Most Unusual Hotels Part I

The Old Jail

Mount Gambier, South Australia, Australia

This is about as close to sleeping in a prison as you'd probably want to get, The only change is to alter the cell door locks so you can actually let yourself out.

Former South Australian State Prison. Opened C1866, Closed 1995. Heritage listed. Accommodation in cells. Site retained as close to final 1995 format as possible with little alteration except for minor things like the door locks that you can open yourself!!! Facade and entrance area restored to 1866 origins. Very basic accommodation primarily with shared shower facilities although one self contained unit is available in the former women’s section.

Accommodation at The Old Jail is very basic. It is aimed at the budget traveler. Jail layout and presentation is much like it was when in operation as a jail. Tariffs start at AUS $22.00 per person for a multi share dormitory (non cell). Four share cells are available for 3 to four people at AUS $22.00 per person. A double cell with ensuite toilet only costs AUS $52.00 for two people. One self contained unit (formerly a women prisoner dormitory) costs AUS $70.00 for two people.

Half price rates for children (U16yrs). All tariffs include breakfast provisions from the guest kitchen, sheets, blankets, pillow cases. Towels are available at AUS $1.00 extra per towel. We are able to cater for groups in the Jail’s former dining room. The dining facility is licensed to sell alcohol.

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Woodpecker Hotel

Sweden

Tree house set 13 metres above a Swedish public park, with rope ladder access only.

Mikael Genberg designed the Hotel Woodpecker, said to be the smallest of its kind in the world, with accommodation designed for a single guest, although couples who are willing to share a single bed are welcome.

Hotel Woodpecker sits 13 metres above the ground in an oak tree in the middle of the city's central park, Vasaparken.

Guests must climb a ladder to reach their accommodation; the ladder is then removed, and meals are served via a basket attached to a pulley.

The hotel includes a kitchen, bedroom, veranda with hammock and, most crucially, a toilet.

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Utter Inn

Vasteras, Sweden

Floating, underwater hotel, where you sleep in an underwater aquarium.

The Utter Inn is the brainchild of Mikael Genberg, a local artist and sculptor who has chosen to focus on "making art for the public". It lies 3m below the surface of Lake Mälaren in Västerås, Sweden and contains only twin beds and a table.

The Utter (Otter) Inn opened in June 2000 on the coldest, rainiest day in the whole summer. Despite that it was a great success. Not only did all the untested solutions work, it also attracted a lot of people. The Utter Inn stimulates the most typical of Swedish dreams; to have a small Swedish red house with white garbles on your own island. On top of that you can spend your night three meters underwater with panoramic windows in all directions.

This alternative dwelling also includes a sense of risk taking and adventure that tends to expand the sensory input. One should not forget the psychological term "transfer of exaltation". Roughly explained it is about man's tendency to transform the experience of fear to an experience of love. You don’t want to feel afraid so the brain changes the emotion to something far more pleasant. You feel more alive. In this sense arranged, controlled fear can be very important.

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Woodlyn Park

Otorohanga, New Zealand

Plane, Railway carriage and Underground accommodation options in this New Zealand location.

Stay in a Train, Plane or Underground -

Woodlyn Park has a variety of Unusual lodging experiences for you to try. Join Billy Black and his team at their famous Woodlyn Park location to experience New Zealand traditional crafts and shows, as well as their adrenaline fuelled U-Drive jet boat course too.

World Unique Motels

Woodlyn Park has 3 amazing self catering options:

* A 1950’s Bristol Freighter Plane fully refurbished into 2 beautiful self contained motel units. This plane was one of the last allied planes out of Vietnam and is the only accommodation of its type in the world.
* "The Waitomo Express" is a 1950's Rail Carriage beautifully refurbished into a completely self contained motel unit. Having 3 separate rooms, the Waitomo Express sleeps up to 6 people with 1 Double Bed, 2 Single Beds and 1 Double Pullout Couch.
* Worlds First Hobbit Underground Motels with circular windows - straight out of middle earth!!! Built alongside the now well established Train Carriage and Aeroplane Motels, the Hobbits add yet another dimension to this unique complex.

