The coasts of Turkey, Egypt, Greece, Cyprus, Thailand and other tourist countries are built up with almost identical hotels. When choosing a tour, tourists pay attention to the availability of an all-inclusive system and the first coastline, animators for children, swimming pools, bars and restaurants with different cuisines.
But there are very unusual hotels in the world. Some of them are located by the sea, in the mountains or by the lake, almost all are designed not for the mass tourist, but for connoisseurs of beauty, privacy, a certain style in the interior, etc. In some such hotels, you do not have to count on even the slightest comfort, but at the same time the rooms are not empty.
So, let’s go on a trip to the most unusual hotels in the world. You will have to cross oceans, go under water, climb mountains, live in trees. Things are packed, vouchers are in your pocket, you can leave.
Floating hotel The Manta Resort, Pemba Island, Zanzibar
At first glance, it is quite traditional here. There are buildings lined up on the shore. Its own sandy beach turns into coral reefs, where you can scuba dive or just dive with a mask. A diver coach will be happy to teach both.
But a few hundred meters from the shore in a blue lagoon formed by corals, another room is “located” — a floating one. Above the surface of the sea there is a living room, a kitchen, a deck where you can sunbathe. But the bedroom is at a depth of 4 meters. Its walls are almost entirely made of durable glass. And at any time of the day (you can turn on the floodlights at night), you can watch the inhabitants of the corals directly from the bedroom: stingrays, numerous fish, moray eels, octopuses and even small sharks.
The specialists of the Swedish concern Genberg Underwater Hotel worked on the creation of the room. The Zanzibar hotel is not the first in their track record. The builders and owners of the room guarantee the guests an unforgettable experience and complete safety. The structure is protected from flooding and penetration of marine life.
Book and Bed, Tokyo, Japan
Externally, the original hotel looks like a library or bookstore, where visitors are allowed not only to watch, but also to read books on the go, leave them on the floor, sofas, tables.
But behind the doors of the cabinets there are actually small rooms, equipped according to the principle of a hostel and designed for 1-2 guests. Here you can just sleep or spend a few hours reading a volume you like in English or Japanese. The rooms are equipped with table lamps, sockets for charging a smartphone.
In the common rooms, everything is also designed for book lovers. There are soft sofas, coffee tables and a lot of books. The cost of accommodation in such an unusual themed hotel is quite affordable for Tokyo. As practice shows, mostly students stay here.
Casa Casuarina, Miami, Florida
Villa Casa Casuarina in Miami is a house with a rich history. In 1930, Alden Freeman, who owned Standard Oil, wanted to get, if not the house of Christopher Columbus’s son, then an exact copy of it.
The billionaire’s dream has been realized. But the fate of the building can hardly be called successful. For a while it was an apartment building, gradually dilapidated and unusable. Then Gianni Versachi became the owner of the mansion. And it was on the steps of the fashion designer’s house that he was shot in 1997.
In agreement with the heirs, episodes from the FX television series were filmed in and around the mansion. And only a few years later they decided to open one of the most unusual hotels in the world here. You can even spend the night in the bedroom of a famous fashion designer. Everything here “breathes” luxury. The walls and ceiling are decorated with stucco and frescoes, the floors are mosaic and marble. The furniture is assembled by the hands of the best cabinetmakers. And even the pool bowl is decorated with gold plates. There are 10 rooms in the makeshift hotel, and there are enough people who want to stay.
Icehotel Sweden, Jukkasjärvi
It is difficult to call this hotel a full-fledged hotel from the rating. Rather, it is an art object. It has been erected at the beginning of every winter since 1989. Perhaps the owners and builders were inspired by the whim of the Russian Empress Anna Ioannovna, who ordered to build an ice house for the wedding of her buffoons.
The creators of the modern “hotel” guarantee the ecological purity of each “brick”. The water for filling the walls is taken from the Tournai-Elve River, into which industrial waste has never been dumped.
The art hotel exists only for one winter. By the next one, it will be rebuilt, but according to a different project. The design of the rooms is never repeated.
The indoor temperature does not drop below -7 0C. To keep the guests warm, they are provided not only with sleeping bags, but also with thermal underwear, including hats. It is proposed to spend the night on tanned deer skins.
