In theory, you could travel for a week, stopping each night in a different country on a different continent, yet spend every one of those nights in a Hilton, a Four-Seasons or a Ritz-Carlton. You might even wake up one morning and forget which country you are in, until you draw back the curtains.
So instead of discussing run-of-the-mill, name-brand hotels, here is a hotel list with a twist: 5 of the most eccentric hotels throughout the world.
Ice Hotel
1. ICEHOTEL, Sweden
This hotel is exactly what it sounds like – a hotel made completely out of ice and snow. Located in the small village of Jukkasjärvi in Northern Sweden, some 50,000 people from all over the world come to stay at the hotel each winter.
Perhaps the most amazing thing about this hotel, is that it is rebuilt every year at the start of winter. It takes approximately 2 months to build the hotel, using thousands of tonnes of ice from the Torne River. Towards the end of winter, 5,000 tonnes of ice is harvested and stored, to get a head start on the next year’s construction. Designers and artists from around the world are involved each year in constructing this magnificent, ever-changing piece of art.
2. Gamirasu Cave Hotel, Turkey
A scenic five hour drive south east of Ankara, the Gamirasu Cave Hotel offers tourists a unique luxury cave experience. Located in the heart of Cappadocia, this hotel is embedded in the side of a rocky hill, offering tourists unique cave-style rooms. The premises was once used as a monastic retreat, and maintains its historical charms.
While the hotel still offers its guests all of the modern day 5-star luxuries, the range of well-maintained cave suites and the rocky hotel façade, transport visitors back centuries to the Byzantine era.
Woodlyn Park Hotel
3. Woodlyn Park Hotel, New Zealand
While the accommodation on this farmland property may not rival that of a Shangri La, you do have the option of spending the night in a freighter plane that flew in Vietnam, a World War II patrol boat or a 1918 rail carriage. These converted transports are positioned throughout the park, and comfortably decked out with all the amenities necessary to provide for a comfortable hotel stay.
Woodlyn Park also offers guests underground accommodation in the world’s first Hobbit motel, a rare treat for Lord of the Rings fans and Hobbit enthusiasts.
4. Jade Mountain Resort, St. Lucia
This hotel is pure Caribbean paradise. A curvaceous structure perched on the side of a beach-side mountain, each of the hotel’s 24 sanctuaries is approached by its own sky bridge. The hotel seamlessly blends in with the magnificent St. Lucian ecosystem, and looks out at the Piti and Gros Piton mountains, which tower above the immaculate Caribbean waters.
Each sanctuary has it’s own uniquely designed infinity pool, and no less than 1400 square feet of space. These luxury pads are TV, phone and radio free, although WIFI is available upon request for those unable to completely disconnect.
5. Taj Lake Palace, India
Not a hotel on an island, but a hotel which IS the island. Situated on Lake Pichola in Udaipur, this hotel was built two and a half centuries ago as a prince’s palace. Accessible only by boat, this floating, white marble hotel is the epitome of architectural romance.
The Taj Lake Palace is all about luxury, pampering, and accommodation fit for royalty. The hotel is surrounded by history, and most of the artwork and designs within the hotel are original.
Robert Geneid 