More and more travelers choose to spend their vacations in unconventional hotels. There are travelers looking for exclusivity, adventure, or who simply want to have a very special memory of their trips.
We take a tour of the ten rarest and most original hotels in the world, taking into account the peculiarities of the accommodations and the opinions that their guests have left about it.
1. Jules' Undersea Lodge (Florida, United States)
This is the only hotel in the United States that is underwater. It is 9 m below sea level, and guests have to dive to reach the rooms. The name of the hotel is due to the author of 20 Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Jules Verne. To stay at this hotel, you must have a diving certification, since the entrance is more than 6 meters below the water.
2. Ice Hotel (Jukkasjärvi, Sweden)
Do you like the cold? This is the first hotel in the world made of ice, and it is not easy to maintain. It is rebuilt every year with the snow and ice of the village of Jukkasjärvi, a small town in northern Sweden, between December and April. Even the chairs and beds are made of blocks of ice. Artists are invited to create unique settings and decorations made from ice. It is a good place to stay if you get along in low temperatures and don’t mind freezing every night, because the structure stays at -5 ° C. It’s beautiful.
3. Utter Inn (Vasteras, Lake Malaren, Sweden)
If Sweden is on your itinerary, but you are not used to the cold, the country has another perfect hotel for you. The Utter Inn is a houseboat in the middle of a lake. The rooms are underwater, 3 meters from the surface, and guests are taken by boat to the house, which has only one room to stay there for an entire night.
4. Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort (Lapland, Finland)
Staying in a glass igloo, seeing the frozen nature outside, and having the comfort of being in a warm and typical place is a unique experience. Hopefully, you might even get to see the Northern Lights, an incredible natural phenomenon that occurs only in those regions of the world, between August and April.
5. Montaña Mágica Lodge (Huilo Huilo, Chile)
It is a luxury hotel that will make you feel inside a tree. The architecture is unique: it has a cone shape completely covered with vegetation, with water falling from the top. It is the best way to feel good in the middle of the forest, but with all the advantages that money can buy. Apart from that, the Huilo Huilo region has a totally impressive natural landscape!
6. Shinjuku Kuyakusho-mae (Tokyo, Japan)
When it comes to adapting environments to house as many things in the smallest possible space, the Japanese are the masters (after all, Japan has one of the highest population densities in the world). At this hotel, guests are accommodated in a capsule that only has space to lie down. It is a good option to save space and money, but it is only for men.
7. Kolarbyn Ecolodge (Skinnskatteberg, Sweden)
The Kolarbyn Ecolodge is considered the most primitive hotel in Sweden. Really, it is a house with basic roots in the middle of nowhere, without electricity, no showers, and no comfort that a 5-star hotel in a big city will provide. But that is precisely what is going to make you fall in love with it! Who loves camping and living adventures in nature will love it.
8. Das Park Hotel (Bottrop, Germany)
And now, a very strange hotel. Rooms at the Das Park Hotel are located within concrete pipes. They are small, but they promise to provide maximum comfort in the smallest possible space. The advantage is that you pay according to what you think the stay should be worth. As the website says, they offer a temporary, comfortable, and uncomplicated home for a specified time.
9. Free Spirit Spheres (Qualicum Beach, Vancouver Island, Canada)
A ball-shaped tree house. Apparently, a lot of children’s dream, but it is the perfect place for adults to relax. The rooms are right in the middle of a tropical forest and are cosy and comfortable. There are thirty capsules of three different types, perfect for letting your free spirit fly.
10. Dog Bark Park Inn (Waitomo, New Zealand)
Do you love dogs and hotels out of the ordinary? Then you should stay at Dog Bark Park Inn, a hotel made by a couple of beagles-passionate carpenters. The place is shaped like a giant dog of this breed and only has two bedrooms and a loft that is actually the head of the dog. Inside everything is decorated with puppies and, if your dog behaves well, he is welcome at the hotel.
So, which hotel would you like to visit?
I would like to visit Jules’ Undersea Lodge to see how you get inside from underwater without their being water inside? I can’t picture it. I have heard of Ice Hotel and have seen pictures, but I would have like to see pictures of these other hotels, too! Still, very interesting article. ?
Good to know!!! I’ll search pictures and I’ll add them to the post
Thanks for sharing this article. I 2aa suppose to go to Florida in May but because of COVID-19 I had to cancel?. I will definitely be checking out that hotel under water. Sounds exciting ?
Really exciting!!! Hope we can travel soon
Intrigued by Undersea Lodge even though water is a no no for me!
So do I……there is always a first time to try something new!!!
Getting some serious wanderlust here! Would love to have a chance to visit one of these one day. Thanks for this list!
Dog Bark Park Inn sound fun haha I love dogs! Need to consider this when I’m travelling. Thanks always for this great info xxx
Thanks for stopping by!!! I love searching for strange place to sleep in while travelling that’s why I made this list. Love dogs too!!!
Thanks for creating a list like this!
I had no idea there was an underwater hotel in the United States. Now I want to go on a road trip even more! All of these sound like amazing experiences, I’ll Be sure to add them to my travel wishlist
I love this concept! I’ve wanted to visit Sweden for a long time, and I’ve heard about the Ice Hotel. Sounds amazing, and I’m definitely putting it on my travel wishlist!