Hotel de Glace, Quebec, Canada. Feature photo by lande2006. Above photo by duplamox.
From mountainous dens to underwater abodes, the following destination hotels offer more novel and memorable experiences than your typical Ramada Inn.
Ice Hotel
Built every winter only to melt in the spring, Icehotel in Sweden is constructed entirely from ice and snow; that includes the walls, fixtures, and furniture.
Luxury suite for two. Icehotel, Jukkasjärvi, Sweden. Photo by bjaglin.
Try falling asleep in this church. Icehotel, Jukkasjärvi, Sweden. Photo by bjaglin.
No ice hotel would be complete without an ice garage. Icehotel, Jukkasjärvi, Sweden. Photo by Köttbullekvist.
Cave Hotel
The Cappadocia region of Turkey draws in hordes of amazed tourists with its whimsical landscape, filled with fairy chimneys into which the buildings, including hotels, are carved.
A Dr. Seuss wonderland. Göreme, Cappadocia, Turkey, Photo by Curious Expeditions.
Göreme, Cappadocia, Turkey. Photo by Adam Franco
High class cave dwelling. Urgup, Cappadocia, Turkey. Photo by Jason Devitt For a nominal fee, travelers in Kolarbyn, Sweden can be left to fend for themselves while roughing it in a rustic forest hut. Food drops are optional. Photo by Tom Williams. The kitchen. Photo by Li-Lian Williams. These bright orange mod pods anchored in The Hague were part of an art project before being capitalized on as adventurous getaway. Packages range from basic survival with a sleeping bag and food rations to something a bit more James Bond-esque. Photo by Roel. In special discount hotels in Japan, guests stow their luggage in lockers, then buy automated tickets to little cubicles that leave enough room for bedding and television monitor. Tokyo, Japan. Photo by Massa. Tokyo, Japan. Photo by Andrés Monroy-Hernández. Austria’s answer to the capsule hotel, Das Park Hotel has the same premise of buying a ticket from an automated machine, but, supposedly, guests pay whatever amount they want. Fair, considering it’s a concrete sewage pipe. Das Park Hotel, Ottensheim, Austria. Photo by Foam. The Utter Inn floats one kilometer on Lake Malaren as a solitary island and beneath the surface lies a bedroom with a panoramic underwater view. In dry dock. Lake Malaren, Vasteras, Sweden. Photo by Jonas Wallinder. Nine centuries old and originally the historic residence of Empress Matilda, the Oxford Castle has also been a prison. Now, it’s a hotel and shopping complex. Yurts hold a special symbolism in Central Asian culture, adorning the Kazakhstan coat of arms and the Kyrgyzstan flag.
Forest Hut Hotel
Survival Pod Hotel
Capsule Hotel
Sewage Pipe Hotel
Floating and Underwater Hotel
Prison Hotel
Photo by Miladus Edenensis.
Photo by Jim Fruchterman.Yurt Hotel
Nayrn, Kyrgyzstan. Photo by Rob.
Naryn, Kyrgyzstan. Photo by Rob.
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90 Comments... join the discussion!
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wao whats a nice picture
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I was in Capadoccia last summer, it is amazing place, very beautiful land.
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This is incredible. It makes me want to travel even more.
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Very cool list of places to stay. Thanks for sharing…I'll go for the tree hut!
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Which hostel did you stay at? I stayed at Shoestring…definitely the best in Goreme, according to what I heard through people.
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Heard that was actually a myth when I was there. The tour guides use it as an extra stop, but the locals say it isn't true.
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Weird and quirky hotels. Awesome!! but definitely fun looking hotel!! give a thumbs up on su!!
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Great Pics buddy .. Its amazing.
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here's a site to see some of the Crazy House in Vietnam….It looks awesome!!! ” target=”_blank”>http://www.hotels-in-vietnam.com/hotels/Dalat/cra...
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If you want to spent your vacation in an interesting and different hotel, here's something for you.
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I just heard a piece on NPR about a couple who were living in a Yurt then built a <500 sq ft house off the grid. Nice to see the photos.
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anyone interested in staying in a Yurt? They are available in Chester Arkansas in the Boston Mountains. Absolutely beautiful. Cost is about $200.00 a night, but the experience is worth it.
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I'm pretty tall and I'm not sure I would be able to fit in some of those cubes. The ice hotel is cool…i'm guessing it's cold though.
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Wiked photos! I loved the content… Thanks for sharing
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That last one looks alot like the sand people's domicile.
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what was the room service like?
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Not as a prison, no.
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wow! there are very unqiue and out of world hotels here! If I could to choose one of these hotel, I prefer to chose Ice hotel enjoying antartic life like penguins.
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Ice hotels , pipes too and just the whole list here: are surely the place to stay when one is looking for adventure, so I guess that the idea will catch on.
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I saw those capsule hotels on the travel channel. I think mostly men stay there and all they have are radios and a bed. (and possibly a microwave.)
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re: ice hotels: “After a day of adventure, nightfall approaches quickly. The outdoor temperature drops and when you step inside ICEHOTEL, you feel a rush of warm air. Inside, the temperature is never colder than -5 °C to -8 °C, regardless of how cold it may be outside. It will soon be time to climb into bed. Dress in warm thermal underwear, put on a hat and slip into the cozy sleeping bag. Share the whole surrealistic ice-night with someone special.” http://www.icehotel.com/Winter/Stay/Cold/
eep, i dunno about this!
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It’s an amazing article with great photos and info. Thank you for posting.
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I like the ice one. Just don’t know if it will be freezing cold while sleep…
Richard
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Can’t imagine paying money to stay in a cave, but never thought they’d create a hotel out of prison, either.
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Thanks for the information. I heard about the Capsule Hotel’s in Japan. I never heard of the Prison Hotel. All of these would be interesting to stay while on vacation or a trip around the world. You would definitely be able to write some great travel articles.
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Thought I’d see Coober Pedy mentioned in Australia.
I stayed there at the IYH back in ‘92.
No pics though sorry (was before digital cameras)↵ -
Heh, this is some weird stuff.
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I like what they did with the prison hotel – I think the igloo and ice hotel would be too cold – but maybe not?
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Loving the sewage pipe and pod hotels, great idea for a list bud
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i’ve seen the ice hotel before but nearly all the rest were brand new to me–very cool! the sewage pipe hotel room is amazing, i’d love to see a larger system of pipes at different sizes and shapes functioning collectively as a community. love it!
thanks!
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Oh, fab list. Some are plain nuts, most make want to up and go.
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What a fun article. I will definitely have to look into some of these hotels. Very fun!
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I slept in a pipe once but it was because I was homeless and out of money. There weren’t in beds, just pipe.
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Here’s another – the 727 airplane hotel in Costa Rica.
http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/04/13/costa-rican-hotel-suite-takes-flight/
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I love the capsule and would love to see the interior.
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You should see Kadir’s Treehouses in Olympos, Turkey
http://www.kadirstreehouses.com
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Very interesting hotels.
Here a great one in an amazing island called Morro de Sao Paulo in Bahia, Brazil: http://pousadamorrosaopaulo.blogspot.com/2009/05/mais-fotos-da-pousada-em-morro-sp.html
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The cave hotel looks really awesome, just like in a fairy tale. I tried the capsule hotel once, it’s totally understandable in Tokyo-Japan since many people lives outside Tokyo but they have to work in Tokyo, so the capsule hotel is the only choice. The traffic doesn’t allow them to go home at night and get back to the company in the morning.
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Those actually look like they would be great places to travel to.
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