The Hobbits, like the other motels available at Woodlyn Park, are all self-contained with kitchens and own shower toilet facilities can accommodate between 2-10 people. Each have specially designed furniture and décor. Having been built using polystyrene blocks they are warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

The 2 units available each have a separate room with two sets of bunks and a double bed in the main living area.

These unique accommodation choices are very popular – you are recommended to book well in advance.

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Jules Undersea Lodge

Key Largo, Florida, U.S.A.

The original undersea hotel, where suitably qualified divers must swim 21 feet below the surface to gain access to this 2 roomed hotel. Kitchenette, TV and beds await those who choose to book.

When guests visit Jules’ Undersea Lodge in Key Largo, Florida, they discover that the name is no marketing gimmick. Just to enter the Lodge, one must actually scuba dive 21 feet beneath the surface of the sea. Entering through an opening in the bottom of the habitat, the feeling is much like discovering a secret underwater clubhouse. The cottage sized building isn’t short on creature comforts: hot showers, a well stocked kitchen (complete with refrigerator and microwave), books, music, and video movies. And of course there are cozy beds, where guests snuggle up and watch the fish visit the windows of their favourite underwater “terrarium”. Jules’ Undersea Lodge manages to reach a perfect balance of relaxation and adventure.

The interior has two living chambers, each 20 feet long and 8 feet in diameter. One chamber is divided into two 8 x 10 foot bedrooms; the other is an 8 X 20 foot common room with dining and entertainment facilities. Between the two chambers is a 10 X 20 foot “wet room” entrance area with a moon pool entrance (similar to a small swimming pool), a shower and bathroom facilities.

Although the underwater hotel may sound like the latest tourist fun spot, Jules’ Undersea Lodge, actually began its existence as La Chalupa research laboratory, an underwater habitat used to explore the continental shelf off the coast of Puerto Rico. The authenticity of the underwater habitat is what really sets it apart from amusement parks and other similar attractions. The mangrove lagoon in which Jules’ is located is a natural nursery area for many reef fish. Tropical angelfish, parrotfish, barracuda, and snappers peek in the windows of the habitat, while anemones, sponges, oysters and feather duster worms seem to cover every inch of this underwater world. Guests of the Lodge explore their marine environment with limitless air supplied by 100 ft. long “hookah” lines, instead of heavy scuba tanks. The hookah lines are actually a remnant of La Chalupa’s deep ocean exploration, where high pressures required much more air than a normal scuba tank could supply. Jules’ Undersea Lodge may have a comfortable futuristic decor, but its sense of history is inescapable. It is the first and only underwater hotel, but is also the first underwater research lab to have ever been made accessible to the average person.

“Marine life is actually enhanced by the presence of an underwater structure”, explains Ian Koblick, owner and co-developer of the Lodge. “Jules’ Undersea Lodge serves as an artificial reef, providing shelter and substrate for marine animals. And the flow of air to the Lodge constantly adds oxygen to the entire surrounding body of water, creating a symbiotic relationship between the technology of man and the beauty of nature.”

The entire structure of Jules’ Undersea Lodge is underwater, sitting up on legs approximately five feet off the bottom of the protected lagoon. The Lodge is filled with compressed air, which prevents the water from rising and flooding the rooms. A five by seven foot “moon pool” entrance in the floor of the building makes entering the hotel much like surfacing through a small swimming pool. Divers find themselves in the wet room, the center of three compartments that make up the underwater living quarters. The wet room, as the name implies, is where divers leave their gear, enjoy a quick hot shower and towel-off before entering the rest of the living area. Designed for comfort, the air conditioned living space has two private bed rooms and a common room. The eight by twenty foot common room is a multi-purpose room providing the galley, dining and entertainment areas. Each of the bedrooms and the common room is equipped with telephone, intercom, TV/VCR and a stereo sound system. But the main focus of attention is the big 42 inches round window that graces each room. “Waking up to view a pair of angelfish looking in your bedroom window is a moment you'll never forget”, states Koblick.