So you think you’ve seen it all… you’ve traveled the world and slept in everything from flea infested holes in India, to 5-star hotels in France. You’ve gathered by now that the more you spend, the better it gets: beds are more comfortable, bathrooms cleaner and breakfast buffets marvelous. But at the end of the day, you think to yourself, hotels are just somewhere to rest you weary head; a place to stagger back to, after you’ve wandered and explored some the world’s most incredible places. What if we told you the hotel could BE the main attraction on your next trip?
Here at MyTravelMoney.co.uk, we’ve compiled a list of the world’s most unusual, unique and astonishing hotels. A stay in one of these will certainly assure that the very last thing you’ll want to do…is sleep.
Quebec’s Ice Hotel, Canada
We all know what a pain it is to have to make your bed every morning, knowing full well that the covers will just get crumpled again at night. So spare a thought for the guys at the Ice Hotel in Quebec, who must make their hotel from scratch every year!
Constructed from 6,800 kilograms of snow and 226 kilograms of ice, the Ice Hotel is an outstanding creation and spending a night here is a once in a lifetime experience. The luxuriousness of the insulated mattresses and cushions don’t really detract from the ‘thrill of the chill’. The standard temps here are between -3 and -10! You can now also freeze yourself in Finland, Norway and Romania, but we like to give credit to the Canadians for being the first to have a vivid imagination and too much time on their hands.
Ariau Towers Hotel, Brazil
Who hasn’t fantasised about swinging from jungle tree tops a la Tarzan? Well we certainly have, and we managed to satisfy our wildest dreams at the Ariau Towers Hotel in Brazil. Set atop the Amazon Rainforest, on the shores of the Negro River, this 25 meter high maze of splendid tree lodges is set on stilts and linked via wooden boardwalks. Not so good for sleepwalkers.
Palacio de Sal, Bolivia
Sodium lovers of the world unite! A hotel exists which is made entirely out of your favored seasoning. Everything’s salt: the tables, chairs, reception desk, beds, walls, ceiling…you name it; it’s made out of salt. Rather convenient should your meal be a little bland, no need to bother the waiter, just scrape your fingernail on the table and voila’, problem solved. While it may seem like a rather strange idea, the Salt Hotel is located in the middle of the world’s largest salt flats in Bolivia. At least the builders don’t have to go very far to gather their materials. It’s not an extremely plush hotel, but that’s just fine; a visit is purely for novelty value. It’s extremely bright out here because of the sun’s reflection on the salt, and you must also deal with a million tourists who come just for the day. But at sunset all the nuisance is gone and you are free to enjoy the view and the atmosphere.
The only drawback of this hotel is that if you don’t like the way the furniture’s arranged in your room, you can’t really change it.
Giraffe Manor, Kenya
This absolutely divine old country house is situated just outside the Kenyan capital and is a must see if you are in the area. In this place, the furniture is made of real wood, the walls are concreted and the roof is as nature intended, slated. But here, the bizarre thing is that you are not the main guests…the giraffes are. They freely roam around the landscaped gardens, and don’t mind sticking their heads through the dining room windows so they can steal your breakfast. Which they seriously do. So hold on to your bacon and come visit, it’ll be a hotel stay like no other.
The Gamirasu Cave Hotel, Turkey
This is one for all the Neanderthals out there. Forget all our evolutionary gains and regress at the Gamirasu Hotel in Turkey. A collection of elegant and quaint caves make up this remarkable lodge. Chiseled into the rock walls of the Ayvali Valley, these caverns used to be the lodgings of monks who lived here over 1,000 years ago. The ambiance is second to none and we thoroughly enjoyed the fact that the area is not prone to earthquakes.
So forget the Hilton, Intercontinental or Sheraton hotels and stay somewhere super cool on your next trip. Before you go, remember to compare travel money options by checking out MyTravelMoney.co.uk.
