Giraffe Manor, Nairobi, Kenya

One of Nairobi’s most iconic buildings, Giraffe Manor, harks back to the 1930s when European visitors first came here to enjoy safaris. The most fascinating thing about the elegant property is the herd of friendly resident Rothschild giraffe that live here: they often poke their long necks through windows, especially at meal times in search for a treat.

Giraffe Manor is an exclusive boutique hotel, set in 12 acres of private land within 140 acres of indigenous forest in the Langata suburb of Nairobi. With its stately façade, elegant interior, verdant green gardens, sunny terraces and delightful courtyards, guests often remark that it’s like walking into the film Out of Africa: indeed, one of its six suites is named after the author Karen Blixen.

However, the most fascinating thing about Giraffe Manor is its herd of resident Rothschild giraffe who visit morning and evening, poking their long necks into the windows in the hope of a treat, before retreating to their forest sanctuary. Giraffe Manor is owned and operated by The Safari Collection, and can be booked for the night or as part of a complete tailor-made safari.

The Giraffe Manor offers an unparalleled dining experience. Guests can expect to dine with the giraffes who often pop their heads in for a tasty treat at breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Breakfasts can be enjoyed in the sunroom while dinner is in the cosy drawing room with roaring fire. Alternatively, guests can enjoy romantic dinners under the stars on the outdoor terrace. Home cooked meals are the order of the day at Giraffe Manor with traditional meals served with a touch of modern edge.

 

Giraffe Centre: The Giraffe Centre is a breeding centre for Rothschild Giraffes and operates a conservation and educational program for local school children. A nature trail surrounds the centre, meandering into the surrounding forests. The Giraffe Centre has helped to preserve this original habitat for the giraffes and the other animals that live in the area. Guests can enjoy walks on the nature trail.

Local excurisons: Visits to the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage - the orphanage is a small charity that rescues orphaned baby elephants and rhinos whose parents are often taken by poachers. Guests have the opportunity to watch feeding and bath times and watch the calves playing with footballs and chasing each other. The calves are gradually introduced to Tsavo National Park depending on the health of the calf.

The Manor features three standard rooms namely the Lynn, Marlon and Daisy rooms. Each room features a luxury, double four poster bed, en-suite bathroom, antique furnishings and striking decor. Each room also features a hairdryer, torch, sewing and nail kit and wireless internet.

Attrap Reves, France

Attrap Reves lets you "book a bubble" in a handful of retreat-like and nature-filled locations. Their now famous bubbles help prevent humidity and keep out even the smallest of bugs. It's like camping in a see-through tent, but way more luxurious. Some packages even include a Jacuzzi, massages, and gourmet dinners provided by the company.

 

An innovative hotel chain in France knows there's nothing like sleeping under the stars to feel really close to nature.  The Attrap'Reves Hotel, with locations in Allauch, La Boulladisse, Montagnac, Puget Ville and Saint Maime, features fully-furnished, transparent pods that offer views of the open night sky and the forested surroundings while protecting guests from the elements (and bugs). 

The stylish bubbles are all located within a short walking distance from the nearest village and a main building, which provides meals, telescopes with star charts, an outdoor Jacuzzi, and other amenities, according to Gizmag. The bubbles are about 13 feet in diameter. Some are fully transparent, while others allow a little more privacy and are semi-opaque, said design news website Knstrct.com.

Attrap'Reves is also designed to be ecologically friendly. The bubbles are made from recyclable materials, and a silent blower keeps the space inflated, while constantly recycling the air inside. The bubbles are deflated without any impact to their surroundings at the end of every season, according to the official website.

Each bubble is designed with a theme: Zen, Nature, Glam, 1001 Nights and Chic & Design.

