I have stayed in some unique hotels, including a cave in Cappadocia, a grain silo in Akron, and a glass igloo in Norway. The experiences were all wonderful and added to the trip’s adventure.
An excellent coffee table book was recently published, highlighting several hotels that must be seen to be believed.
“Unusual Hotels World,” created by Jonglez Publishing, is filled with some of the most bizarre properties architects have imagined, from recreating existing structures to wholly new and fanciful accommodations.
The book is divided by country. It seems that Americans aren’t as creative because the nation didn’t make the list. According to the book, the United Kingdom and France are the most creative.
For example, in Stowe, England, set in one of the world’s most famous landscape gardens, is the stunning Gothic Temple—the landmark with a spiral staircase and open grounds to explore. The Gothic windows provide vistas of this eighteenth-century landscape’s monuments, lakes, and temples.
This Temple, built in 1741, is one of the last additions to the garden at Stowe, formed for Lord Cobham by Charles Bridgeman and his successor, William Kent. Inside, the rooms are all circular, with the main vault of the central space brightly painted with heraldry. The bedrooms, kitchen, and bathroom are squeezed into the turrets, while the sitting room occupies the main space, which soars to the gilded dome above.
Six pages of glorious photos offer a glimpse at its beauty.
Another UK treasure is the “House in the Clouds.” I have seen this treasure but have yet to stay in it.
It is a water tower built to incorporate a residential home in Thorpeness, Suffolk, England. Created in 1923 to receive water pumped from Thorpeness Windmill, it was designed to improve the looks of the water tower, disguising its tank with the appearance of a weatherboarded building more in keeping with Thorpeness’s mock Tudor and Jacobean style.
The building currently has five bedrooms and three bathrooms; it contains 85 steps from top to bottom and is around 70 ft (21 m) high.
Spain offers a unique place to stay with a bonus. Circo Museo Raluy is a sleepover and a ticket to the circus!
The website describes it like this: “The circus of a lifetime. Enjoy a place suspended in time, where the “authentic” is art and where your emotions will be the show’s protagonists.”
Guests stay in a wooden gypsy caravan from the early twentieth century, offering a glimpse into the world of the circus.
From Mexico and Chile to Belgium and Tanzania, you will find unusual and fun places to stay.
For more information, click here.
