lodging

3 Insane Hotels You Won’t Believe Are Out There

August 21, 2013 By Danny

According to Jake Bush, a Braun & Steidl hotel architect and developer, anyone who makes it their business to craft a hotel considers the following: “who is the guest, and why are they here”. With that in mind, it’s easy to understand why hotels across the board vary wildly—each one is trying to accommodate a specific kind of traveler.

For the most part, hotels are trying to cater to the business traveler, the luxury vacation traveler, and the budget-friendly traveler. However, there’s still another kind of traveler out there that some very unique and utterly strange hotels try to cater to, which is: the adventurous, experience-seeking, explorer.

These travelers want accommodations that are nearly the polar opposite of all the others—they want intrigue, danger, and a unique experience they can’t get anywhere else in the world—plus, they’re often willing to sacrifice a substantial amount of comfort, just for the experience. For every other kind of traveler, comfort is the last thing to be sacrificed when it comes to hotels. You can find out more at Accor, http://accorhotels.com.au/.

So, what kind of hotels does this kind of traveler frequent? Here’s my top picks for the world’s most insane, strange, and quirky hotels—some, you just won’t believe actually exist!

THE MIRRORCUBE | Location: Harads—Sweden

What is This Place? Well, The Mirrorcube is exactly what it sounds like, actually; it’s an extremely lightweight aluminum box (4x4x4 meters) with one-way mirrors for walls.

Accommodations: At most, it can only accommodate two guests at a time—imagine the waiting list! However, the interior—albeit small—provides a double bed, a living room space, a bathroom, and the exterior roof provides a nice roof-tip terrace.

What the Adventure-Traveler Loves: Per the description thus far, The Mirrorcube might not seem that interesting, but I haven’t mentioned yet that this mirrored box is actually camouflaged within a tree canopy, suspended above ground, around a tree trunk that shoots up through the center.

How the world do you get in?! By way of a rope bridge, connected to a neighboring tree!

Fun Fact: Since The Mirrorcube is located in a tree canopy and is made of mirrors, occupants are provided a 360-degree view of the surroundings. Sounds cool, right? Well, to local wildlife—specifically birds that might fly right into it—it’s not so cool. To handle this concern, all of the reflective glass is embedded with an ultraviolet color that only birds can see.

ICEHOTEL | Location: Jukkasjarvi—Sweden

What is This Place? Again, the name really is what it is—it’s an entire hotel made from snow and ice! Apparently, it’s the largest in the world, which sparked this comment from me: There’s more than one?!

Accommodations: While the beds—as well as the furniture and fixtures—are made of solid ice, they’re covered in the finest, warmest, furs. From what I understand there aren’t individual rooms; guests enjoy a more of a community experience—sharing body heat probably helps!

What the Adventure-Traveler Loves: It’s a hotel made of ice—what wouldn’t an adventure-seeker like about that?! With temperatures never rising above minus 5 degrees Celsius, adventure travelers will have a wonderful time walking around in snow pants and furs, while enjoying the company of other like-minded travelers.

Fun Fact: The ICEHOTEL only exists in the winter months—it melts after that! Every year, in November, the ICEHOTEL architects get together and design a whole new structure. Several hundred tons of ice is used in the process and it provides return guests a different experience every year!

KAROSTAS CIETUMS | Location: Leipaja—Latvia

What is This Place? It’s a prison—no, really, it’s actually a prison. Well, a former one, anyway.

Accommodations: It’s not terribly dressed up from being anything other than a prison. Guests sleep on grungy prison bunks, eat prison food, and even take a substantial amount of abuse from the guards—I’m assuming they limit that to verbal abuse. I think even the adventure-traveler draws the line at paying for physical abuse from the hotel staff.

What the Adventure-Traveler Loves: “A good hotel has got to be safe, clean, and have a good staff,” says our hotel developer Jake Bush, so the adventure-traveler loves that this hotel does all of the opposite. Karostas provides an experience—one that you can’t typically get unless you commit war crimes for a living.

