Eccentricities for Travelers

Ice Reception

In the ranking of the most extravagant hotels in the world, the Canadian Ice Hotel leads, which welcomes guests in the vicinity of Quebec. The hotel is built of ice, so it operates from January to April. It has an ice chapel, an ice bar and an art gallery with ice figures. Guests can go skiing, ice fishing, archery, snowmobiling and dog sledding.

The Swedish Ice Hotel is an analogue and prototype of the Canadian one. It appeared by chance: an architect from the village of Jukkasjärvi built an ice hut for fun, but news of this spread throughout Lapland, and tourists came to see the curiosity. Then the owner expanded his property and turned it into a hotel. It stands on the banks of the Torne River, 125 km from the Arctic Circle. The hotel's 47 rooms accommodate one hundred people. The hotel operates from December to April, and its construction requires 3,000 tons of ice and 30,000 cubic meters of snow each year.

Prison House

The prison hotel Malmaison Oxford Castle opened in Malmaison Castle in Oxford, England. Previously, this building was indeed a prison. It became the first correctional facility in England to be converted into a hotel. Naturally, the castle was thoroughly rebuilt. Hotel guests feel quite comfortable: the rooms have mini-cinemas, CD and DVD players, satellite TV and minibars.

Even earlier, the Swedes opened a prison hotel. The Langholmen hotel not only operates in Stockholm's Kronohäktet prison, but also preserves its spirit and all its attributes. Upon entry, guests put on striped robes and leave their clothes in the cloakroom. The porters and maids are dressed in guard uniforms, the cells with bars are locked, and the menu features bread and water. True, when it comes to food, the 'prisoners' are pleasantly surprised: the chef of Langholmen is famous for his skill, and the prison restaurant 'Vårdshus' offers excellent cuisine.

Life on a Barge

The Thai hotel Imperial Boat House is located on the island of Samui. It has ordinary small three-story buildings and villas, but the main highlight is 34 ancient rice barges made of teak wood, transformed into luxurious apartments. These are huge suites. Several rooms are intended for newlyweds, who love this hotel. The hotel's pool is also made in the form of a barge deck filled with water. Water flows from cannons - real ones, of course. All this is located on Choeng Mon Beach in the northeastern part of the island, near the airport. The hotel is rated four stars and belongs to the Thai chain The Imperial Hotels Group.

Extreme lovers can also live in a bathyscaphe. The Jules' Undersea Lodge hotel is located in Florida, on the island of Key Largo. Or rather, off the island, since it is underwater. It was converted from the underwater laboratory La Chalupa and is located at a depth of about 10 m. No more than six people can stay in the hotel at a time. To get into the rooms, you need to dive with scuba gear and perform complex manipulations with the door. All hotel guests receive a special certificate certifying their initiation into the glorious tribe of aquanauts.

Disneyland for Adults

The Fantasyland hotel in the Canadian city of Edmonton is open in the world's largest shopping and entertainment complex West Edmont Mall. The hotel has 120 rooms, about half of them are 'themed'. These are rooms in the style of the Roman Empire, Hollywood, fairy-tale Arabian East. The 'African' room reproduces a safari setting, the 'Polynesian' room - a tropical island. In the suites, there are Jacuzzis in the appropriate style in the middle of the rooms. The children's corner is designed as a spaceship. Guests also have access to the entire infrastructure of the mall: a water park with an area of more than 21,000 sq. m, an indoor skating rink, an indoor golf course, and even indoor roller coasters. In total, the complex has 800 shops, restaurants and attractions - a real shopaholic's dream!

In Malaysia, the Sunway Lagoon Resort hotel merges with the Sunway Piramid shopping mall. This is a huge eight-story building that houses shops, restaurants, 10 cinemas, a bowling center and an ice rink. In front of the building stands a pyramid. As for the hotel, it is a giant palace of greenish glass and concrete, full of columns, pylons and pilasters. The entrance is guarded by a sphinx, and in the lobby, bronze life-size horses and groups of bears frolic. 70 suites are themed: in the 'Cleopatra room' everything is decorated with marble, and torches burn on the walls, in the 'Wild West' the bed is a cart. The hotel grounds are an amusement park with attractions and a zoo. In the middle of it is a lake with artificial waves.

In the Amazon Jungle

The Arau Amazon Towers Hotel is the only hotel in the world where the room-cabins are built on trees. It is located in Brazil, 50 km from the city of Manaus, on the Amazon River. The tallest cabin-room is raised to 60 m - it is a tower for newlyweds 'Tarzan in Love'. When guests leave, they are given a commemorative certificate stating that you cannot spend the night so high in a tree anywhere else in the world. Between the cabins, bridges are laid at a decent height, and below the jungle reigns: in the muddy sludge of the channels, crocodiles hunt, anacondas, turtles and pink freshwater dolphins swim.

