Unusually for a luxury châteaux hotel out in the countryside, The Fairmont Hotel in Banff Springs was always designed as a hotel and has been housing paying guests since its creation in 1888. Apart from an unfortunate incident in 1926 involving a raging inferno and complete destruction, it has always ...

The Vintage Trailor is one of a range of accommodation in the Sierra National Forest provided by the Far Meadow organization. As iconic as the VW Camper Van and as American as Mount Rushmore, the Silver Streak trailer was first manufactured in the 1950s and has gone through many redesigns ...

If the Ancient Greeks had decided to attack Troy using a giant dog rather than a horse it might have looked something like this. Husband and wife team, Dennis and Frances use chainsaws to carve folk-art wooden dogs and have done for the last 15 years. When their work was ...

The A-Frame is one of a range of accommodation in the Sierra National Forest provided by the Far Meadow organization. The woodland cabin is as American as apple pie (which was originally a British dish but hey, let’s not argue the toss). Traditionally, cabins were built in remote wooded areas ...

So it’s an ultra-modern wooden cabin with views over the grand ocean waves by the famous Hirtle’s Beach. It may look like the sort of cube you would find in a toddler’s mouth but inside it is a triumph of eco-sensitive architecture and cutting edge ergonomics. It has caused considerable ...

A delightful slice of Americana that stays true to the native and Latino peoples that have been a part of life in Texas for centuries; El Cosmico is a rural retreat that features a range of accommodation. Traveling through centuries of human life, let’s start with the simple tent. Their ...

‘The canyon wilderness, the hoodoo land of spire and pillar and pinnacle where no man lives’ is how transcendental anarchist author, Edward Abbey described the landscape where Amangiri Villas sit; their sandstone walls blending perfectly into the desert setting. The architecture is simple and modern with large glass windows drawing ...

Blessed by the Goddess Hera, Jason and his team of Argonauts boarded a vessel bound for mystical lands… hang on… wrong review. Yes, the Argonaut Hotel does not have anything to do with golden fleeces or reanimated skeletons. Well - that’s disappointing. Actually, the name refers to the first citizens ...

Rainforests, they’re not just for tropical countries. There’s one in Canada too. 21 million acres of it. There, you will find King Pacific which is one of a new breed of ‘eco-lodges’. Developers worked closely with local First Nation tribes in order to support the local economy. You can visit ...

The central location makes this hostel a perfect base for exploring Canada’s historic capital city and the nearby Great Lakes. The hostel is located in the converted Carleton County Gaol that used to house death-row inmates. Since opening to guests in 1972, there have been reports of ghosts and spooky ...

All the pomp and grandeur of the Titanic without any of that silliness with icebergs; the Queen Mary has had a long and prosperous career with no (fingers crossed) bad renditions of ‘My Heart Will Go On’ yet. Beginning life in the 1930s, it was built in Scotland and became ...

Located in the heart of Manhattan, the Library Hotel is one of New York’s most unique locations. Each room is numbered according to the Dewey Decimal System (which is the system libraries use to organize their collection using numbers to label each book) and themed according to one of ten ...

They say crime doesn’t pay. Well, if prisons were like this ‘they’ might have to eat their words. This 19th Century prison was renovated by modern architects and designers working with historians and conservationists to create a unique space guaranteed to impress. Before you arrive, Liberty’s ‘luggage liaison’ team will ...

‘Here’s Johnny!’ Well, your concierge actually; make sure you tip him well as you are about to take a room in the gorgeous and ghoulish Timberline Lodge, the location for the classic horror film, ‘The Shining’. Joking aside, this incredible structure was built entirely by hand in the 1930s and ...

Unusual? Yes. Unique? Possibly. Most hotels are made from bricks and cement or concrete and steel, this one is made from ice and snow. Skilled ice artisans (or should that be icetisans?) build the hotel every winter slightly differently each time. If you want to volunteer to help them, apply ...

The Gladstone Hotel was first opened in 1889 and is the oldest hotel in Toronto. Starting out life as a luxury accommodation for the privileged classes, it was then owned and operated by a lively widow and her 13 children. The hotel eventually fell into disrepair until it became known ...

At Yotel, you get to spend the night in a luxury yacht cabin while having all the advantages of being in London, New York, or Amsterdam. Seasickness will not be a problem here Captain! Each tiny room is a triumph of design. The queen-sized beds are retractable and some rooms ...

The Verana Spa is carved into the lush jungle overlooking a beach that sits like a blessing next to the lazy ocean. Designed by Hollywood set designers, your sense of adventure is tingled from the moment the jungle parts to reveal the ‘primitive chic’ spa (you may want to play ...