It didn’t used to be a hotel
“It Didn’t Used to be a Hotel” takes a look at the buildings or rooms that have been converted into wonderfully inventive and unusual places that you could stay in around the world.
Saracen Towers have dominated the Amalfi Coast for centuries, acting in the past as fortified look-outs to foil raids by sea-borne invaders and Saracen pirates. Today, many of them have been converted into exceptional properties enjoying magnificent sea views. Romantically perched on the rocks close to Positano, CV Travel’s La Trasita is the largest apartment in a 14th century tower, sleeping two. Unique and spacious, it is comfortably furnished with air conditioning and boasts exclusive use of the circular roof terrace with its magical panorama.
There are many hotels around the world that have been something else in a previous life - a church, a police station or even a monastery - but just outside Quebec City, you'll find one of our favourite hotels that used to be good old water! The Ice Hotel Quebec. It's rebuilt each year from 15,000 tons of snow and 500 tons of ice and is open from early January to late March. The 36 rooms and suites are adorned with furs and sleeping bags atop a comfortable mattress to guarantee a good night’s sleep and it is possibly one of the most unique hotel experiences you'll have. North America Travel Service can even arrange a wedding ceremony in the Ice Chapel.
Room 727 - Costa Rica - Available through Last Frontiers. The Costa Verde Resort in Costa Rica overlooks the beaches of the Manuel Antonio National Park and is surrounded by thick rainforest. One room at the hotel offers something a little out of the ordinary, a luxury suite built into the fuselage of a 1965 Boeing 727. Formerly of South African Air and Avianca Airlines, this Swiss Family Robinson style room was opened just last year and includes 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchenette, dining area, flat screen TVs and a terrace with an ocean view.
A pigsty in North Yorkshire is just one of the Landmark Trust’s buildings never originally intended for anyone to live in, let alone rent for holidays. This elaborate pigsty was built in the late 1800s in a classical style, complete with columns and pediment, to house just two pigs. It is now available for two (humans) to rent for self-catering holidays. It has a double bedroom, a well equipped kitchen, bathroom and sitting-room – as well as stunning views across Robin Hood’s Bay, something that its previous inhabitants probably didn’t appreciate.
Can you imagine staying in a real tea factory which was built in the scenic ‘tea country’ of Sri Lanka during the days of the British Raj? Well you can do just that with Trans Indus at the Tea Factory Hotel near Nuwara Eliya. This wonderfully unique hotel spent its early life as a working tea factory, and now offers travellers a chance to experience an authentic piece of history amidst the stunning scenery of these lush tea gardens, 6,800 feet above sea level. The leaf drying area is now the reception, the tea packing room a charming bar, and the withering lofts have been converted into 57 comfortable rooms.
Whilst not a whole hotel, there must be very few places in the world where you can have a shower in a boat whilst remaining on dry land. Guests of Aardvark Safaris can experience this whilst staying at Pumulani on Lake Malawi. A small dhow forms the base of the outdoor shower in the honeymoon suite. Nestled amongst the vegetation of the shore and with wonderful views of the lake and its surroundings, this surely must be a unique experience, and one of the more unusual uses of a traditional dhow.
For more information, visit: aardvarksafaris.com
