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It’s easy to get fixed upon the usual considerations when booking accommodation; affordability, comfort and location are all important factors. However, sometimes it’s worth branching out a little and investing in a hotel which offers something outside the square.
From unusual to eye-popping, here is our roundup of five of the most unique hotels around the world.
Sweden’s IceHotel, nestled in the small village of Jukkasjarvi, is made of natural ice and snow from one of Europe’s last wild rivers, the Torne River, 200km north of the Arctic Circle. Each winter, its hallways are lined with ice art, flittering chandeliers drip with icicles and an atmospheric ice bar is frozen at a constant -5°C.
You can also ‘sleep on the ice’, tucked up within plenty of warm bedding. Beyond the hotel, chase the Northern Lights, and try husky-sledding and snowmobiling. Naturally, the hotel melts and returns to Mother Nature in spring, but it will pop up again the following winter.
If you enjoy five-star luxury, tropical islands and close encounters with nature, then The Manta Resort on Pemba Island in Zanzibar is an ideal destination for you.
Sleep surrounded by tropical fish four meters below the surface on a private floating multi-deck island; sunbathe and stargaze on the top deck; or pack your snorkel gear and a picnic for a half day boat excursion down to the picturesque islands of Njao or Fundo.
Äscher Cliff Hotel, Switzerland
Hidden in the far reaches of the Swiss Alps, this 170-year-old hotel is built into the side of a cliff-face, and can only be accessed by a combination of cable car and hiking.
Meaning Mountain-Guesthouse, the Swiss call this hilly escape ‘Berggasthaus’. While the facilities of the hotel are humble, the view is unmatched and well worth the hike, with unfettered vistas of the Appenzell hill-landscape, Sankt Gall, Thurgau and Lake Constance.
Ascher Hotel is open from 1st May until 1st November each year.
Deep within the southern Andes is an exotic volcano-like structure, embellished with moss and vines. This is Chile’s Montana Magica Lodge, and it comes with its own lava-like waterfall which ‘erupts’ each day.
Sitting within 300,000 acres of private nature reserve, the intimate 13-room hotel is only accessible by foot and guests must first bridge a gap via a swinging rope to enter. While you’re there, fly through the Patagonian rainforest via the longest zip line in South America and relax in hot tubs carved from tree trunks.
Hotel Whitepod offers the best of eco-tourism and luxury travel. Perched more than 1,700km above sea level in the Swiss Alps, Whitepod hosts 30 guests in high-tech tents (or pods), separated by wooden platforms.
The environmental footprint of this snowy accommodation may be low, but the opportunity for indulgence is high, with luxury furnishings, wood-burning stoves, private ski runs, forest walking tracks, sundecks and a sauna at hand. The hotel is open year-round, so you can be flexible when timing your visit.
For your next unique adventure, contact your Personal Travel Manager or find one here.
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