Imagine filling in your business expenses and submitting a sizeable claim for sleeping in a tree-house, an airliner or even a helicopter. These are just some of the contraptions that wacky hotel entrepreneurs have converted into guest rooms with luxury hotel price tags.
Sweden, known for its eco-friendly policies, has had to overcome many problems when it began building its Mirrorcube Tree Hotel hideaway. Reached by a series of inclines and ramps (there is no elevator) the 173-square foot tree house is built around a single tree trunk. The design called for mirrored glass sides so that it reflected the surrounding forests, making it almost invisible. Unfortunately birds and wildlife couldn’t see it either and the glass panels had to be lined with an infrared film visible only to birds. It certainly offers a room with a view.
Those flying into Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport will be hard pushed to spot their novelty hotel known as JumboStay. Parked on the tarmac like any other, the Boeing 747 offers less-than-luxury accommodation in coach class which has been converted into a four-person dormitory, but the upstairs cockpit has been turned into a luxury honeymoon suite. Hopefully the sound-proofing is up to it as aircraft frequently land nearby at this busy international destination.
Costa Rica also found a new use for a retired 727 aircraft whose final resting place is in the treetops. It has been fitted out as a VIP suite. Rather more cramped is the decommissioned Coast Guard helicopter placed in a barn at the Winvian resort in Connecticut. This boutique hotel boasts that every guest room is different, and this idea is probably the most off-the-wall of them all. Other cottages include a log cabin, beaver lodge complete with pond, a greenhouse and even a “Gordon Brown” house.
by Gillian at Luxique Luxury Hotels
Those who remember flying into New York’s JFK Airport in the good old days, pre 9/11 that is, may remember the modernist structure with its iconic winged roof which served as the TWA airline terminal building. When American Airlines bought out TWA in 2001 the building was defunct and was left to gather dust.
Designed by Eero Saarinen in 1962, it was one of a rare group of airport buildings which actually have some semblance of design, which is probably what has saved it from the bulldozers so far.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey have just announced plans to reinvent the building as a 150-room boutique hotel in New York.
“Sounds a little big for the boutique hotel label”, I hear you say, but it does qualify for boutique status on the grounds of it offering something a little different and unique – in this case the design.
The building will house the hotel entrance and lobby along with restaurants and shops - after all, it is at the airport - and a newer extension will be squeezed in behind it to create the hotel rooms.
Hopefully, sound-proofing permitting, this boutique hotel in New York should prove both popular and very convenient. However it has way to go financially to break into the black. The Port Authority has already spent $20 million removing asbestos and making it developer-ready.
by Gillian at Luxique luxury hotels
There are luxury hotels and budget hotels and then there are hotels that are just, well, trash.
A temporary hotel built in Rome was just that – constructed out of debris from the world’s beaches. Its five rooms and reception were lined with 12 tonnes of rubbish including toys, cans and car exhaust pipes.
Save The Beach Hotel, which was open for guests for only four days, was designed to raise awareness of European beach pollution. Last Saturday was World Environment Day.
The Danish supermodel (and environmental campaigner) Helena Christensen, who stayed at the hotel, said it was a striking work of art. She told the BBC: “When you’re inside, there are walls as there would be in a normal house, but they’re all made of inorganic waste. And then the outside is completely covered in everything that we throw on beaches.”
The hotel, which stood beside the 2nd Century Castel Sant’Angelo on the banks of the Tiber, was created by German artist Ha Schult. “We are in the trash time,” he said. “We produce trash and we will be trash. So this hotel is the mirror of the situation. We have to change the world, before the world changes us.”
by Andy Moreton
There’s no rubbish among Luxique’s selection of luxury hotels in Rome – we have only the very best.
Now here’s the craziest thing. No sooner had the iconic Hollywood sign survived an attempt to demolish it and replace it with executive homes, than an enterprising young architect has come up with the idea of building a luxury hotel – with rooms inside each of the letters!
Christian Bay-Jorgensen from Denmark has produced an impressive set of designs which would see the giant letters rebuilt to twice their current size of 45 feet.
He says luxury hotel facilities like the bar, restaurant and pool could be built behind the letters, giving the ten floors of rooms stunning views of the LA skyline. And Mr Bay-Jorgensen favours a roof terrace on top of each of the letters.
“I’m a fan of the Hollywood sign and the unused spaces of America,” said the 28-year-old. “It could be interesting to make it a centre for such events as the Golden Globes and Oscars. This could be the future of the sign.”
He believes his plan for a luxury hotel offers the chance to develop the site and provide the city with the funding it badly needs, but he is also fully aware of the sensitivities surrounding the sign. “I know people are scared – I know they are afraid this idea will turn it into Disneyland,” he said.
The idea has already had internet message boards buzzing. Said one contributor: “The Hollywood sign faces south, perhaps south-south-west, so the swimming pool and sun terrace will have no sun for most of the day because of the letters creating large shade. Why can’t he leave it as it is: a classic Los Angeles tourist attraction and piece of history?”
by Andy Moreton
If you’re heading for America’s West Coast, Luxique can guide you to some of the finest luxury hotels in Los Angeles – such landmarks as the Beverly Wilshire, the Beverly Hills Hotel and the Hotel Bel-Air.