Fun Fact: As a former military prison—constructed in 1905—Karostas imprisoned Stalin-era war criminals, revolutionists, and even KGB operatives.

All photos courtesy of the respective hotels.

Photo: Spider Friend?

August 2, 2011 By Jillian

I wish I had thought to put something next to this eight legged friend for perspective before I took his picture. Then again, I can’t believe we took the picture, I was busy completely freaking out.

This little friend was on the wall of our “cabin” in Plaplaya, Honduras, on the mosquito coast…. a few inches from my mosquito net. All I could think about as I lay in bed that night was how thankful I was there were no holes in that net. At least the little friend would stay on the outside!

We had traveled all day in the back of a pick up, loaded ourselves into a dug out canoe with an outboard motor and arrived at Plaplaya near dark. With the assistance of an NGO, the village had be set up to host tourists and the small cafe and hotel looked newly finished. That night, in the moonlight, we watched a leatherback turtle lay eggs on the beach, something I’ll never forget. Thankfully I saw no more of this little friend, or his relatives!

To see more of our favorite photos from around the world check out our travel photo page. Let us know your favorites and we’ll include them in our photo of the day series.

Budget Fun in the Sun

July 24, 2011 By Guest Blogger

It may be the middle of July but, summer’s not over yet. What’s top of your summer vacation list? Somewhere with a pool? Somewhere close to the beach? Or somewhere with sea view where you can enjoy a drink at sunset? Sounds good to me. Here are some suggestions for great budget fun in the sun on the Iberian Peninsula.

BARCELONA

For indecisive folk who fancy both beach and city break, Barcelona is a happy compromise. Barceloneta is the popular city beach within walking distance of the Gothic quarter. Alternatively, stay around Poble Nou for local restaurants, easy access to the beach and a short metro ride from the city centre. This way you get the best of both worlds with cultural attractions, seductive Barcelona nightlife as well as soaking up some sunshine. You might also like to consider a day trip along the coast to Sitges, with a bustling gay community as well as a pretty beach.

Casa Gracia Barcelona Hostel

If you are considering summer in the city, top of your list should be air-conditioning or some outdoor space. With both air-conditioned shared and private rooms, the boutique Casa Gracia Barcelona Hostel not only delivers on gorgeous design, it has a charming tiled terrace too. It’s a perfect spot to start your night on the town so pick up a bottle of wine to enjoy at dusk or join other guests for paella on Mondays.

Equity Point Sea

A hop, skip and a jump from the Balearic sea and sand, Equity Point Sea Hostel is perfect for beach bums. Choose from 4, 6, 8 or 9-bed dorms all equipped with air-conditioning and en suites. At lunchtime, it’s a short walk back to the hostel for a siesta or why not buy fresh ingredients from the fabulous La Boqueria market and use the hostel self-catering facilities to pack a picnic. By night, you are just 10 minutes walk from Las Ramblas and the hostel operates free daily tours and offers a free breakfast.

GRANADA

Keep cool in the lush grounds of The Alhambra palace or head into the Sierra Nevada mountain range to enjoy a dip in the lakes. The seductive city of Granada offers steamy nights of flamenco, alfresco tapas and sunny plazas. [Editors Note: We have a good friend that just got back from Granada and can’t stop raving about it!}]

Oasis Backpackers Hostel

After a day of admiring The Alhambra, return to Oasis Backpackers Hostel Granada for some equal stylish architecture and interior design. This boutique hostel offers bright and modern rooms and communal spaces including self-catering facilities. Guests can soak up the sun on the roof terrace with views over the Arabic Albaicín neighborhood. They host Argentinean BBQ nights, a welcome drink on arrival and the chance to win free beer on quiz nights.

