When 5-star luxury hotels or budget B&Bs just won’t cut it, staying at these 9 bizarre hotels will help make a holiday to remember.
Crane hotel
The Faralda Crane Hotel. © Jitske-Schols / Faralda
After an intense process of renovation, this old crane opened in 2014 as the luxury hotel, Faralda. It is located 50 metres high above the NDSM industrial wharf, a mecca for artists, skaters. and hip start-ups.
The hotel’s three suites – “Secret”, “Free Spirit” and “Mystique” – are extravagantly furnished and offer access to an outdoor jacuzzi and the best panoramic views you’re likely to find in all of Amsterdam. And, if you’re a thrill seeker, the Faralda even has its very own bungee jumping facilities.
Truck hotel
Luxury trucking. © The-Beermoth / www.canopyandstars.co.uk
Ever wanted to explore the glorious Scottish Highlands? Leave your camping gear at home. The Beermoth is the only way to go.
This former fire service truck has been converted to a budget friendly and even rather spacious boutique hotel that’s permanently situated in one of the Cairngorms National Park’s most bucolic patches. Featuring a Victorian double bed, wooden floors, a kitchenette dining area and a wood-burning stove, its amenities may be rustic, but it has got charm by the truck load!
Capsule hotel
Sleeping booths at the Nine Hours Kyoto Teramachi. © RepoMan84
Having been around since the late seventies, capsule hotels and tiny sleep cabins are hardly a hot new thing in Japan. But there’s only one hotel chain that really take the sci-fi sleeping game to intergalactically great levels.
The staff at the Nine Hours hotel in Kyoto want you to have the perfect experience when you check-in, which is why they break it down to a simple equation: 1 hour to shower + 7 hours of sleep in a surprisingly roomy, monochromatic capsule + 1 hour for the early morning rise = the ideal amount of time to spend in a hotel before setting out to explore the Ancient City.
Imaginarium hotel
“The Trojan Horse” suite at La Balade des Gnomes. © Pascal Schijns
Borrowing Picasso’s famous quote “Everything you can imagine is real” as its own hotel motto, if you stay at La Balade des Gnomes in the Durbuy countryside, you better learn to expect the unexpected.
Each of the ten suites tells a story: “The Legend of the Trolls” room is a must if you are a fantasy fan, “Macquarie Island” – with its boat-shaped bed and private sandy beach – is great for those missing the sea view, and “In a Moon Neighbourhood” is perfect for those guests who want to take one small step for man out into space.
But, if you want a truly legendary trip, it’ll have to be the separate, two-storey suite “The Trojan Horse”. It actually looks more like a cow, but we’re not complaining.
Silver mine hotel
The Mine Suite at Sala Silvermine, Sweden. © Pappilabild
The principal sleeping area of Sweden’s Sala Silvermine is rather modest – a quaint 15-room hostel. But, if you tunnel 155 metres underground you’ll find a secluded chamber unlike any other you have stayed in before.
As the deepest hotel room in the world, The Mine Suite is perfect for those travellers seeking a bit of quiet away from any other snoring guests or distractions. Mobile phones are non-functional way down in this hole, so your only communication with the world above is via a walkie talkie with the 24/7 reception, who will even come down every morning to deliver a freshly cooked breakfast.
Oil rig hotel
© Seaventures Dive Rig
When an oil rig no longer has any commercial value, it’s normally sent straight to the scrap heap. But not in the south-eastern Malaysian state of Sabah, where one of these metal monstrosities has been transformed into a diver’s paradise.
Seaventures Rig Resort has 27 rooms of all types (single, double, shared) and great leisure facilities, but most stay for its unparalleled location in the Coral Triangle, and the incredible sea life beneath.
Not one for exploring the depths of the Celebes Sea? Back on the rig you’ll find a movie room, karaoke lounge, bars and a helipad transformed into a sundeck.
Barn and hay hotel
A cosy barn room at the Hayema Heerd. © Joost Noorden
This northern Netherlands village retreat offers up a sleeping option that you had perhaps never even considered, but certainly won’t regret once you’ve experience it – strawbeds. We’ve come a long way since the Neolithic Era, but this 12,000+ year bedding material is still surprisingly comfy, warm and soft once covered by a top blanket.
There’s several levels of luxury for a hay-filled stay at Hayema Heerd Farm, from sleeping in the hayloft, a straw castle and a straw igloo with a clear glass central viewing panel for guests so you can gaze at the stars from you bed. The unusual hotel also has a wonderful rustic feeling to it too, with lots of barnyard animals wandering around the premises. Don’t worry, they all have their own private accommodation.
Tree house hotel
The Hang Nga Villa, aka ‘The Crazy House’ in Da Lat, Vietnam. © Irina Barabanova
Enchanted tree house, out-there art installation or a “museum” of dream, childhood, abnormality? Whatever you want to label it, the Hang Nga Guesthouse – otherwise known as ‘The Crazy House’ – is as unique as hotels can get.
Designed by the locally legendary architect and impressionist Dang Viet Nga, the house was built in 1990 to resemble something from a fairy tale, as if imagined by the likes of Gaudí and Salvador Dalí. Today, this non-rectilinear, one-of-a-kind hotel has become a symbol of diversity and invention across Dalat.
And the magic doesn’t stop at the front door. Inside you’ll find mushroom chairs, animal sculptures and ten suites; all with brilliantly bonkers themes such as the tiger room, the eagle room, the kangaroo room and the surprisingly roomy ant room.
Fortress hotel
The Spitbank Fort. © ant217
A naval fort built to defend Portsmouth Harbour attacks of Napoleon III, the Spitbank Fort is now one of the most unique and exclusive hotels in the UK. Not least because you need to climb aboard a private boat to find it.
There’s only 9 bedroom suites, but they all feature super-king size beds, high-riveted redbrick ceilings and only the plushest of furnishings. Outside of the bedroom quarters, there’s three bars, a wine cellar, several game rooms and a rooftop hot-tub to help you pass the time.
But, undoubtedly, Spitbank Fort’s crowning jewel is the huge red lighthouse above, offering stunning views of England’s south coast.
