Weird Hotels

Have you heard of the underwater hotel or underground hotel? How about hotels in UFO?

Here are a few from the list of the amazing hotels around the world, some in the strangest places too.

UFO – Mojave Desert, Southern California
In a desert that is renowned for its extraterrestrial sightings, this hotel was allegedly built following alien instructions sent from Venus. Aircraft mechanic and dedicated ufologist, George Van Tassel, died before he could complete the building. But according to the visitor he encountered, the outer ring works like a dynamo that can turn the dome into a time machine able to rejuvenate human cells.

Ball in a tree – Vancouver Island, Canada
Guest will feel like a bird in a cosy nest staying in these eco-friendly globes. According to druid tradition, they are suspended between three trees by nothing but ropes. Their creators believe the spheres channel and amplify sounds and one’s own energy. More practically, they contain a dining area, a kitchen, and two separate beds.

Throat of a troll – Victoria, Australia
Enter the gaping mouth below the shining eyes of a stone troll and follow a cave passageway lit with torches down to your hotel room. Three outdoor terraces allow for plenty of natural light inside. One is even equipped with a barbecue – this is Australia. One room, refered to by some guests as the bondage room, is equipped with leather straps and horse harnesses above the bed.

Wine barrel – Rhine valley, Germany
Why not spend the night at the bottom of a barrel? These ones, in the popular Drosselgasse, have two little windows, two beds and are 80 years old. They once held gallons of Riesling and red Spatburgunder. Surrounded by taverns, there is no excuse not to crawl into your barrel at the end of the night with a belly full of wine.

On a plane – Waitomo, New Zealand
Ever wanted to see a plane’s cockpit? Well now you can sleep with your head against one in this 1940s Bristol B-170 Freighter plane. The plane itself is a rare sight made more unique by the small kitchen and bunk bed set up in the cabin. Where the pilot used to sit is a double bed so close to the dials and switches that restless sleepers may find they inadvertantly take off while dozing.

Someone’s back garden – Westphalia, Germany
Why be confined by four walls when when you can sleep under the stars on a nicely mowed lawn? Anyone with a slight exhibitionist streak can don a frilly nightcap and stay on this iron bed in full view of the neighbours, with a chair, candle and a “door to nowhere” for comfort. A shower and toilet are available in a real house indoors, where you are advised to take your mattress should it rain.

In a suitcase – Saxony, Germany
There is no need to unpack when your hotel room itself is an oversized suitcase. Guests will be amazed at how much has been packed into this suitcase, which includes bunk beds and a bathroom. Late night reading material consists of a rule book used by German Federal Railways.

Under the northern lights – Lapland, Finland
Here you can watch the northern lights dance about the night sky from the warmth and comfort of a thoughtfully designed glass igloo. Looking like a row of spaceships, the igloos are more practical than the traditional kind and have heated floors, remaining cosy when the outside temperature drops to below -30C. Kakslauttanen is one of the best places to observe the spectacle.

Above the coral sea – South Ari Atoll, Maldives
Think blue lagoons, rainbow fish and a wave from the odd passing diver. All these things and more are visible from these luxury glass-bottomed villas in one of the world’s dive meccas. Dine in your room on a glass table above a see-through floor or visit the nearby restaurant where rays and large shoals of fish can be seen through the transparent walls and ceiling.

In a mountain – Ticino, Switzerland
Not for the claustrophobic is the windowless world of rock and water at this hotel, reached by descending into the depths of a mountain to meet the source of a river. At 6,725ft below sea-level, and accessed by a small hole in the mountainside, this is reminiscent of a WWII military bunker. There is a restaurant and the ambition to create a post-modern monastic retreat.

Don’t you wish you could have stayed there? I do!

Info taken from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/ and the book “Bed in a Tree and Other Amazing Hotels from around the World” travel book available in Kinokuniya for RM99.95. I might check it out this weekend .