The resort itself feels a little like the casbah in Star Wars (except without the space aliens and bar fights)
We are prepared to stand by this bold statement: The Adrere Amellal is the single coolest eco-resort on the planet!
The Adrere Amellal is stunningly set at a scenic oasis, at the foot of a dramatic rock-mountain. The local Berbers here still live much like they’ve done for centuries, wearing their traditional clothing, speaking their native Siwi (not Arabic) and harvesting the bountiful dates and olive by hand.
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Fred Flintstone never had it this good. While his cave dwelling was small and cramped (and put occupants in danger of being run over by an overly enthusiastic Dino) you can stay in the spacious (and dog-free) Kokopelli’s Cave Bed & Breakfast. This massive 1,700 square foot suite is built deep within a cave in the New Mexico desert. The space includes a Jacuzzi, functional kitchen and relaxing living room. To help stave off claustrophobia there are also two balconies with massive desert vistas stretching across five states. Unlike many unusual bed and breakfasts that rely solely upon their uniqueness to attract business, the personalized service at Kokopelli’s is outstanding. All you need is a little agility to make the climb to your room, a lot of ChapStick for the dry desert air, and a stay at Kokopelli’s will not disappoint.
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Your average high design hotel starts out as sterile property before having an artistic aspect added to it. Berlin’s Arte Luise Kunsthotel began as an artistic compound before having a hotel added it. The funky, individually designed rooms here formed organically during the building’s time as a Bohemian artists commune. Today the Arte Luise Kunsthotel still has a communal feel — there’s a public kitchen downstairs and several rooms have shared showers. There’s free wifi, too. Every room is cool though some of the edgier options are better for looking at than staying in. Do you really want to sleep in a room that makes you feel like you are in a cartoon (room #306) or that has brightly colored socks coming out of the walls (room #411)? For the best mix of design and comfort we are partial to the double Loop room (#205), the pseudo-futuristic Future Comfort room (#431) and the sophisticated Baustelle Deutschland suite (#105). Rooms start at an extremely reasonable €49/€79 for a single/double with shared shower.
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It is amazing what a little personal attention can do. The folks at the Fox Hotel took an ordinary property, albeit an ordinary property well located in central Copenhagen, and set about making each of their 61 rooms artistic and individual. The result is a hotel with a collection of rooms that look like they could form an exhibit at the MoMA. We are fans of the Fox Hotel though wouldn’t necessarily choose to stay here for more than a night or two — the decor often tends to favor looking cool over being functional and many of the rooms are cramped. The hotel itself rates room from “extra large” to “small” but in making your selection you’d be wise to think of them as “medium” to “really tiny.” Our favorite rooms are #306, large, almost all-white and like sleeping in a cloud, and room #121, which is rather small but has a woodsy theme and a tent over the bed.
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Not content to play host to merely one of the world’s unusual hotels Woodlyn Park, on New Zealand’s North Island, has three!
The coolest might be The Plane Motel — two rooms inside an actual 1950’s Bristol Freighter. The room in the plane’s rear has an outdoor deck under the right wing but the front room includes the cockpit that’s been left surprisingly intact and is more plane-like inside. (Plane-like being a quality I’m sure you always look for in your hotel rooms).
The Hobbit Motel looks like Bilbo’s house did in The Lord Of The Rings from the outside, built into a hill and with round windows. Inside, though, there are no low ceilings or wood floors or fireplaces or magic rings that need throwing the fires of Mordor, leaving us a little disappointed.
The Train Motel is a single suite in a 1950’s rail car. It has a mini-kitchen and sleeps six between the double bed, two single beds and a pullout couch. For better and for worse the room includes little locomotive decor, though the arched ceiling is a constant reminder to guests that they are indeed in a rail car.
Whichever Woodlyn Park motel you select you’ll be staying in a gorgeous, green, sheep-filled setting close to the Waitomo caves. The prices are an outstanding value: NZ$130 per couple for the Train Motel, $185 for the Hobbit , $150 for the tail until of the Plane Motel and — our suggested room — $160 for the cockpit.
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You like camping but your partner does not. California’s Treebones Resort offers the perfect romantic getaway for you both. Accommodations at the Treebones are in yurts, large circular tents originally the domain of Central Asian nomads and made of sheepskin. A stay at the Treebones, though, would make even the most properous Central Asian nomad envious. The yurts there include large comfortable beds of the sort you’d expect to find at a three-star hotel, sinks with running water and private porches with stunning views of the Pacific. And these yurts do not smell of sheepskin. They also don’t have en-suite restrooms — you have to go up to the main building when nature calls — adding to the “camping” aspect of your stay. Our only complains are with the included buffet breakfast (mostly of waffles and cheap muffins) and the “Treebones” name (there might be no place more gorgeous with an uglier moniker). Prices vary greatly with the season and day of the week. Book early and ask for the especially scenic and secluded yurt #16.
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Staying in a dog needn’t be a bitch. At the Dog Bark Inn in Cottonwood, Idaho guests stay within a giant two-story dog-shaped bed & breakfast. Inside the beagle’s bowels guests will find a queen bed, reading nook within the dog’s snout and a variety of canine-themed declarations. If you can overcome the urge to walk around the grounds marking your territory, there’s a outhouse shaped like a giant fire hydrant. (There’s also a full bath inside the dog-room). Adding to the kitsch factor, the proprietors are self-taught “chainsaw artists” and display their work proudly around their property. Single occupancy for $86/night, double for $92.
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Usually, if you had to spend the night in a drainage pipe in a public park that would be a bad thing.
Spending the night in a drainage pipe in a public park is typically thought of as a bad thing. The parks department in Linz, Austria has made it cool. There, three large cross-sections of pipe have been turned into hotel rooms. Each room-pipe at the Dasparkhotel is outfitted with a double bed, reading lights, wireless internet connection, storage space and, oh yeah, a hole so occupants can breath when the door is closed. Guests have to use park’s public restrooms but you can’t complain about the room rate — a donation to the park of any amount you wish.
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