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Travel | Posted 06 Feb 2014

Many people have a bucket list, or at least aspire to make one. One of the most featured activities on lists is travelling the world- whether you are visiting a handful or a hundred undiscovered countries, nearly everyone has somewhere they’d like to visit. So we have put together a collection of utterly unique hotels for you discover a different world of watering holes! Whether a listed item on your bucket list, or a detour stop while achieving a different goal, all of these hotels are worth experiencing in a lifetime.

ICEHOTEL, Sweden

Bucket List Hotels - Icehotel Sweeden CC Image “Ice Hotel Church @ Jukkasjärvi” courtesy of bjaglin on Flickr

ICEHOTEL offers a wonderful experience for all. Situated in the North of Sweden, its location is perfect for enjoying tranquillity, wilderness, the northern lights and of course, the cold! Built completely of snow and ice, this incredible hotel (which is reconstructed every year in November) is a beautiful piece of art as well as a watering hole. As a hot spot for seeing the Northern Lights, Sweden is a prime destination to visit before you die, and with this incredible and unique hotel to enjoy (with many exciting and unusual activities available), ICEHOTEL in Jukkasjärvi is a bucket list must-see.

Rooms can cost around £149 per person.

Dog Bark Park Inn, Idaho USA

Dog Bark Park Inn, Idaho USA Image source: Wikipedia

This one is a bit of a niche hotel for all the dog lovers out there… Situated in Cottonwood, Idaho, this unusual bed and breakfast offers roadside lodging for travellers, with an added extra of chainsaw art. Dog Bark Park Inn is a bit of an oddball but if you’re planning a bucket list road trip across North America, this is the perfect place to stop for something a little different, welcoming, and homely.

Lodging costs around £59 a night for double occupancy with breakfast, extra guests cost around £6 per person.

Hotel Marqués de Riscal, Spain

Bucket List Hotels - Hotel marques de Riscal CC Image “Hotel Marques de Riscal” courtesy of Pablo Monteagudo on Flickr

Deliciously luxurious, Hotel Marqués de Riscal is the perfect place to disappear. Its unique and unusual architecture is a little jaw-dropping, especially contrasted against the beautiful and traditional Spanish backdrop. The elevated location affords stunning views of Elciego, which is overflowing with rich cultural history and wine making heritage. The unique design, luxury interior and beautiful location makes Hotel Marques de Risacal, an ideal bucket list hotel choice!

A standard room rate costs around £274 a night.

Das Park Hotel, Germany

Bucket List Hotels - Das Park Hotel, Germany CC Image “dasparkhotel” courtesy of Alexander Crosby on Flickr

Possibly one of the most unusual places you’ll ever stay, the dasparkhotel in West Germany offers an experience to remember! The rooms have been constructed from repurposed drain pipes- yes, drain pipes with an external public ‘infrastructure’ for hotel facilities. Before you dismiss this one as a ‘not in my lifetime’ experience, dasparkhotel is beautifully simple and incredibly cosy making it a great place to try something that is a tad out of your comfort zone. If your bucket list includes travel around Europe, this is the perfect hotel stop to enjoy a truly unique night in the sleep-pipes.

One of the best things about dasparkhotel is that it offers a “pay as you wish” system where a night in this hotels costs as much as you can afford or wish to pay!

Magic Mountain Hotel, Chile


A trip to Chile is definitely a bucket list experience with tropical rainforests, glaciers, and volcanoes to explore, as well as utterly breath-taking landscapes to discover. Hidden amongst the Patagonian Rainforest is possibly one of the most incredible hotels, appropriately named Magic Mountain Hotel. The exotic surroundings offer the perfect setting for this jaw-droppingly unique lodge as you become immersed in the natural world. The interior is just as impressive with incredible woodwork, large open windows, and a welcoming magical atmosphere to boot. Oh… and it has a waterfall spouting from the pinnacle of the roof – what more could you want from an experience of a lifetime?

The Magic Mountain is a bucket list must, costing from £175 per night. There are a few other (equally impressive) hotels in the Huilo Huilo Biological Reserve that may be more up your street if the Magical Mountain hasn’t got the wow factor for you…

Neemrana Fort Palace, India

CC Image “Neemrana Fort Palace” courtesy of Daniel on Flickr

India is a truly wonderful place to visit, and the Neemrana-Fort Palace is an incredible awe inducing hotel that must not be missed from the bucket list. This 15th Century heritage hotel is nestled into a hill with 12 layers of tiered palace across 2.5 hectares, offering a stunning view of the town below. Overflowing with heritage and luxuriousness, this hotel provides a feeling of travelling back in time to catch a glimpse (or rather panoramic view) into the unique history of the palace. A visit to Neemrana-Fort Palace will blow you away with an experience that is one of a kind!

Room costs range from around £38 for a standard double to around £239 for deluxe suites.

Thorngrove Manor, Australia

Bucket List Hotels - Thorngrove Manor, Australia
CC Image “Thorngrove Manor” courtesy of Kerry J on Flickr

Experience a fairy-tale getaway with the Thorngrove Manor in South Australia. If your bucket list includes either a trip down under or to stay in a fairy-tale castle- this should be your number one stop! Thorngrove Manor looks as though it has come to life from Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty with turret roofs, beautiful stonework and an incredibly majestic interior- this hotel offers a magical path into another world…

This unique hotel costs around £442 for the basic room and £540+ for a chamber/suite per night.


Museumotel, France

Museumotel, France CC Image “Museumotel” courtesy of JuliAnPierre on Flickr

A fantastic combination of a motel and a museum, the Museumotel is a tranquil and unique place to discover in the North East of France. Located on a private island surrounded by two sides of water, ‘The Bubbles Island’ is the perfect place to escape for a night or two in fantastically unique rooms. Each bubble offers a different theme from fifties, retro and pop art, to Zen, Star and Chlorophylle – all you have to do is decide which room suits you best!

The ‘Bubbles’ cost between £65 and £80 for two people.

Further Bucket list hotels to check out are:

Gili Lankanfushi, Maldives

Costa Verde, Costa Rica

The Boot Hotel, New Zealand

Hotel de Vrouwe van Stavoren, The Netherlands

The Manta Resort, Pemba Island, Zanzibar

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