The most popular option, "Zen" was inspired by the Japanese tatami. It features wood furniture designed to encourage zen and relaxation. "Nature" features a fully transparent bubble with glass flooring and panaromic views of the surroundings. "Glamour" is ideal for couple or honeymooners, and features heart-shaped decor and a tinted bubble, which offers more privacy. The Aladdin-inspired "1001 Nights" bubble features Moroccan lanterns and silk fabrics, while "Chic & Design" leans toward modern stylings and contemporary furniture and features a private bathroom bubble.

While most of the bubble pods are transparent (for prime stargazing), the hotel offers privacy for guests by providing private pathways to bubble, as well as private parking facilities.

Overnight rates at Attrap'Reves start at EUR€109 (around US$148) during low season, and EUR€ 139 (around US$188) during peak season.

 

Costa Verde Hotel, Costa Rica

Costa Verde Hotel lets visitors rent out its 727 Fuselage Home, or in other words, a hotel room built into the side of an aircraft. This imaginative hotel also has a restaurant built into a large airplane on ground level.

Situated on the edge of the Manuel Antonio National Park, the Costa Verde Resort features an incredible hotel suite set inside a 1965 Boeing 727 airplane. In its former life the airplane transported globetrotters on South Africa Air and Avianca Airlines, and it now serves as a two bedroom suite perched on the edge of the rainforest overlooking the beach and ocean. 

 

The airplane was transported piece by piece from the San Jose airport to its current resting place on a pedestal 50 feet above the beach. It looks a bit like a model airplane on a stand, and we can only imagine the spectacular views from the balcony and the airplane windows. Five big trucks were needed to get the plane out to the resort, and while the transportation certainly had a negative ecological impact, the finished project is a stunning example of adaptive reuse.

 

The two-bedroom, two-bathroom suite also includes a kitchenette, flat-screen tvs, a dining room, and a terrace with an ocean view. We can’t really agree with their choice of furnishings, which are made from teak and shipped across the Pacific from Indonesia, but at least they were hand carved. The tip-to-tail paneling on the inside is also teak, but it was harvested locally in Costa Rica. Like the Jumbo Jet Hostel in Stockholm, this hotel suite is sure to offer jet-setting travelers a lovely location for an extended layover.

Sala Silvermine, Sweden

The Silver Mine Hotel can offer you the deepest room you're ever going to find on the planet. Dropping down to 155 meters under the ground, the hotel comes with a tour guide who is on call to bring down visitors, leave them with refreshments, and return the next day to guide them out of the cavity.

A staff member remains available above ground for the duration of the stay, contactable by an intercom radio. Guests are also reminded that cell phones do not work this deep underground! There is a toilet located 50 meters (165 ft) below ground, however guests will have to use the bathroom facilities in the adjoining hostel above ground. 

 

The mine also features two dining rooms in the vicinity of the hotel suite, where dinner guests can experience a banquet in a truly unique environment.

Here you will see dark winding galleries, vast caverns and magic lakes. Even to those not familiar with mining, the underground setting is sensational. It is cold, damp and dark, but very beautiful.

Experienced guides tell you of a fantastic chapter in industrial history. During its heyday, production amounted to more than 3 tons of silver a year, and a total of more than 400 tons of silver and about 40,000 tons of lead were extracted - completely by hand! Most of the silver was used in manufacturing coins, but artefacts were also made.

 

Above ground, in the southern area of the mine, lie several high wire adventure tracks, including ropeways, hanging bridges and other tree challenges. But if you'd prefer to go underground, adventurers have the opportunity to go cave diving. The cave dive offers a limited number of divers access to explore the mine's underwater environment. The water temperature is constantly a chilly 2 degrees Celsius / 35 degrees Fahrenheit, however divers braving the cold conditions are promised a "spectacular scenery" experience.

A night's stay in the underground suite at the Sala Silvermine will cost approximately US$580.

No Man's Fort, Solent, Portsmouth

No Man’s Fort – a Victorian-era fort which was originally built between 1867 and 1880 to protect Portsmouth from an attack from Napoleon III – has been turned into a luxury hotel, with 22 bedrooms, a lighthouse penthouse suite, nightclub, hot tub and laser quest arena.

