Giraffe Manor, Kenya
What It Is:
The Experience: Located on land owned by the Langata Giraffe Centre, a wildlife conservancy, sanctuary, and reserve, the estate of Giraffe Manor is done up in 19th-century period furnishings. Anything unusual about the rooms? Nope. The draw here is walking the grounds with the giant giraffes nearby, and sitting down to breakfast and dinner while giraffes poke their heads through the windows to eat right out of your hand.
Whitepod, Switzerland What It Is: A collection of five eco geodesic domes on a glacier-topped ridge above the ski resort of Villars, about 90 minutes from Geneva.
The Experience: The ecochic pods of Whitepod, ranging in size from 270 to 538 square feet, are open only from December through April and come with plenty of luxe creature comforts like wood-burning stoves, sheepskin rugs, 14-tog duvets, Tilley lamps, iPod speakers, and round windows with views onto the snow-covered Alps peaks. Being tents, though, and being über-eco means there’s no running water or electricity. The property can accommodate no more than 10 guests at a time.
Canopy Tower, Panama What It Is: A onetime U.S. radar installation inside Panama’s Soberania National Park with 12 double rooms.
The Experience: Spread across five levels, the spacious, wood-paneled rooms in the Canopy Tower come with mosquito nets, windows, and most with en suite bathrooms. But the real reason to stay is what’s up above: a 30-foot-high geotangent dome that rises above the canopy, affording birders 360-degree views and potential sightings of such unique species as the slaty-backed forest falcon, the bicolored antbird, and the spot-crowned antvireo.
Dasparkhotel, Austria What It Is: A trio of 10-ton reinforced-concrete drainpipes measuring 6.5 feet in diameter.
The Experience: Situated along the banks of the Danube, in Ottensheim, Austria, the electronically secured enclosures of Dasparkhotel are set in a leafy park. But claustrophobes beware: while there’s a comfy mattress, a lamp, and an abstract silk-screen wall decoration, there’s only a tiny skylight.
The Kakslauttanen Hotel, FinlandWhat It Is: A collection of 20 geodesic glass igloos set 155 miles north of the Arctic Circle in the heart of Finnish Lapland.
The Experience: Indoor space isn’t the attraction at the Kakslauttanen—outdoor space is. After all, the spartan rooms are just 161 square feet and have a small toilet. But each also has a panoramic thermo-glass casing that enables guests, from the comfort of their adjustable double beds, to take in the night skies. Not surprisingly, they’re particularly in demand during the northern lights.
The Experience: Indoor space isn’t the attraction at the Kakslauttanen—outdoor space is. After all, the spartan rooms are just 161 square feet and have a small toilet. But each also has a panoramic thermo-glass casing that enables guests, from the comfort of their adjustable double beds, to take in the night skies. Not surprisingly, they’re particularly in demand during the northern lights.
Marmara Antalya, TurkeyWhat It Is: The world’s only revolving hotel, set on the southern coast of Turkey and overlooking the pristine Mediterranean.
The Experience: The modern, circular Marmara Antalya, aided by six enormous electric motors, completes a full revolution every seven hours, ensuring a changing landscape of Mediterranean views for guests in its 24 minimalist and whitewashed rooms. Just be sure to book a room in this part of the hotel—there’s also a nonrevolving building behind it.
The Experience: The modern, circular Marmara Antalya, aided by six enormous electric motors, completes a full revolution every seven hours, ensuring a changing landscape of Mediterranean views for guests in its 24 minimalist and whitewashed rooms. Just be sure to book a room in this part of the hotel—there’s also a nonrevolving building behind it.
Jules’ Undersea Lodge, FloridaWhat It Is: A 70’s-era research lab turned two-bedroom capsule in Key Largo that can accommodate six guests on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico.
The Experience: Guests scuba dive to this unique unit, located 21 feet below the surface. Once inside the 600-square-foot capsule, there are all the accoutrements of a regular hotel, including a spacious living room with TV and stereo and a dining area. But that’s where the similarities end. In the pair of bedrooms, the lodge makes full use of its location, with 42-inch circular windows that offer views of passing sea life, including barracuda and angelfish.
The Experience: Guests scuba dive to this unique unit, located 21 feet below the surface. Once inside the 600-square-foot capsule, there are all the accoutrements of a regular hotel, including a spacious living room with TV and stereo and a dining area. But that’s where the similarities end. In the pair of bedrooms, the lodge makes full use of its location, with 42-inch circular windows that offer views of passing sea life, including barracuda and angelfish.
Hotel im Wasserturm, GermanyWhat It Is: Rising high above Cologne, this 19th-century water tower is one of the tallest in Europe. It was transformed into a chic 78-room hotel in 1990 by French designer Andrée Putman.
The Experience: While there’s still a sense of the water-tower architecture from inside Hotel im Wasserturm’s rooms, they were completely redone. The real magic in the rooms is the 15-foot-tall windows that offer views of the Rhineland. The sight lines are even better from the aptly named Michelin-starred rooftop eatery, La Vision.
The Experience: While there’s still a sense of the water-tower architecture from inside Hotel im Wasserturm’s rooms, they were completely redone. The real magic in the rooms is the 15-foot-tall windows that offer views of the Rhineland. The sight lines are even better from the aptly named Michelin-starred rooftop eatery, La Vision.
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