There was a time when choosing accommodation was mostly about finding a comfortable room in the right location. Today, an increasing number of travellers are looking for something more. They want the place where they sleep to become part of the story – perhaps even one of the highlights of the entire journey.
This is the world of Unique Stays.
From a glass dome beneath the Northern Lights to a luxury tent on a remote mountain plateau, a treehouse hidden deep in the forest or a spectacular cabin seemingly suspended above a fjord, these are places where accommodation is much more than a bed for the night. The stay itself becomes an experience, a memory and often a reason to travel.
A unique stay does not necessarily have to be luxurious in the traditional sense. What makes it special is the setting, architecture, atmosphere or experience it provides.
You might spend the night in an old lighthouse overlooking a wild coastline, sleep inside a historic cave, stay in a remote cabin accessible only by boat or wake up surrounded by nothing but mountains.
The luxury can be found in privacy, silence, extraordinary surroundings or simply in experiencing something that very few other travellers have experienced.
Norway, for example, has embraced the concept with everything from treetop cabins and glass domes to lighthouses and Arctic glamping. Visit Norway describes these properties as places where the accommodation itself becomes an unforgettable part of the journey.
Few concepts illustrate Unique Stays better than glamping.
Traditional camping is about simplicity and getting close to nature. Glamping takes that idea and introduces comfort: proper beds, heating, elegant interiors, private bathrooms and sometimes even private chefs or hot tubs.
Imagine arriving at a luxury canvas tent on a remote mountain plateau. There is no television, no traffic and perhaps no other building in sight. Instead, there is a fire outside, the sound of wind across the landscape and an enormous sky above you.
In Arctic destinations, glass domes and heated tents make it possible to experience the wilderness while remaining comfortable. Some are positioned specifically for Northern Lights viewing, while others offer uninterrupted views of mountains, fjords or forests.
This is not simply camping with better furniture. It is a different way of experiencing nature.
There is something timeless about a treehouse.
Perhaps it is because many of us dreamed of having one as children. Today, however, treehouse accommodation can be an extraordinarily sophisticated experience.
Some modern treehouses are architectural masterpieces, hidden among mature forests and equipped with fireplaces, designer furniture, panoramic windows and private terraces. Others deliberately remain simple, allowing the forest itself to become the main attraction.
Sweden’s famous Treehotel in Harads, for example, has created a collection of individually designed tree rooms in the forests of Swedish Lapland. Norway has developed its own remarkable collection, with treetop accommodation overlooking fjords, forests and mountains.
The experience is wonderfully uncomplicated: wake up in the canopy, open the curtains and let nature provide the view.
For the adventurous traveller, some of the world’s most extraordinary stays take architecture to another level.
There are cabins built directly into cliffs, suites positioned dramatically above valleys and small retreats that appear to float above mountainsides.
The Bolder, overlooking Norway’s Lysefjord, is a striking example. Its cabins sit high above the landscape, creating the sensation of being suspended above one of Norway’s most spectacular fjords.
Here, the architecture is deliberately restrained. Large windows frame the landscape, while the surrounding wilderness provides something no hotel designer could ever reproduce.
The result is a particularly modern form of luxury: having nature as your room’s most spectacular feature.
Unique Stays can also take the concept much further.
In some destinations, travellers can sleep in rooms made entirely from ice, while elsewhere the bedroom can be located beneath the sea, surrounded by the movement of marine life.
These experiences may be designed around extreme environments, engineering or pure imagination. They demonstrate how dramatically the idea of accommodation has evolved. A hotel room no longer needs to look like a traditional hotel room at all.
It can be underwater, inside a cave, above the forest, beside a glacier or on a private island.
Perhaps the greatest appeal is psychological.
We tend to remember experiences more vividly than ordinary routines. A beautiful hotel may be comfortable and impressive, but sleeping in a glass dome while watching the Northern Lights, waking up high in a tree or hearing waves crash beneath a lighthouse creates a story you are likely to remember for decades.
This is why Unique Stays can be particularly appealing for anniversaries, honeymoons, birthdays and milestone journeys. The accommodation becomes part of the celebration.
And sometimes the most memorable luxury is not having the largest suite or the most elaborate lobby.
It is being able to say:
“We actually stayed there.”
For travellers willing to look beyond the conventional hotel, the world is filled with extraordinary places to spend a night. Some are spectacular, some wonderfully remote and others almost impossible to believe until you have experienced them yourself.
The question is no longer simply Where should we stay?
It is What kind of memory do we want to wake up with?