 

The historic forts have become quite possibly the quirkiest accommodation in Britain, for those who are happy to splash the cash on creating some very unusual memories.

Where soldiers once slept and gun practices were carried out, there are now luxury bedrooms, while former lookout points are now perfect spots to relax with a gin and tonic.

There are four forts in total, built between 1861 and 1880 after being commissioned by former Prime Minister Lord Palmerston. He was a little late in his bid to defend Britain from Napoleon.

Louis Napoleon, nephew of Bonaparte, declared himself Emperor Napoleon III in 1852, and there were immediate fears he may make good on the plan that his uncle never quite managed.

The 22 rooms are decorated in a playful nautical theme, with everything from old shipping trunks to naval pictures in frames.

No Man's Fort finally opened its doors this April as a hotel, with 22 bedrooms, a helipad, hot tubs on the roof, a spa and its own green so you can hit special biodegradable golf balls straight into the Solent - as long as the Harbourmaster gives you permission (you are, after all, in the middle of a busy shipping lane).

The third is currently being left in its desolate state, with a view to offering possible tours so visitors can see how the defences looked when they were in use by the Ministry of Defence.

A night at No Man's Fort doesn't come cheap - prices start from £450 - but there seems to be no shortage of people signing up for a weekend stay or one of their themed party nights (nothing beats a Blitz Party on an actual fort). Advance bookings are strong, even though No Man's only opened in April. 

Ice Hotel, Sweden

Sweden's very own Ice Hotel is the type of place you'd want to find yourself in during the next Ice Age. Made of ice, visitors can choose between "cold accommodations" or "warm accommodations," depending on how adventurous they're feeling. Even if you choose not to stay in an ice suite, the hotel's ice sculptures, artwork, and architecture are sure to blow your mind.

 

The Icehotel is a hotel built each year with snow and ice in the village of Jukkasjärvi, in northern Sweden, about 17 kilometres ( from Kiruna. It is the world's first ice hotel.
After its first opening in 1990, the hotel has been built each year from December to April.The hotel, including the chairs and beds, is constructed from snow and ice blocks taken from the nearby Torne River. Artists are invited to create different rooms and decorations made by ice. Besides bedrooms, there is a bar, with glasses made of ice and an ice chapel that is popular with marrying couples. The structure remains below freezing, around −5 °C.

 

The entire hotel is made out of snow and ice blocks from the Torne River, even the glasses in the bar are made of ice. Each spring, around March, Icehotel harvests tons of ice from the frozen Torne River and stores it in a nearby production hall with room for over 10,000 short tons (9,100 t) of ice and 30,000 short tons (27,200 t) of snow. The ice is used for creating Icebar designs and ice glasses, which are used for ice sculpting classes, events and product launches all over the world while the snow is used for building a strong structure for the building. About 1,000 short tons (900 t) of what is left is used in the construction of the next Icehotel.

 

When completed, the hotel features a bar, church, main hall, reception area, plus about 100 rooms for guests. The room rate starts at $1,500. The hotel hosts also an ice restaurant. The furniture is sculpted blocks of ice in the form of chairs and beds. The thick walls, floor and ceiling are made of ice. Even the beds, the fittings and decoration are carved from ice. No two rooms are the same; the rooms are unique works of art. At the Icehotel the beds are bedded with reindeer furs and people are given special equipment to use while sleeping in the hotel. The guests sleep in polar-tested sleeping bags. There is no heating and the bedroom temperatures are constantly around 23F (-5C). There’s no plumbing at the hotel, but there's a sauna that is run on the premises of the Icehotel with hot tub outdoors.

