Unusual Places to stay
Hotels can be, well, bland to say the least, but with a little bit of planning you can always find more unusual places to stay. Avoiding chain hotels and staying in locally owned and managed accommodation means you'll be giving more back to the community so you'll get to feel good too! Here are a few suggestions for out of the ordinary places to stay, from a troglodytes' cave to a Tarzan-like tree house.
Turkish cave
Now, before you start thinking of a damp, dark hole, you should know that this 1,000-year-old former monastic retreat, carved out of craggy volcanic rock, has been transformed into a pretty comfortable hotel. It's not five-star but it does have 18 en-suite bedrooms, all tastefully furnished and equipped with mod-cons, including CD players and wireless internet access.
Situated in Ayvali Village in the heart of Cappadocia a region probably best known as the setting for the Star Wars movies the Gamirasu Cave Hotel also boasts an organic restaurant where you guests can take Turkish cookery lessons. Prices start at about 76 per room per night booked through cappadociahotels.
Yurt in France
This is camping for people who don't do tents, for those who don't want to sacrifice life's little luxuries on holiday but who still want to get close (ish) to the great outdoors. These really stylish-looking wood and canvas yurts, in an oak forest in the Ardeche, are so big they've got proper king-sized beds dressed in quality linen and a seating area inside. Outside there a private decks, perfect for evening cocktails.
The islands don't yet offer the sort of luxury found in the Caribbean but, with new direct flights from London Gatwick it takes only five hours to get there and packages are much cheaper. Thomson Holidays has 7-nights bed and breakfast in a two-star hotel in Sal for 698pp over Easter.
Kerala house boat
Not only is this a fun place to stay, but you get to cruise along the palm-fringed, tranquil backwaters of Kerala, in southern India, past paddy fields, coconut groves and traditional Indian villages.
Each boat has furnished bedrooms, en-suite bathrooms, a sun deck and, best of all, breakfast, lunch and dinner prepared by a professional Indian chef. A cruise from Alleppey (85kms from Cochin international airport) costs from 46 to 84 per night per couple. Children up to 10 are free. Book through responsibletravel, which has lots more suggestions for out of the ordinary accommodation around the world.
Africa tree house
Remember how you loved climbing trees and playing Tarzan and Jane when you were kids? No? Well anyway, you can bring back the child in you by staying in a tented tree house resort, built in the canopy of a pristine indigenous forest on South Africa's Garden Route.
Teniqua Treetops, situated in the foothills of the Outeniqua Mountain Range but within easy driving distance of the Western Cape resorts, has 8 self-catering tree houses with fully-equipped kitchens and private bathrooms. There's even a swimming pool and you can also swim in the river or go exploring in the forest. Prices start at 50 a night for a one-room tree house, rising to 75 for a 2-bedroom place suitable for a family.
Glass igloo
Novelty ice hotels are springing up all over Scandinavia, but why would you want to shiver the night away in one of these when you can sleep under the stars in a centrally-heated glass-roofed igloo? Not only do you get to sleep in a warm, comfy bed, but you are also guaranteed not to miss the aurora borealis (that's the Northern Lights to you and me).
The Igloo Village Kakslauttanen in Finnish Lapland has 20 of these pods, all with en-suite loos.The hotel also boasts the world's largest smoke sauna that can accommodate up to 100 people and, for the truly hardy, an ice pool. Available through Inghams , one night's dinner, bed and breakfast costs 159pp.
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