LISBON

A good opportunity to combine city and beach break on your summer holiday, Lisbon can provide culture, nightlife and sunbathing rolled in to one. The nearby beaches fly the European Blue Flag for excellence and are popular with locals and tourists alike. At Guincho, why not try your hand at surfing, which fantastically wild beach and jut a 25-minute train ride from Lisbon. The shadowy and historic areas of Alfama and the Barrio Alto offer tile-clad buildings and orange tree dotted plazas, great places for keeping cool when exploring the city. Take tram 28 for a 40-minute city tour and lean out the window of this antiquated machine to feel the wind in your hair. Nightlife gets off to a late start around 11pm and crowds spill pleasingly onto the streets.

Beria Mar

Just a few roads back from the shoreline, most rooms at Beria Mar hostel offer views across the Tagus river. The interior is bright and colourful and the surrounding area of Alfama is Lisbon’s historic quarter. They offer a free breakfast, lounge and games room.

And the best bit? Most of these properties are offering 20, 30 or 40% their normal rates in HostelBookers Summer Sale!

Thanks to Cheryl from Hostelbookers who provided these great deals and this post!

If you’re interested in guest posting with IShouldLogOff, contact us at info [at] ishouldlogoff.com!

Good, Bad, Ugly: Hotels

April 27, 2011 By Jillian

Anyone who has taken a weekend away knows that lodging can make or break your travel. Get a bad hotel and the entire experience can become unpleasant.

Good: Siem Reap, Cambodia

We took a chance and followed the advice of our hotelier in Phnom Penh. We booked with his buddy hotel, $25 a night for a triple. “It’s a bit outside of town,” he told us. “There’s free shuttle service.” Needless to say I wasn’t holding my breath but low and behold there was a tuk-tuk waiting for us at the mini-bus stop. We arrived at the hotel, which was gorgeous, but definitely a bit outside of the tourist area. It was quiet, peaceful and all together perfect. Looking off our balcony we saw rice fields and the luxurious swimming pool. The place was five star by backpacker standards, and the nicest place we’d had stayed in a long time. We were treated to a delicious made to order breakfast and spent the afternoons relaxing by the pool. When we booked a car for Siem Reap, our driver ended up being the owner and our car was a Lexus SUV. The place was heaven and it didn’t blow our budget!

Bad: Marsabit, Kenya

This would have taken the cake until we got to SE Asia. Off of what little backpacker trail there is in Africa, there exists only two kinds of accommodation: first class and…local. Driving on the “road” from Kenya to Ethiopia we pulled over in the largest town, Marsabit and headed to the local place recommended by the guidebook. The basic cement rooms had seen better days, and the electricity was intermittent. Sometimes there was “hot” water, but the only food available was abysmal. Excellent. Unfortunately the shared toilets were squatters and our friend was sick, a bad combination.

Ugly: Don Det, Laos

Our bus was late to arrive at the turn off for four thousand islands in Southern Laos. We arrived at the turn off after dark, meaning it was well past dark by the time we got to the dock and took the boat across to Don Det. We were frantically searching for a place to sleep in the dark. Thankfully the island was a bit deserted, but the accommodations were abysmal or outrageous. We spent one night in a cruddy little hut and “got the heck out” the next day. Unfortunately that also back fired and we ended up spending the next night (for free) in a crummy hotel room at the bus station. Dirty sheets, walls and floor. It was gross and the buses started rolling in at 6 a.m. We had of course arrived around three, because sometimes a four hour bus ride does take 12.

This column of ishouldlogoff.com aims to answer those questions that we always get asked. What was your favorite this, or your worst that. Every week we aim to highlight a new topic and will do so until we run out of ideas. If you have an idea for a Good-Bad-Ugly post, feel free to tell us in the comment section below or send us an email. To read all of them, click here.

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HostelBookers, the budget accommodation specialist, is celebrating its 7th birthday by giving customers the opportunity to win a trip for two to 7 cities of their choice plus £1,000 each to cover travel expenses.