 

The ice suites do not have any bathroom facilities but bathrooms for guests are found in a warm building close by. There is also warm accommodation available next to the hotel. The Icehotel in Jukkasjärvi is known to be the biggest hotel of ice and snow in the world, spanning over some 6,000 square metres (64,600 sq ft). Each suite is unique and the architecture of the hotel is changed each year, as it is rebuilt from scratch. Each year, artists submit their ideas for suites, and a jury selects about 50 artists to create the church, Absolut Icebar, reception, main hall and suites. When spring comes, everything melts away and returns to the Torne River. The Icehotel only exists between December and April, and has been listed as one of the Seven Wonders of Sweden. The northern hemisphere's aurora borealis can be seen during the winter month in the location.

Kokopelli's Cave, United States

While many of the world's craziest hotels can be found outside of the U.S., there is one worth mentioning here in the states. Kokopelli's Cave, located in New Mexico, is a 1,700 square foot paradise for those wanting to play Flintstones for the weekend. Its waterfall shower, Jacuzzi tub, and astonishing views of Arizona, Utah, and Colorado aren't too shabby either.

This 1,650 square foot, one-bedroom cave home carved from a 65-million year old sandstone formation 280 feet above the La Plata River is furnished with plush carpeting, Southwestern style furniture and accents, hot and cold running water, a well-appointed kitchen including microwave and washer/dryer, cascading waterfall-style shower, and a flagstone hot tub.

 

The entrance is located in the cliff face and is reached by walking down a sloping path and steps cut into the sandstone along the pathway. From the Cave and the cliff tops, you have an unparalleled view of our beautiful southwest sunsets over the beautiful La Plata River valley and the four states of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado that make up the Four Corners.

The Cave is a manmade cave and was originally intended to be a unique office for Bruce Black, the owner who is a consulting geologist. When this plan didn’t materialize, he decided to make it into a bed and breakfast.

When you reserve Kokopelli’s cave, you will be staying in a cave of approximately 1700 sq. feet. The Cave consists of a master bedroom, living area, dining area, full kitchen and bathroom with rock walls incorporating a waterfall shower and Jacuzzi tub. There are two porches with sliding glass doors; one off the main entrance and the other off the master bedroom. With the exception of the bedroom and bathroom, all the rooms are located around a large central sandstone pillar which separates the Cave into its various component rooms. The temperature in the Cave stays between 20° and 22° year around.

 

The large living room has plush carpet, queen sized hide-a-bed sofa, full sized futon, 2 recliners, TV/DVD and VCR player with a good selection of movies. Of course you can bring your own favorites movies.

The well appointed kitchen has stove/oven, microwave, refrigerator. Wilma Flintstone would have approved. There is a grill available for those that want to bar-b-que.

 

The bedroom has plush carpet, a queen sized bed, sliding glass door leading to porch with a beautiful view of the La Plata Valley and Shiprock, a sacred Navajo rock formation. There also is a CD player so bring your own CDs.

Since there is no elevator, it is wise to pack as lightly as possible. A backpack is a good idea.

Montana Magica Lodge, Chile

The Montana Magica Lodge is a sight to behold. Nestled in the Andes, this hotel is built right into a volcano. And if that wasn't enough, it has a waterfall that makes its way down the steep slope of the resort. As its own website puts it, there may be no better "reminder of the majesty of Mother Nature."

 

A strange volcano-like building spews water instead of lava; its welcoming windows adorned with moss and vines, complementing the surrounding trees.

It looks like the kind of place the blue folk from Avatar might hook up with hobbits and Ewoks to go on holiday.Deep in southern Chile lies the Montana Magica Lodge - an extraordinary hotel hidden away in the centre of a 300,000-acre private nature reserve. It might be completely artificial but the lodge actually 'erupts' every day, sending water running down the outside of the 13-room guest house.

