Trips out of the country provide a change in scenery, time away from work e-mails, and a chance to recharge your batteries. But the biggest motivation behind an overseas excursion is to have an experience you’ll never forget. From the foods you’ll eat to the trails you’ll hike to the red light districts you’ll visit, everything that finds its way onto your itinerary adds a chapter to the story.
So why not make your hotel part of the draw instead of a beige box where you sleep?
Here’s 10 of the world’s weirdest hotels you might want to consider the next time you’re booking a trip out of the US of A.
Poseidon Undersea Resorts | Fiji Islands
Sleeping with the fishes doesn’t seem so bad when you’re submerged in a resort 40 feet beneath the sea on a 5,000-acre lagoon in Fiji. Most of the walls and ceilings are glass, so catching some R&R in your room does more than relieve stress — it gives the sea life swimming around the resort a thrill. Along with a lounge, 24 luxury suites, 48 aboveground and beachfront bungalows, and one super-awesome bungalow accessible only by submarine, you’ll also finally have an excuse to call your lady “Agent XXX!” (We’re sure she’ll enjoy the semi-obscure James Bond reference.)
Cost: $15,000 per person per week, and $30,000 per couple per week, which is well worth it if you encounter a Fijian mermaid; we hear they’re hot as hell.
Salt & Sill Hotel | Klädesholmen, Sweden
Sweden’s first floating hotel, a 23-room, 46-bed establishment situated on pontoons, consists of six two-story buildings. Each room has access to an outdoor seating area where people presumably stare at the water and … well, that’s about it. And if all that peace and quiet gets too boring, there’s always the hour drive to Gothenburg, a college town notorious for its wild nightlife.
Cost: A single room will run you 1590 Swedish krona ($250) per night; a double, $310; and a suite, $420. Heh heh.
Green Magic Tree House | Kerala rainforest, India
Constructed in two huge trees in the middle of a rainforest, the hotel’s cottages are 86-feet off the ground and contain a bed and some wooden furniture, but no electricity. If you want music, use an iPod or listen to the singing birds. Oh, and please hold your hilarious Tarzan jokes; the people at Green Magic have already heard them all.
Cost: $240 per night with meals included.
Sewage Pipe Hotel | Das Park, Austria
It’s a tight squeeze, but the location of these concrete sewer pipes-turned-crash pads is prime real estate. Situated a short distance from the Danube river in a serene park setting, you can occupy one of these pipes from May through October. Rooms include a bed, lamp, and killer views of the park — but if you need a bathroom, you’ll ironically have to strap on your hiking boots and trek to a nearby gas station. (Or take a leak against a tree in the park.)
Cost: You, uh, choose your own rate. ::sigh:: Silly hippies.
Alcatraz Hotel | Kaiserslautern, Germany
Now you can get a glimpse of life in the Big House without having to murder your entire family! This prison-turned-hotel is a perfect replica of the the real deal with its barred windows and in-cell commode.
Cost: 50 Euros ($70) per night, and time off for good behavior.