The prize is seven 3-night stays for two people in any 7 cities in which HostelBookers has availability. The winner can choose to book consecutive nights away, or alternatively, plan a number of weekend breaks. To enter, participants need to answer a simple question about HostelBookers’ Awards for Excellence 2011 and submit their email address to be in with a chance of winning.

The competition will run from 13^th April 2011 to 15^th of May 2011. The lucky winner will be drawn at random by the judges on the 20^th May 2011.

You’re Married. Why Would You Stay at a Hostel?

March 9, 2011 By Guest Blogger

We all know the United States isn’t known for gap years or career breaks (that finally seems to be changing though). When mentioning long term travel, many think it can only be done by retirees or college students studying abroad.

When people find out that we, a young, married couple, quit our jobs and took off on a year long RTW trip, they have questions. Lots of questions. Family members, co-workers, friends, friends of friends, and even strangers are always intrigued when they find out about our adventures.

One of the questions people ask is where we stayed while traveling for so long? Many Americans are so unfamiliar with the term hostel that we usually get weird, inquisitive looks. Once we start talking about it, the questions start rolling in.

A hostel is like that movie, right?

In short, no, at least I don’t think so. I don’t know, I haven’t seen any of the Hostel movies. But I know neither of us has been bludgeoned to death while staying at one, which is what I believe the movies are about.

Many people have grave misconceptions of what a hostel actually is. The horror movie franchise (God, I can’t believe it’s actually a franchise) doesn’t help matters, while our doom and gloom media doesn’t exactly change perceptions either.

Too many people have this weird vision of what a hostel is without having ever been to one or spoken with anyone who has stayed in one. There are others who have some idea of what a hostel is, but when they find out that we, a married couple in our late 20’s/early 30’s, stayed in one, it throws them all off.

So it’s for college kids, kind of like a dorm?

We have gotten this question as well, and it’s usually combined with a judgmental look or smart-ass comment after we told said person that we stayed in hostels for the better part of a year.

While some hostels have similarities to a college dorm, what most don’t know is that ALL hostels are different. We have stayed in hostels in 16 countries across 4 continents, and ALL were unique in their own way. Most did NOT resemble a college dorm.

But you sleep in a room with other people, right?

99% of the time that answer is NO. We are married, a bit older than gap-year travelers, spring breakers, and study abroad students, so we like our privacy. While we have slept in dorms with other people, it was done a handful of times in more expensive places in the interest of saving money like Patagonia and Europe in high season. But the vast majority of the time we had private rooms with our own bathroom.

Wait a minute, wait a minute, that sounds like a hotel

Hey, hey, we have a genius on our hands here! Most hostels have a lot more similarities to hotels than college dorms, particularly in places like South America, New Zealand, and SE Asia. The great thing about hostels is that they can be like a hotel, but for outgoing people who love to drink socialize.

So they aren’t like college dorms?

All hostel rooms are different.

Well, that depends. Most hostels have options for rooms, just like a hotel, except those options are a bit different. If you’re one of those gap year travelers or college students traveling during your summer break, you have the option of sleeping in the aforementioned dorm rooms. Some may have 4 beds, 6 beds, 10 beds, even 20 or more in a single room. The more beds in a room, the cheaper that bed is.

While some hostels only have dorms, there are many which have private rooms as well. Some may have their own bathrooms, some may have shared bathrooms. Some may be tiny, closet-like rooms. Some may be huge. Some may have tv’s with cable and desks. Some may only have a bed and that’s it. Some beds may have sheets and blankets and pillows, some may just be the mattress (see, I told you they’re all different).

That sounds pretty nice, actually.

Most of the time, it is. Some of the times, it’s like the YoYo in Valparaiso, Chile, the worst hostel we have ever stayed in. We took an overnight bus there and arrived at 7am, greeted by a worker holding a glass of vodka in his hand, still trashed and drinking from the previous night (he was actually highly entertaining). I’m also pretty sure there was dried up vomit on the wall of our room. And let’s not talk about the bathrooms.

Um, OK, maybe I don’t want to stay in a hostel?

