10 craziest hotels in the world
Traveling has become just as much about the hotel you stay in, as it has about the destination and sites. From luxurious rooms overlooking the ocean to suites actually in the ocean, hotels are no longer just about a comfortable bed and room service. But in this race to outdo the next, have hotels have gone too far with their crazy concepts? Never. Eat breakfast among African wildlife? Sleep in a tree? We’re game. Here are the 10 craziest hotels we could find.
1. The Icehotel of Jukkasjärvi, Sweden
The Icehotel of Jukkasjärvi, Sweden is the first and the biggest one in the world. One of the Seven Wonders of Sweden, this infrastructure is built annually and is open for occupancy from December to April. Made of ice blocks collected from the Torne River, every part of the hotel, from walls to ceiling, even the furniture, is made of ice.
2. Karosta Prison Hotel, Latvia
A perfect place to experience a life in prison, Karosta Prison Hotel in Latvia describes itself as unfriendly, uncomfortable and unheated place to stay. There are four tour levels to choose from which offer varying degree of discomfort. You can also pay more money to be kicked, beaten and literally locked in prison rooms.
3. The Salt Hotel, Bolivia
The Salt Hotel in Bolivia is a hotel made of salt! Built in 1993, the building’s roof and bar are built of salt and even the floor is covered with salt granules. The walls are made of salt blocks stuck together with a cement-like substance made of salt and water. The owners ask the guests to avoid licking the walls to prevent deterioration.
4. Poseidon Undersea Resort, Fiji
Poseidon Undersea Resort is the world’s first sea floor resort located on a private island in Fiji. The resort is situated forty feet below the surface of the clear blue Fijian Lagoon, the underwater suites are accessible by elevator. With just a push of a button you can feed fish or turn on the sparkling underwater lights. To allow spectacular views of the ocean, 70 percent of each suite is covered in Acrylic walls.
5. Bubble Tree, France
Living in a bubble isn’t just for Glenda the Good Witch anymore. In France, you can see what it’s like for at least a night by booking a stay in one of designer Pierre Stéphane Dumas’s inflatable private pods. The see-through, surreal shelters are floating all over France in eight different nature-y locations, including 16th-century castle Château de la Forêt. Guests have options when it comes to privacy (half-translucent bubbles are available) and size–a “Bubble Lodge” can be created by combining a smaller bubble to the main one, or a “Grand Lodge” by attaching two full-sized bubbles. And with a filter that removes all bugs, moisture, and allergens, along with ultraviolet-proof plastic, these glamorous orbs provide protection from the elements that’s much better than that of an actual bubble.
6. Propeller Island, Berlin
If the kooky, avant-garde ethos of Berlin could be captured in one hotel, it would be in the Propeller Island City Lodge. In fact, there’s a reason “hotel” isn’t in its name–a stay at Propeller Island is more akin to spending the night in a work of art. Every room comprises a radically unique ambience constructed entirely from the handiwork of German artist Lars Stroschen, including a peppy prison cell complete with coffin beds, a suite enveloped in mirror fragments, and a room where upside-down furniture dangles from the ceiling as you unpack your sunken bed from within the floor below.
7. Sala Silvermine Underground Suite, Sweden
All that glitters is not gold–sometimes it’s silver. Although, we’re not sure if there’s even enough light at 500 feet underground to cast a sparkle on anything. That’s the depth of the Sala Silvermine Underground Suite, but the one-room hovel is mesmerizing if only for being the deepest hotel in the world, carved in an abandoned 18th-century Swedish silver mine and sparsely furnished with silver-hewn pieces. Guests are treated to a brief tour and then left to weather the chilly, 36-degree room for the night–not a suite for the faint of heart.
8. Treehotel, Sweden
Having to haul your luggage up to a treetop perch is worth it when the dwelling is as undeniably cool as Sweden‘s Treehotel. The vertiginous lodgings float ethereally in the evergreen forest outside of tiny Harads village, designed by top Swedish architects to present the ultimate in design innovation. There’s a bird’s nest lookalike suite, an alien UFO suite, and a particularly futuristic suite that reflects the trees on all sides from its mirrored cubical walls. Guests ascend to their treetop roosts via ramp, bridge, or electric stairs. You might not want to leave the room, but just outside the Northern Lights, dog-sledding, and snow shoeing tempt in the winter, while summer touts excellent fishing and kayaking
9. Caveman room at Madonna Inn, California
The caveman is a popular prehistoric figure and a whimsical glimpse into his existence is revealed in this rustic den of solid rock! Animal prints, rock pond and stone-age clubs add to the primitive surroundings. A waterfall spills from overhead in the stone shower and water flows from the rocks into a stone sink
10. Chocolate Room by Karl Lagerfeld at La Reserve – Paris, France
A room made of chocolate inspired by Karl Lagerfeld’s greatest fantasy, including an edible recreation of his boy toy muse, Baptiste Giabiconi
