Thursday, October 7, 2010

Eccentric Hotels

There is something about the human nature that always craves something out of the ordinary to invent, create, or experience. I am no different and neither are the creators of these hotels:

Lumilinna Snow Castle Hotel, Kemi Finland

Ice hotels are temporary hotels made out of snow coupled with some steel frames. They are available for a period of time in the winter before they melt away after the cold season is gone. Quite a few people are familiar with the world largest ice hotel in Sweden, but the spotlight is on the Snow castle Hotel in Finland.With each winter season comes new architectural design for this hotel and that in itself is an art worth seeing. SnowCastle 2011 will open on January 29th through April 8th weather permitting. The temperature in the rooms is set at -5 degrees Celcius (23 degrees Fahrenheit. You are advised to bring very warm clothing. There are no showers in the hotel, but other provisions are made for taking a shower offsite.


Courtesy Lumilinna SnowCastle

Courtesy Lumilinna SnowCastle
















Restaurant. Source Lumilinna SnowCastle


Source Lumilinna SnowCastle






















Hotel De Sal,  Bolivia

Salar De Uyuni is the world's largest salt lake located in Bolivia. This is a very popular destination for people visiting Bolivia. The Salt lake covers approximately 4,000 square miles and located there is the very uncoventional Salt Hotel that is made almost entirely out of Salt blocks. In this hotel, the restaurant never runs out of salt and the guests always have salt everywhere, so the food is always tasty! The tables, chairs, and even beds are made out of salt. The saltiness of this hotel earns it a prime spot on world's unusual hotels.

Courtesy National Geographics

Courtesy hotelchatter















Courtesy Ruphus_8

















Heap of Salt. Earthdocumentary.com

















Gamirasu Cave Hotel, Cappadocia Turkey

Gamirasu is one of the best unique hotels in Turkey. It is a 30 room cave hotel that was opened in 1999. The hotel is located in a restored thousand-year-old Byzantine monastic retreat. 


Source Gamirasu.com

Source Gamirasu.com

Source Gamirasu.com












Outdoor dinner sitting. Source Gamirasu.com

















Dasparkhotel, Austria

This Drain Pipe hotel is constructed from repurposed drain pipes. They are available from May through October. I am visualizing this as camping in style. The restrooms  and showers are not inside the drain pipes, but are supplied by the surrounding public infastructures. You are assigned a personal lock code for your room on arrival. A stay at this hotel costs you just as much as you are willing to spend. Thanks to their generous "Pay as you wish" system.


Source Dasparkhotel


Source Dasparkhotel

Source Dasparkhotel


Thursday, September 30, 2010

Summer Is Over and There Goes My Vacation. Not!


Courtesy Wallpaperstock
Simply because there is a change in season does not mean an end to a great vacation. Even though a lot of travelers tend to plan their vacation for summer months, it is still very possible to have an unforgettable vacation in the winter months. Winter travelers often choose a tropical vacation in the summer and i know we sometimes can't get enough of the warm weather, but there is a unique feel to enjoying each season for what it's worth. Spice it up, don't be so predictable, and savor every moment you have with each season for time will soon change. I love summer travels as many people do, but i believe a winter vacation in a cold region is full of great experiences and here are some reasons why.

Reduced Crowd: With summer comes avalanche of people at every vacation spot you can think off. You remember those endless lines at every activity you wanted to experience and how slowly those lines moved? The good news is you don't have to go through that grueling pain of enduring the wait in winter. Majority of the people are hibernating, so don't you worry about the lines, have a blast!

Lower Costs: Try traveling to Europe or any cold region in the summer and compare your ticket price with winter pricing and you will quickly agree with me that there is no comparison. It is almost a highway robbery when you consider how significantly your cost of travel increases when done in the summer. Hotels offer better discounts in the winter months and more outfitters offer good discounts to participate in events. For visual understanding, the table below gives a comparative analysis of flight tickets between summer and winter season.

Region:                               Winter Fare:      Summer Fare:       Difference:      % Increase:


Europe (averages)                 $510.90             $935.85             $424.95            83.1%

Middle East (averages)          $753.00           $1252.00             $499.00            66.0%

Asia (averages)                    $1093.46           $1470.93             $377.47            34.5%

Africa (averages)                 $1213.80           $1573.60              $359.80            29.6%

South America (averages)     $670.37            $710.87                 $40.50              6.0%

Central America (averages)   $421.00           $422.50                   $1.50               0.3%

*New York’s JFK used as airport of origin 2007 rates
Source: gobudgettravel.com

Different Experience: You have a better chance of experiencing a place and connecting with the origins in the winter months because their towns are not so crowded and invaded by tourists. They are actually physically present to engage you in a conversation because they too are back from their summer getaway and carrying on with their daily life.

Activities: Some activities are seasonal and for the most part, the only way to enjoy authentic snow is to visit a cold region in winter . You want to tear up the Rockies while skiing or blaze through the white blanket of snow with your snow mobile or snowboard? There is no better time for these type of adventures than winter. Forget about the cold, it is all in your mind! Have some soup and hot chocolate! Are you visiting Europe, stroll through the streets and enjoy the different festivals carefully planned for you to cheer you up.

Visiting a place in the winter and summer can deliver two totally different experiences and yet very delectable and exhilarating!
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