Just over a month after it was formally opened, the world’s tallest tower, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, has been closed to the public.
The observation deck on the building’s 124th floor is currently out of action because of unspecified technical problems. The owners said they were carrying out ‘maintenance and upgrade’.
One report says about 60 people were stranded there for more than an hour four days ago because of a power supply fault. They were brought down by service elevators.
Tickets to the observation deck had been a sell-out since the opening day and it’s thought this unexpectedly high traffic contributed to the problems. Guests who hold tickets will be offered the option to re-book or receive an immediate refund.
by Andy Moreton
See the wonder that is Dubai – Luxique offers a selection of a dozen of the finest luxury hotels in Dubai City.
A hotel with rooms as small as 50 sq ft. (15 sq m) is to be built as part of the redevelopment of a famous London tourist spot.
Plans have been approved for the 495–room hotel at the Trocadero in Piccadilly Circus. It will take its inspiration from Japanese ‘pod’ hotels, which have capsules for rooms to make use of space in crowded cities.
The Trocadero, originally built as a restaurant, is an entertainment space with shops and a cinema. The hotel will be located over seven floors behind its Grade II listed facade. Corridors will run round the building and rooms grouped around internal courtyards. Rates are expected to be £20–40 ($32–65) a night.
Wan Yau, director of architects Dexter Moren Associates, said:
“The lighting, temperature and even TV channels can be pre-programmed, enabling every guest to have a personalised ‘pod’ experience. We wanted to create an oasis away from the bustling activity [of London].”
When work starts on the site later this year, two neighbouring theatres – the Apollo and the Lyric – have asked for extra soundproofing so their productions aren’t ruined. It’s hoped to have the Trocadero Hotel ready in time for the London 2012 Olympics.
by Andy Moreton
Luxique has a hand-picked selection of the finest luxury London hotels – some large and traditional, some small and chic (but not that small!)
When a luxury hotel is built in three years’ time on the island of Solta off Croatia, the one thing that guests will not be able to complain about is the view from their bedroom windows.
That’s because the view will be constantly changing in the world’s first revolving hotel.
The British architect behind the building, Richard Hywel Evans, is keen to stress that prospective guests need not worry about becoming dizzy. The rotating section will turn very, very slowly – 1.3 times every 24 hours – and guests will not actually feel it move.
The hotel, costing around £70 million ($114 million) to build, will have 50 suites on three storeys and will stand in the middle of a purpose-built lake. There’ll be a marina and yacht club alongside.
A static reception area will be situated across the lake and an underground entrance will escort guests to the hotel. For those who wish to remain ‘unmoved’ during their vacation, luxury villas will also be provided.
by Andy Moreton
The Croatian capital, Zagreb, is now competing with Prague and Budapest as the most popular city in central Europe for foreign visitors. Luxique offers the most competitive rates at one of the best luxury hotels in the city – the Starwood-owned Westin Zagreb.
Over the past couple of years, I’ve featured some weird and wonderful hotels – among them hay barns, former prisons, a converted nuclear bunker and an old jumbo jet.
Now, travel journalist and photographer Bettina Kowalewski has produced a book featuring 27 of her favourite wacky places to stay. It’s called Bed In A Tree (DK Eyewitness Travel). It has that title because that was one of the accommodation options she found in South Africa.
Bettina’s been all round the world in search of eccentric hotels and the stories behind them. One of the cutest has to be the Dog Bark Park Inn in Cottonwood, Idaho, which has been built in the shape of a giant beagle named Sweet Willy. ‘A paw-star hotel with plenty of barking!’ quipped the Sun newspaper here in the UK.
The collection also includes an ice hotel in Sweden, a stone pineapple in Scotland and a large suitcase in Germany.
This last one intrigued me, so I investigated further. The Zum Prellbock Kofftel bed and breakfast in Lunzenau is not so much a suitcase, more a large trunk. Situated next to an outdoor railway museum, the cosy case comes with two beds and a small bathroom.
by Andy Moreton
I once had a meal in a restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia that resembled an ornate medieval monastery. Robed monks waited on the tables and a harpist played in the old choir loft.
Now I hear of something even more bizarre – a restaurant in the Latvian capital, Riga, that’s themed as a hospital.
The inside of Hospitalis, which is the brainchild of three local doctors, is white, clinical and full of medical equipment. The bar is an old pharmacy.
The meals are served in flasks and operating room dishes and brought to the table by nurses in skimpy starched uniforms, red wigs and stethoscopes around their necks. Your table could be a trolley or a gynaecological consultation bed.
For a special treat, I’m reliably informed that you can be tied up in a straitjacket and fed by a nurse/waitress.
The varied menu is a world away from the usual hospital fare, but eating at Hospitalis doesn’t come cheap by Latvian standards - an entree with appetizer and drink will set you back around 15 Lats (£19/$27). However, as someone remarked, that’s considerably less than it costs to be a ‘customer’ at a real hospital in the United States.
by Andy Moreton
Finding a luxury hotel in Riga is a painless operation – Luxique’s consultant has done all the work.