Palacio de Sal in Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia
The creators of this unusual hotel decided to go a little further than their Swedish colleagues. In this case, the 30-room hotel is completely built of salt and directly in the desert. Salt blocks became the basis of furniture. The rigidity of the beds and armchairs is softened by numerous blankets, mattresses and blankets.
There is not much entertainment in the valley around the hotel. Basically, tourists are attracted by the strangeness of the place and the rather diverse landscapes of the endless salt deposits. And at night you can count the stars in the sky. Cloudy days throughout the year can be counted on the fingers of one hand.
Billiards and hundreds of cable TV channels are also available for visitors as entertainment. And, of course, the staff carefully ensures that guests do not taste the furniture and walls, do not try to break off a piece for memory.
Golden Crown Iglu, Levi, Finland
Thousands of people from various countries come to the north of Finland every year to observe the northern lights. The unusual rooms at the Golden Crown Iglu Hotel are built especially for them. They have the shape of an igloo, the traditional dwelling of the Eskimos.
Each room has enough space to accommodate a family with children or a company of 3-4 people. The feature of the houses is a glass roof. Through it, you can count the stars or admire the Aurora Borealis.
The rooms in the unusual hotel are one—room, self-catering, where you can try to cook masterpieces of local cuisine. In winter, the restaurant welcomes guests with the usual Scandinavian dishes, including venison and various types of fish.
The windows are designed to avoid icing even with the fireplace running. If desired, if you want to retire from the outside world, you can close the blinds. In this case, no one and nothing will interfere with the rest.
Santos Express, Mossel Bay, South Africa
For any country, the problem is the disposal of old equipment, such as trains or ships. Not all parts can be recycled. This applies to different types of plastic, varnished wood.
Mossel Bay has found at least a partial solution. One of the trains created 100 years ago has become a top hotel. And they installed it in the immediate vicinity of Santos beach.
Each of the 4 wagons is divided into five compartments. The beds in them are double, and you can admire the ocean views from the windows. But the bathrooms are shared per car. But there are no queues in them.
Another car can be called one budget room by the type of hostel. There are bunk beds, which can be rented quite cheaply.
There is also a honeymoon suite with a private bathroom on the train. From it you can go out onto the veranda and watch how waves of varying intensity run up to the edge of the beach. You can also order the delivery of breakfasts, lunches and dinners here.
If you want to stay with maximum comfort, you can rent one of the royal suites. In this case, the vacationer gets at his disposal a carriage, which provides everything from the kitchen to the Jacuzzi.
Santos Beach is considered one of the best beaches not only in Africa, but also in the world. People come here to watch whales, go snorkeling or scuba diving and visit local shopping malls.
Kokopelli’s Cave, Farmington, New Mexico
Once upon a time, an extravagant man — Bruce Black — decided to blow up one of the rocks in the valley of the La Plata River. In the resulting cave, he planned to set up an office for himself.
It did not work out to implement the idea, but another unusual hotel is now available to tourists. The numbers in it are hollowed out directly in the shell rock, which “turned out” to be more than 60 million years old. And anyone can try to determine which layers of history intersect the walls of his temporary home.
Each room is a separate cave, in the center of which stands a retaining column. It visually divides the space into separate zones: bedroom, living room, kitchen. Only the bathroom with Jacuzzi is isolated.
There is no elevator in the hotel. Tourists climb to their “floors” by steps carved into the rock. That is why guests are not recommended to take suitcases on wheels with them. They will have to be carried in their hands. The optimal solution in this situation is a backpack.
Trips to the Chaco Canyon can be considered the main entertainment for tourists. You can visit the Mesa Verde National Park. The Navajo country is no less interesting. You can limit yourself to the views of the La Plata River. They are fascinating and impressive at any time of the day.
The hotel does not accept guests with pets. The reason is simple — there are enough mammals of their own here. The rooms are “visited” with pleasure by numerous squirrels, chipmunks, local ring-tailed cats and even hummingbirds. Some animals are so used to people that they are not afraid to be photographed, they let themselves be petted.