Inside, each of the cozy suites is named after a local species of bird, and all feature a selection of modern amenities that rival even fancier hotels in less remote parts of the country. And if the strangeness and beauty of the hotel itself fails to impress, it offers a number of other attractions. Among the offerings are hot tubs "made out of huge trunks of trees, dug out, and then filled with hot water perched on a deck overlooking the forest." There is also a mini golf course built into the forest itself, using the natural world as the obstacles, and there are various outdoor activities such as horseback riding, rafting, and hiking.

Of course, getting to such a magical place takes a bit of doing. The ride to Montaña Mágica Lodge is at least two hours from the nearest airfield. It is a small price to pay to experience a location that looks like it belongs in Middle-Earth.        

The 'Magic Mountain' retreat, in Los Rios, is accessible only by foot and intrepid guests must brave a swinging rope bridge to enter it.

 

 Among the activities on offer are a wild-course mini-golf, where the holes form part of the natural terrain, hiking and access to the longest zip wire in South America, which run through the grounds at a height of 1,500ft.At the end of the day, guests can relax in hot tubs carved from gigantic tree trunks - as the calming sound from the waterfall cascades down the side of the building.

P.S. If you're lucky, you might catch a glimpse of a pudu - the world's smallest deer which is just 13in tall

Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort, Finland

Out under the Northern Lights and in the middle of the wilderness rests the Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort. Famous for its glass igloos that offer the perfect view of green-lit skies eight months out of the year, this breathtaking hotel also offers snow igloos, log cabins, and rooms in "Santa's Home."

 

According to the resort's website, the unique travel destination was started back in 1973 when its founder, Jussi, was traveling down the lonely roads just south of Finland's northernmost fishing village. As the story goes, his car broke down, and he was forced to make camp near the isolated roadside woods. Instead of just thinking of this excursion as a minor inconvenience, he fell in love with the spot and set up a permanent roadside stop-in that eventually grew up to be the current Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort.

The site of Jussi's breakdown has grown into a luxury resort destination which features a variety of interesting accommodations. There are cozy log cabins, some with built-in glass nooks to better view the surrounding wilderness and auroras. There are the snow igloos which are little ice hotels where visitors can get warm in a very cold place. And perhaps most astoundingly, there is the field of glass igloos which all look like little see-through geodesic domes where nothing can obstruct your view of the Northern Lights.
The resort, sitting at almost the northern tip of Europe, seems like some sci-fi outpost built on the edge of the world to survive its collapse. But really it's just a beautiful and cozy little spot.

 

Conrad Maldives, Maldives

At this oasis of luxury, you can relish not 1 but 2 palm-fringed tropical islands, as well as a separate Spa Retreat. The resort is linked by a 500m footbridge and offers 3 different luxury experiences - amazing, thatch-roofed Water Villas perched on stilts over the shallow waters, beautifully furnished Beach Villas, or luxurious Retreat Water Villas, each with their own treatment room and jacuzzi, part of the only Destination Spa in the Maldives. Set 5 metres below the sparkling waters of the Indian Ocean is the Maldives first underwater restaurant, Ithaa, with fantastic 180º views of the surrounding coral gardens and serving exquisite European cuisine.Filled with unique amenities that range from an over-sea spa, under-sea restaurant, and suites that are built like reverse aquariums, it's hard not to be impressed.

 

It consists out of 150 villas. All villas have air-conditioning, ceiling fan, high-speed Internet access*, satellite TV/DVD, CD player with iPod connector, Nespresso tea/coffee machine, mini-bar and private terrace. Beach Villas have private beach access, open air bathrooms and either 1 king-size bed or twin beds, sleeping max 3 adults or 2 adults and 2 children.

 

Almost every type of cuisine is covered here, from the eight show kitchens at the sand-floored Atoll Market to a cheese and wine bar. This is also where you'll find the Majaa kids' club and children's pool. On Rangali Island, tranquillity and privacy are the order of the day. There’s the Koko Grill – an exclusive, candlelit Japanese live cooking venue on the beach, a cinema under the stars and a chic adults-only ‘quiet zone’ with infinity pool and tented lounge bar.