Unusual Hotels of the World

Sleep inside a floating aquarium, where the fish look in and you look out

For the ultimate seclusion for the night, consider sleeping in this underwater hotel in the middle of Lake Mälaren, 1 km (1/2 mile) from Västerås. Your room is reached by a water-taxi ride to a small hut on a floating steel platform moored a short distance from one of the outlying islands. There is a terrace with a couple of chairs. Inside, the giant steel hatch dominates the room and the rest of the space is taken up by a toilet (thankfully), cooker, small heater and some stoRatespace. After a few brief instructions you’re left to the solitude that artist Mikael Genberg originally intended the Utter (Otter) Inn to emphasize. Climb down the steps and your twin bedroom awaits, 3 m (10 ft) below the surface of the lake. Not a place for those scared of enclosed spaces, as once the hatch shuts you are very much in a different world, floating in an aquarium with four picture windows for the aquatic inhabitants to look in at you – and you to peek out.

Furnishings are simple (from IKEA of course). Two beds, a small table and a couple of low-voltage reading lights or a candle lantern for illumination.

A picnic dinner and breakfast are included in the deluxe package and after relaxing on the terrace
chairs you retire below. It’s eerily silent and as darkness finally falls you are gently rocked to sleep.
The only noisy neighbours are the ones you choose to arrive with.

A self-contained treehouse in a city-centre location

13 m (42 ft) is a long way up any tree, let alone a 130-year-old oak in the central park of Västerås near Stockholm. The Hotel Hackspett (Woodpecker) is another extraordinary brainchild of Mikael Genberg, artist and innovator of this hotel and its sister, the underwater Utter (Otter) Inn on nearby Lake Mälaren.

Reached via a sturdy but wobbly rope ladder, the platform has an impressive view of the park below and out to the lake beyond. Advice to “pack light” was appreciated as your luggage is hoisted up on a rope from the treehouse platform.

On arrival you discover your picnic supper and breakfast packs waiting. There is the briefest of tours covering safety and operation of the most essential item at the top of a tree – a toilet. Pull up the rope ladder and you retire to find the treehouse well thought out and equipped. From an IKEA bed and duvet, heater and cooking facilities, Mikael has anticipated your needs. There are even a few books on a shelf and a small lantern to read by.

Surprisingly you never quite escape the background noise of the city centre, but the rustle of leaves
and sound of children playing football below is rather calming. Your mind is at peace when you’re
sitting quietly in a tree, although not enough to appreciate birdsong from the crack of dawn.
It’s surprising how loud birds are when you’re at their level!

Unique glass igloos to see the Aurora Borealis in comfort

In order to marvel at the amazing Northern Lights, Hotel Kakslauttanen provides a choice of futuristic glass igloos as well as traditional snow igloo and wood cabin accommodation. While snow igloos are a winter speciality, the glass igloos are available all year round. The first five glass igloos were opened in 2004 and such was guest feedback that a further fifteen were built in 2006.

Using temperature-resistant glass, these igloos keep the inside warm, while the outside is –30 °C. This allows you to lie in bed and, if you’re lucky, see the amazing Aurora Borealis lightshow. This natural phenomenon usually appears in the night sky between the end of August and April, however peak activity is around April and September.
For more traditional winter fun, Hotel Kakslauttanen offers log cabins all year round and snow igloos from late December to April. As with all snow and ice hotel accommodation, the interior is cool, typically between –3 °C and –6 °C, and you’ll need the warm sleeping bag provided so you don’t feel the cold.

Sleep in a concrete pipe

Although Das Park is a one-off hotel, it has been designed from the outset to use worldwide standard concrete drainage or sewage pipe sections – so you could well see more of them in the future.

The idea of Andreas Strauss, the first rooms were built after the idea received sponsorship from the concrete tube manufacturer. The beauty of these pipes is that the utilitarian look needs little alteration to make them habitable – a coat of varnish is all that’s necessary. The tubes have also had wall paintings by the Austrian artist Thomas Latzel Ochoa to make them seem a little more user-friendly. After a season or two, they can even be returned to the manufacturer for reuse, as the bed, door and lock mechanism, as well as the lighting and internet access are all easy to remove. Like cave hotels, Das Park Hotel is cool in the summer, and perhaps still warm in winter, although at the moment the hotel is only open from May to October.

Each tube weighs 9 1 /2 tons – so although some people might be tempted to rock or
vandalize them, they are incredibly robust and need little maintenance.You do however need
a hefty crane to lift them into place.Rooms are accessed by a digital lock, whose code is provided
by the selfservice website upon booking acceptance.

Sleep in an artist igloo or build your own!

Adrian Günter built his first igloo in 1996, to better enjoy the mountain and first powder snow of the day. Following an avalanche of interest from friends wanting to sample an igloo night, he increased the number of igloos and opened the “small world in white” in 2004, with five villages across Switzerland and Germany now accepting guests.

Moving 3,000 tons of snow every December to build each village, Adrian invites Inuit artists from Canada to craft sculptures inside each village. With only an ice pick, motor saw and shovel, artists produce seals, arctic wolves, polar bears and whales as well as swirling designs and patterns illuminated by candlelight to overlook the guests from the walls.

The villages are open from Christmas Day to the beginning of April each year, snow conditions permitting. With 5,600 visitors in 2006, all ages have enjoyed the cosy hospitality of an expedition sleeping bag and sheepskin rug, from the youngest 19-month-old baby to an 83-year-old lady guest.

A variety of igloo options are available in the different villages, from standard and group igloos
to “Romantic” suites with private whirlpool or sauna. The team have even built a church,
including an altar and baptismal font for a wedding party.

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