Treehouse Lodge, Iquitos, Peru
And again, tourists are invited to look up. But now it is proposed to live not in a rock, but in trees. Just such a hotel — Treehouse Lodge — is built in the immediate vicinity of the city of Iquitos. You can only get to it by motorboat along one of the channels of the Amazon River.
Tourists have access to 8 houses at an altitude of 15 meters above ground level. The main material for their construction is straw. The houses are relatively small, the roof diameter does not exceed 6 meters.
Almost only a mosquito net separates the houses from the environment. There is an additional bathroom under the living quarters. The water is served only cold.
You can get into the house only by a suspended walkway with a railing. You can also use it to go to the restaurant, also located on a tree. It serves mainly Peruvian cuisine.
If desired, you can “chat” with squirrel monkeys, macaws, and sloths in the trees at the hotel. You can contact a local guide and go to watch river dolphins or explore the sights that have been preserved since the time of the ancient Indians.
Treehouse: Treehotel, Sweden
The Swedes, following the inhabitants of Peru, offer to feel a little like birds. The local hotel is also built on trees, but the shape of the rooms is more diverse. If desired, you can settle, for example, in a large bird’s nest or choose a UFO ship. There is also an option in the mirror cube format. Inside, the tourist gets a bedroom and a bathroom in any case. There is only one shower. There is also a sauna and a hot tub.
From spring to autumn, you can admire the surrounding landscapes from the rooms, and in winter (if you’re lucky) — also the northern lights. You can taste venison and northern fish dishes at the hotel’s restaurant.
Conrad Maldives Rangali Island: Muraka, Maldives
If the Manta Resort (Zanzibar) provides only one bedroom underwater, then the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island hotel has three of them at once. The hotel has two full floors built underwater. There is also a glass dome that allows you to admire the stars at any time of the year.
Initially, the room was intended to be located in waters near Singapore, but later it was decided to transport it to the Maldives. And now the original building flaunts in the waters of the Indian Ocean. And the rooms are not empty, even if the owners of the hotel ask for several tens of thousands of dollars for one night.
Hotel Costa Verde, Puntarenas Province, Costa Rica
You can feel like a traveler trapped in the jungle after a plane crash at the Costa Verde Hotel in Costa Rica. The room stock is located in the Boeing 727 aircraft, launched into the sky back in 1965.
Two teak-paneled bedrooms are available. The designers kept the cockpit in its original form. The portholes are enlarged so that you can admire the beauty of the ocean through them. The bedrooms are equipped with everything necessary for relaxation, including bathrooms and air conditioning.
In the immediate vicinity of the Boeing, another C—123 Fairchild aircraft is located in the eternal parking lot. He has been transporting goods for several decades. There is now a pub serving local cuisine inside. And there are practically no empty seats at the tables.
Giraffe Manor, Kenya
The Giraffe Manor Hotel in the suburbs of Nairobi can be considered quite ordinary, if not for one THING…. The building, built almost 100 years ago, has 12 rooms. Wildlife lovers and… giraffes come here.
The hotel is home to several representatives of the rare Rothschild species. And tourists need to take into account that peace-loving animals do not just walk around the building, but strive, if not to go inside, then look through the windows. The hotel staff constantly reminds tourists that animals are very peaceful, they do not attack anyone. If one of the giraffes decides to “come in” for lunch or dinner even without an invitation, then he needs to be treated. Special buckets and vases with apples and other fruits are located in all rooms of the hotel. And the guests can safely feed enough intrusive “guests”.
It is not necessary to count on privacy in such conditions. At any moment, a mottled shadow will flash outside the window, and a rough tongue will try to lick your face or steal something from the table.
For Dog Lovers: Dog Bark Park Inn, Idaho
In 2003, Dennis Sullivan and Francis Conklin decided to open their own unusual hotel. To realize their dream, they needed a lot of wood, plaster and plywood. There was no talk of any capital construction.
Photo source: Wikipedia
And now Idaho boasts the largest “dog” in the world. This is exactly the shape that its creators chose for their hotel. Inside there are two rooms, the guests of which can count on breakfast. There is also a gift shop where you can buy gifts in the form of dogs and for dogs.
