The "Therapy" room at Propeller Island City. Photo by Sterin.

By Sarah Silbert—

We were pleased when a copy of Bed in a Tree, published by Eyewitness Travel, came across our desk the other day. Flipping through, we couldn’t decide which magnificently unusual hotel we liked best.

The book, written by Bettina Kowalewski, surveys 27 of the world’s most unique accommodations, from giant wine barrel guestrooms in Germany’s Rhine Valley to elegant canopy beds atop an ancient tree in the South African wilderness. Each hotel description is complemented by pages of stunning photos and tips on what to do in the hotels’ locales.

Most of Kowalewski’s picks are located in lesser-known (and more interesting) destinations, and they all clearly demonstrate how hotels can be so much more than a place to sleep. While many of the hotels aren’t Cheapo-friendly (hello, $590 a night Ice Hotel in Norrbotten, Sweden!), Kowalewski thankfully includes a few budget-friendly spots.

Here are five unique sleeps featured in the book that are easy on the budget:

Capsule Hotel
Located on a canal in The Hague, though the exact location changes.
www.capsulehotel.info

The Capsule Hotel in The Hague, the Netherlands, caught our eye with its two James Bond-inspired oil rig pod rooms furnished with beds made of fisherman’s net and sheepskin rugs. (Rooms are even outfitted with karaoke machines!) It would be quite a ride to spend the night bobbing up and down on the water.
Nightly rates: €70-150

Propeller Island City
Albrecht Achilles Strasse 58
Berlin, Germany 10709
www.propeller-island.com

As long-time fans of Berlin’s many art hotels, we loved the book’s photos of the 27-room Propeller Island City, located in the German capital. Each room boasts a wildly different theme—you could sleep in a coffin (with air holes, of course), or bask in the light of the “Therapy” room’s multicolored fluorescent lamps. While we’re not sure we’re brave enough to stay in one of the hotel’s wonderfully outrageous rooms, we think it would be a blast to visit.
Nightly rates: €70-190

Pension Kamerichs
Ditzroder Weg 18
Bad Laasphe, Germany 57334
www.pension-kamerichs.de

Pension Kamerichs, located in Westphalia, Germany, is a B&B—minus the roof. The “room” consists of a white iron bed on a pretty green lawn, plus a nightstand and a chair. Sure, there’s not much privacy—though the lawn humorously boasts a door frame, but the prospect of sleeping out in the fresh air sounds pretty appealing. Marie-Luise Kamerichs, the enthusiastic proprietor, provides old-fashioned nightclothes for the guests (as demonstrated in several funny photos in the book), and breakfast is included.
Nightly rates: €35

Park Plane Hotel
Woodlyn Park
Waitomo, New Zealand
www.woodlynpark.co.nz

Waitomo, New Zealand’s Woodlyn Park Plane Hotel provides guestrooms on a 1940s Bristol B-170. The plane has plenty of history, having once carried military personnel into Thailand and Hong Kong. The rooms pictured look considerably more comfortable than economy class fold-back seats, and the cockpit unit, complete with the switches and knobs of the control panel, offers an especially unique stay. The hotel’s owner also runs a converted train wagon hotel, a Hobbit Motel, and a World War II patrol boat hotel.
Nightly rates: $85-95

A "roulotte" in La Serve. Photo by Wolf_H.

Les Roulottes de La Serve
69860 Ouroux
Rhône-Alpes, France
www.lesroulottes.com

Les Roulottes de La Serve, located in the beautiful Rhône-Alpes region of southwestern France, offers accommodation in the form of three converted roulettes, or “gypsy wagons.” Each of the three guestrooms boasts a different, dazzling décor, from Asian-inspired artwork in the Roulette des Étoiles to the rustic décor in the Roulette de Manège. The pastoral French location, combined with the novelty of sleeping in a caravan that has roamed the country, has us craving a night in any of these wagons.
Nightly rates: €50-60

About the book: “Bed in a Tree,” by Bettina Kowalewski, was published in September 2009 by Eyewitness Travel. The book also includes vouchers for a 10% discount at 15 of the 27 selected hotels. The book retails for $25.