Mirage in the Desert

The famous Al Maha Desert Resort hotel stands in the middle of the desert in Dubai. Its rooms have all amenities, even swimming pools, but are disguised as Bedouin tents. All the hotel buildings are positioned so as not to be conspicuous and not to interfere with contemplating nature. And the silence is broken only by the chirping of cicadas, the sighs of camels, and the murmur of water. 'Al Maha' is a unique oasis located in the center of a 25 sq. km nature reserve. In the very heart of the desert, guests are greeted by luxuriously Eastern interiors with precious antiques, a restaurant with excellent cuisine, and a majlis – a room with hookahs, rifles, and pistols. The majlis for ladies is filled with bouquets and perfume bottles. The most luxurious and beautiful rooms<\/a> of the hotel are the 'Commander's Suite' with an area of 375 sq. m and two 'Royal Suites' with an area of 175 sq. m. They feature huge bathtubs, private gardens, and terraces. 27 'Bedouin Suites' are decorated with the same meticulousness. Guest entertainment matches the setting: falconry, horseback riding, camel safaris.<\/p>

American Way of Life<\/strong><\/p>

The American wigwam motel became one of the landmarks of Route 66 in Arizona. It is called Wigwam Motel and is located in Holbrook. All its rooms are in wigwams made of concrete and wood. The hotel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and calls itself a retro motel. The furnishings in the wigwams are modest, but there is a shower and toilet. There are also individual equipped barbecue areas and a pool. Chester Lewis built this motel in the 1940s. The inspiration for the architectural style was Frank Redford, a great expert on Indian art and culture. He participated in the creation of seven motel villages of concrete wigwams built in the USA from 1930 to 1950.<\/p>

The Arizona motel on Route 66 has two twin brothers. One is in Cave City, Kentucky, the other in Rialto, California. The Rialto motel is Mr. Redford's last brainchild. It was built in 1949.<\/p>

Caves for Tourists<\/strong><\/p>

Hotel Yunak Evieri is located in Turkey, in Cappadocia, in the town of Urgup. As is known, at the dawn of our era, persecuted followers of Christianity lived in Cappadocia, building homes and temples in caves. It is in these caves, inhabited since the end of the 5th century AD, that the hotel opened. It consists of ten cave houses and has 30 rooms. The rooms are richly furnished in the Ottoman style: patterned carpets, antique ornaments, handmade furniture. They are connected by narrow corridor-labyrinths, creating a mysterious atmosphere. All rooms have small courtyard-terraces with views of the incredible mountains of Cappadocia, to the top of Mesa. At the foot of the mountain there is a mansion with music rooms, home theaters, and internet cabins. Candlelight dinners are held on the roof.<\/p>

You can also live in a cave in Tunisia, in the troglodyte village of Matmata. Hotel Kousseila reproduces a troglodyte dwelling. In the cave room, you can watch TV, sit on benches covered with Berber carpets, and sleep on a European bed. There are no air conditioners, as they are not necessary: the temperature in the caves is always comfortable. The hotel's restaurant is set up in a large hall with a terrace, overlooking the entire troglodyte village.<\/p>

Instead of Bullfighting<\/strong><\/p>

The boutique hotel Quinta Real Zacatecas in the Mexican city of Zacatecas occupies a bullring. The San Pedro arena was built in 1866, and the last bullfight was held there in 1975. Then it was closed to create a hotel. In 1989, the building received an International Architecture Award. The arena itself, where passions once raged, has turned into a large patio decorated with flowers. And the rooms in the stands around the patio have been transformed into wonderful rooms, beautiful and comfortable. The entire structure looks very cheerful and resembles a fanciful palace in Andalusian style. The hotel is complemented by a magnificent restaurant. In the evenings, skillful lighting makes this place magical. Especially since the hotel adjoins an ancient aqueduct with huge arches, which also joins in this game.<\/p>

Fantasy Without Limits<\/strong><\/p>

The Madonna Inn hotel is located in a wonderful place - in California, halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, on Highway 101. In the town of San Luis Obispo, in a lovely park, stands what looks like a gingerbread house or a magic castle from Disneyland. Alex and Phyllis Madonna built this fairy-tale palace 45 years ago. Their main idea was unique elegance and comfort. However, the architects' imagination overflowed all possible bounds. All 109 rooms of the hotel are themed. Moreover, the motifs are realized so carefully and generously, as if Hollywood filming will start here tomorrow. Among the rooms are 'Gypsy Rock', 'American Beauty', 'American Home', 'Captain's Bridge', 'Austrian Chic', 'Canary Cottage', 'Antique Auto', 'Country Gentleman', 'Crystal Room', 'Edelweiss', 'Spain', 'California Flowers', 'Floral Fantasy', 'Indian', 'Lovebird'.<\/p>