflower on Wikimedia
20. V8 Hotel
Germans love their cars, and this hotel takes automotive love to the next level. Each room in this Stuttgart hotel is themed around car culture. One room is designed like a car wash, another like an auto shop; one bed is even bookended by "Herbie" the lovebug.