When decorating the rooms, the designers also took the “dog” theme as a basis. It can be traced in the choice of bed linen, furniture, curtains, in the colors of floors and walls. The hotel has been given a completely official name — “Sweet Willy”. On request, guests can check in with their own pet.
Cave Hotel: Ottoman Cave Suites, Turkey
Ottoman Cave Suites is a very unusual hotel. It is small, the building has 13 rooms. What is unusual is that almost all the rooms are carved underground or in the Goreme rock. At the same time, tourists can even rent a suite with windows overlooking Uchhisar Castle or other beauties of the country.
The rooms are furnished with luxury worthy of sultans and their entourage. The decoration of the walls and floor traces the traditions characteristic of the “Magnificent Century”: stucco, carved columns, carved wood trim.
Tourists can also count on a full range of all-inclusive services. The cost of accommodation is appropriate, but room reservations are scheduled in advance for several months.
Eccentric accommodation: Helga's Folly, Sri Lanka
The style of the Helga's Folly Hotel in Sri Lanka is difficult to define unambiguously. The design of the rooms and common spaces traces the features of classical, Russian and American country music. There are also walls completely covered with skeletons and skulls, and candelabra from the XVIII century are on the tables.
Many tourists believe that the overall design of the hotel evokeseven some horror, you can feel like an actor in a Tim Burton movie. There is a certain touch of mysticism combined with black humor.
But it should be noted that the hotel provides rooms both affordable and quite expensive, including “suites”. And they are almost never empty. Even more people do not even want to stay at the hotel, but visit the local restaurant during lunch or dinner. The emotions from the design of the space are unforgettable.
Crazy House Hotel Vietnam, Dalat
Who didn’t dream of a tree house as a child? And in 2024, you can realize your dream at least for a while. In Dalat (Vietnam), one of the most unusual hotels has been built — in the form of a tree. The rooms here are more like birdhouses, in which there is not a single sharp corner. Everything here is rounded or in the form of spirals.
You have to move between the rooms or restaurants of the hotel along very fancy paths. At the same time, almost anyone can walk along the tree. You don’t even have to be a guest in any of the rooms to do this.
If you “walk” along the branches of the “tree”, it is difficult to get rid of the feeling that a bun, a fox or even a Mad Hatter in the company of Humpty Dumpty is about to appear from behind the nearest trunk. Some of the ideas regarding the construction of the hotel, its creators, no doubt, learned from Gaudi. He promoted similar ideas in construction back in the 19th century.
Leaprus Eco-hotel Russia, Kabardino-Balkaria
If you are interested in unusual hotels in the mountains, pay attention to the Leaprus eco-hotel. It stands out from the general background both by the design of the rooms and its location. To get into it, you need to have good mountain training. After all, you will have to climb to a height of almost 4 thousand meters. But there is also a significant plus — less than 2 thousand meters separates tourists from the top of Elbrus.
The individual modules of the hotel have a pronounced similarity to space stations. The hotel operates on the principle of a hostel. Up to 20 people can stay in one room. The service is designed specifically for skiers. You won’t be able to soak up in a hydro massage bath here. Only showers are available for tourists.
Another feature of the hotel is that it is absolutely independent of external energy sources. Its reserves are replenished from solar panels. Even during a snowstorm, tourists at the hotel will not be left without warmth and light.
Woodlyn Park New Zealand, North Island
The nature of New Zealand is beautiful at any time of the year. If you want to admire it closer, you can choose Woodlyn Park from the top most unusual hotels in the world for accommodation. It offers several accommodation options:
- in a carriage at the beginning of the XX century;
- in an airplane that fought in Vietnam;
- in a patrol ship;
- in small houses underground in the forest.
All options are designed for companies of 5-6 or more people. The Hobbit Motel even has its own kitchens. More accommodation options are provided only in the old patrol ship. There are even suites for discerning guests.
Tourists at the hotel are offered not only relaxation with contemplation of the surroundings. Here you can learn how to shear sheep, chop firewood, and perform other tasks common to a villager. The bravest can try to ride a cow or a bull to ride them around the yard. Emotions will last for a long time.