Popularity: 9% [?]

Maybe it’s Van Gogh’s trippy sunflowers or that wacky, tacky Red Light District. But there’s something about Amsterdam’s love of the unusual that pops up in its hotel offerings. We’ve weeded out the ho-hum hotel experiences to bring you a few of our favorite joints (so many puns, so little space!):

Hotel de Filosoof
What: Three-star hotel near the Vondelpark
Doubles: From € 80
Theme: Enlightenment

Each room here is dedicated to a philosopher. You could stay in “Clouds” and pay homage to Aristophanes and Socrates, drifting to sleep in a bed with a blue, velveteen comforter. Or, opt for Confucius, which lifts up the ideals of Taoism and showcases an array of strong, ancient-looking (intentionally) purple décor. Neitche’s room just plain scared us. (Not surprising, considering the whole “God is dead” thing. Sweet dreams!) Thankfully, the hotel has 38 rooms to choose from, a spacious outdoor garden, and an art gallery.

Hemp Hotel 
What: One-star hotel in the southern canal ring
Doubles: € 65 - 70
Theme: Baked not fried

Proclaiming itself “a unique specialty hotel for the hemp-aware traveler,” the Hemp Hotel is on our top ten list of favorite hotel visits (for purely professional reasons, natch). We were awed and amused by the various hemp-themed rooms decorated with eclectic furniture and a host of hemp-a-riffic accoutrements: hemp curtains, towels and plants.  The hotel is owned by a prominent marijuana activist and inventor of the Pollinator, a device that extracts hash from hemp leaves. With a coffee shop downstairs, the Hemp is a bit of a time vortex and many guests remain on for long, strange trips. (One guest, in fact, never left — and became one of the hotel’s managers!)

Winston Hotel
What: Two-star hotel in the Red Light District
Doubles: € 60-105
Theme: Artist madhouse

After spending a couple nights at the Winston, we labeled it ”The Winston Museum of Contemporary Art,” as each room was designed by a different artist. Décors range from simple opaque canvases to large-format paintings that resemble Spirograph creations. Many rooms also have their own distinct genres. For instance, the Heineken room enjoys a green, bottled-up effect (Note: See also Smirnoff Button room.).  Maria’s Room is furnished entirely in white, producing an immaculate, yet oddly Clockwork Orange feel. We bunked in a dominatrix-themed space. And liked it.  

The Greenhouse Effect
What: Two-star hotel in the Red Light District
Doubles: € 95-130
Theme: Out of this world

At this diamond in the snuff (it’s situated in the heart of the red-light district), themed rooms run the gamut from the plain and proper (”City Oasis” suite) to the downright surreal (”Turkish Delight” and ”1001 Arabian Nights”).  A trance-inducing club downstairs features live music each weekend and looks sure to provide oodles of Kerouac-ky observations for postcards and personal diaries.

Lloyd Hotel
What: One-star to five-star hotel in the Eastern Docklands
Doubles: From €90 (see Website for special offers)
Theme: Pick a star (rating)

Offering its guests a range of rooms from a one-star to a five-star rating, the Lloyd really knows how to shake up hotel classification systems! This sophisticated and chic hotel, located in a fashionable area, displays architectural majesty—1920’s art deco mixed with modern flair, and lets you pick a room, any room, via various star ratings. However all rooms provide the same amenities (free WiFi and satellite television) and all guests (even the Cheapos) enjoy the same 24-hour service. Furthermore, all have access to the fancy “Cultural Embassy,” a space that serves as an art gallery, entertainment space, and lounge.

A 1-star room offers less space and shared bathrooms, while a 3-star, for example, has noteworthy 1920s furniture designed by De Bazel. We’d likely opt for a 2-star, deemed “surprising” by the hotel on its Website, as you get your own bathroom with “plenty of room to take a shower” (insert joke here), and some even provide water views. On a search we did for February, we found double rooms from €90 (one star) to €210 (five stars). What a range!

We’d say all of these hotels are worth the trip.

Did we miss a themed hotel in Amsterdam that you know about or would recommend? Tell us below!

Popularity: 16% [?]