Sleep inside a UFO
Where? Harads Treehotel, Sweden
Head deep, deep into a pine forest, pick your treehouse and spend the night towering above the woodland. Accommodation ranges from the aptly-named Bird's Nest (seriously, you have to look at pics of this one), the Mirrorcube and – wait for it – the UFO. Choose the latter, and you’ll rewind back to the final scene of ET with an eery sense of deja-vu inside your spaceship pad. Tear yourself away from the woodland hideaway (trust us, it’s hard) and you’ll find plenty of activities on offer, too. Hit the rapids and go white water rafting, try something new with a moose safari or chill in the tree sauna – could it get more Scandinavian? Want to go beyond the forest? Explore Sweden’s best bits with a cruise.
Be controversial with Banksy
Where: Walled Off Hotel, Bethlehem
Here it is, the one everyone’s talking about – the world’s most ironic hotel right beside the Isreal-Palestine border wall. Make a statement with a stay here by going budget and bagging the military barracks style room for £22, or go all out and splurge on the £750 a night presidential suite that comes with everything a head of state would need – including a huge plunge bath, home cinema and library. Don’t forget to peer out at what Banksy describes as the “worst view in the world” (a wall covered in graffiti) or sip cocktails in the piano lounge that’s dotted with CCTV cameras. Want to see inside? Check out the #thewalledhotel on Instagram.
live like an eskimo
Where: Santa's Igloo Arctic Circle resort, Lapland
Always wanted to get away from it all and camp out in Lapland’s wilderness? Set up camp inside an igloo and watch the stars through glass ceilings. And, if the Northern Lights decide to come out to shine, you’ll find you’re in a front row seat to watch the show. Top up on festive cheer with a trip before winter, and zoom across frozen lakes on a snowmobile, or get comfy on a sleigh and let reindeers take you for a spin. Now on Blitzen…
Go compact in a capsule
Where: Cube Boutique hotel, Singapore
Consider yourself a savvy shopper? Save your pennies at the capsule hotel, a popular concept in Singapore, namely for its average price tag firmly sticking to £30. Squeeze into a pod, don your eye mask and drift off. Designed to maximise on space, pods are stacked on top of each other, so get there early if you want to be near(ish) your travel companion. Or, if you’re not one to go budget, go luxury with a stay at the Cube Boutique hotel. Continue living the high-life with cocktails at Raffle Hotel’s Long Bar, or dine at the top of a 50-metre high restaurant in the Gardens by the Bay.
Get your Michelin stars
Where: Lux Belle Mare, Mauritius
Foodie? Get packing your wooden spoon and head to the Lux Belle Mare in Mauritius. Quench your thirst in the rum bar, and taste your way through all 112 different varieties on offer, then tuck into curries rustled up by Michelin starred chef Vineet Bhatia at the Indian restaurant. Or, if you’re keen to don a chefs hat, try oriental bread making in the saj oven, and tuck into one of the daily cooking classes (look out for chocolate- inspired dishes, mmm).
Relive your uni days
Where: Marriott Phu Quoc, Vietnam
Dust off your graduation gown and head off to a hotel that’s been designed as a former fictional colonial university. Work out in the department of physical education, aka the gym, or sip some freshly-mixed bubbles at the cocktail bar-come-chemistry-department. Animal lover? Pick a room near the department of zoology and pose by the manicured hedges that’ve been chopped into a range of quirky creatures.
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;img.crop(width:1080%2Cheight:608) "JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay")
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;img.crop(width:658%2Cheight:370) "LUX* Belle Mare")
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