Chateau de Bagnols France, Rhone
The Chateau de Bagnols dates back to the 13th century. At various times, kings and members of ruling dynasties lived and stayed here. And now the hotel still retains the features of a medieval castle. The entire space of the main house, towers, and outbuildings is divided into 18 apartments named after famous people of France.
The guests are offered a fairly respectable and relaxing holiday. You can admire the beauty of the buildings themselves: stucco, frescoes, columns, moats and defensive towers.
If you want additional impressions, you can go for a walk through the vineyards, take a guide and ride around the neighborhood on horseback. For fans of extreme sports, there is a helicopter and several balloons available. There are golf courses and lawn tennis courts. You can relax body and soul in the pool and SPA. The restaurant is dominated by French cuisine. Vacation bills in such conditions correspond to the status.
Some more unusual hotels
The strangest hotels in the world are listed above. But other hotels created by oddballs are located on different continents, for example:
- Montana Magica Lodge Chile, Neltume. Externally, the building resembles a slide in which someone accidentally or intentionally cut through the windows. The walls are overgrown with moss and vines, streams of water flow down them. You can only get to the reception and to your room via a suspension bridge. From the windows you can admire the fully active volcano — Mocho-Choshu-Enko.
- Jumbo Stay Sweden, Stockholm. In 2009, a Boeing 747-200 was permanently parked near Stockholm Airport. Inside there is a hotel-hostel, designed for 76 guests. The rooms are located on the upper deck. The largest and most prestigious one is in the cockpit. On the lower floor there is a cafe and a kitchen for those who want to cook on their own.
- V8 Hotel Motorworld Region Stuttgart. It can be safely included in the top unusual hotels in the world. It is addressed to fans of Bavarian cars. Moreover, in the truest sense of the word. All beds in the rooms are based on the chassis of the most successful models. The engine compartment with the windshield is also left. Otherwise, the V8 Hotel Motorworld Region Stuttgart remains a standard hotel.
- InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland Shanghai, China. The inhabitants of the Celestial Empire were able to surprise the whole world. A magnificent hotel has appeared on the site of a former quarry where coal was mined. Visitors are welcome in 336 rooms on 18 floors. There are also underground, more precisely, underwater levels. Here, sitting in the living room, you can watch stingrays and other inhabitants of the depths of the sea.
- Three Camel Lodge, Gobi Desert. To some, this hotel may seem like an ordinary contact village, but its visitors are always satisfied. It is proposed to spend the night here in traditional nomad yurts with wood-burning heating. Another one, the largest, houses a restaurant. People come here not to have fun, but to escape from the hustle and bustle, to meditate, to get into the ideas of Buddhism.
- Malmaison Oxford Castle is located in a prison building built in England in the XI century. In 2005, a major renovation was carried out here. The cells turned into luxury rooms, but the barbed wire remained. It is adjacent to upholstered sofas and 5-star service. If you want to have a snack or drink a beer, you can go to the former office.
- Mövenpick Hotel Hamburg. This unusual hotel was once a water tower. In the XX century, it was rebuilt, supplemented with a glass roof. Vacationers can enjoy not only impressive landscapes, but also a full range of SPA services. The floors have their own swimming pools.
- Cley Windmill. No one uses windmills to produce flour from grain anymore. So the owners of Cley Windmill decided that the building could well become a hotel. The fact of filming a movie with Elizabeth Taylor here gives her a special chic. The theme of rural recreation is so popular in England that rooms are located not only in the lighthouse building itself, but also outbuildings, including a dovecote.
- Hotel De Vrouwe van Stavoren. The Europeans are trying to surprise everyone again. This time, old wine barrels were converted into an interesting hotel. They are roomy, you can comfortably fit inside. And over the past decades, the smell of wine has not completely disappeared.
Brief conclusions
To relax and get new experiences, it is not necessary to buy a tour to Turkey or Thailand. You can stay at the hotel for several days: in the form of a bird’s nest, a UFO, an extinct volcano. There is also an opportunity to spend the night in a snow or salt cave, feed giraffes, spend the night in the former residence of the French kings. Hotel rooms are placed even behind the doors of bookcases.