That was 2 nights out of 358 (yeah, I know, I can’t believe we stayed the second night either). Like a hotel, there’s always a risk. Most people who have traveled extensively and don’t have a high budget have hotel horror stories as well. So it’s all relative really. We’ve stayed in some pretty nasty, dingy hotels here in the good ol’ US of A.

There are some huge benefits for staying in a hostel, whether you’re young, single, married, or even traveling with kids. We LOVE hostels. Honestly, in our future international travels, I can’t see us NOT staying in hostels. Even when we’re 40, 50, and older. Even when we have kids and bring them on our travels with us.

Really? Why do you love them so much?

There are so many reasons that hostels are better than hotels, in my opinion. The only real benefit to staying in a hotel is that if you travel enough and stay in a particular chain enough times, you know what to expect. The consistency of hotels is a major positive for many people. But that lack of consistency is one of the reasons I really love staying in a hostel.

Hostels are always different- They all have their own unique flair to them, which is pretty cool. You never know what you’re going to walk into when going to a new hostel. This is a risk, but if you have the time and aren’t traveling in a particular region during high season, it’s nice to walk around a city and check out several places until you find the right one.
Hostels are great for meeting people- Common areas, communal kitchens, included breakfasts, and a bar are all amenities that many hostels offer. These are all aimed at getting the patrons to chat with one another and make friends. In hotels, people typically stick to themselves, and that’s OK, but when traveling long term, it’s nice to be able to meet other like-minded travelers. We have had so many great times just hanging out with other travelers from our hostel.
Hostels are cheap- Even if you are staying in a private room with private bath, a hostel is going to be considerably cheaper than a hotel. Since all are different, sometimes this works out well, sometimes not. The room may be tiny, and the bathroom may not have a vanity, but at a quarter of the price, it’s worth it to budget travelers. We averaged about $25US/night for accommodations during our year long RTW trip. Try coming anywhere close to that staying in hotels for a year.
Hostels have Communal Kitchens- A good number of hostels have communal kitchens for travelers to use to cook meals. Obviously this saves money, which is always a plus. But this is also a great way to meet new people. Kitchens are typically small with limited amenities, so sharing and helping is the norm in a hostel kitchen. It’s always a cool experience to work with one another to make dinner in a cramped kitchen with two pots and three pans and 20 other backpackers trying to do the same. To some, this may not sound like the most ideal cooking conditions, but there’s something about the communal aspect of helping each other out that brings out a camaraderie amongst everyone.
Hostels have bars– If you like to imbibe with some adult beverages while traveling, then the hostel bar is usually a good place to start. Many hostels have a bar somewhere on the premises, and partaking in some cheap drinks with your fellow travelers is always a good way to start the night.
Hostels have tons of information- From the owners to the workers to the travelers staying there, there is always a wealth of information around every turn for those staying at a hostel. For us, the people staying there typically travel in the same style as us, so getting tips or information from those people makes more sense than if we were to stay in a hotel. It’s usually easier to get the ins and outs of street food, markets, and grocery stores, plus the low down on bus and train travel from those working and staying at a hostel.

Even as a married couple, staying in a hostel is a great idea for those travelers who like to meet new people and save some money in the process. Private rooms are available in most places, and privacy has rarely been an issue for us. We have simply felt more a part of the local community when staying in a hostel as they are often owned and staffed by locals. No matter how old you are, what your relationship status is, or even if you have a family, consider staying in a hostel next time you take a trip. You may be surprised at what you find.

Author: Adam Seper is a traveler and writer from St.Louis. He and his wife Megan spent 358 days traveling the globe, through 11 countries and four continents. You can read his daily travel guides and advice at his blog, World Travel For Couples. We’d love to hear your reactions in our comments, or check out the original discussion on Adam’s blog. You can find Adam on twitter at @aseper or on Facebook.

If you’re interested in guest posting for IShouldLogOff, email us at info [at] ishouldlogoff.com!