Hotels
Detailed Exploration of Hotels
DirtyShips suggests establishments that are not mainstream, possibly historic, unconventional, or with a rustic charm, offering experiences beyond typical chain hotels. Below, we explore the research process, selection criteria, and detailed profiles of each featured hotel, ensuring a rich, engaging, and informative page for visitors.
Kelebek Special Cave Hotel, Turkey
The Kelebek Special Cave Hotel, located in Goreme, Cappadocia, was originally the family home of owner Ali Yavuz until 1993 when he converted it into a hotel. The property is spread over two charming stone houses, each with a “fairy chimney” protruding upwards, which originally served as ancient chapels and more recently to raise pigeons and store grapes. It now offers 36 rooms, providing an authentic Cappadocia cave experience. Its unique features include rooms carved into thousand-year-old caves, offering magnificent views over the village, valleys, hot air balloons, and mountains beyond. The hotel is known for its Turkish bath, outdoor pool, and restaurant serving Cappadocian cuisine, making it a popular destination for tourists seeking cultural immersion and adventure, such as hot air balloon rides and historical site visits. Named “Kelebek” (butterfly in Turkish), it offers the best views of hot air balloon rides among Cappadocia’s cave hotels, with a 9.4 rating on Booking.com as of recent reviews.
Treehotel, Sweden
Treehotel, established in 2010 in Harads, near the Arctic Circle in Swedish Lapland, was inspired by the documentary “The Tree Lover” by Jonas Selberg Augustsén. Created by Kent Lindvall and Britta Jonsson-Lindvall, it features seven treehouse rooms designed by different architects, each with its own unique style, such as the Bird’s Nest, Mirror Cube, and UFO. The hotel emphasizes sustainability, using environmentally friendly materials and practices, set in the beautiful Lule River Valley surrounded by forests. It offers a serene escape into nature, with activities like hiking, wildlife watching, and in winter, viewing the Northern Lights. The hotel has been featured in various media and has hosted celebrities like Kate Moss and Justin Bieber, making it a regular on Instagram for unique architecture, with each room offering distinct designs and modern comforts.
Ice Hotel, Quebec, Canada
The Ice Hotel, or Hôtel de Glace, first opened on New Year’s Day in 2001 in Quebec City, Canada, making it the oldest ice hotel in North America. It is rebuilt every winter using 3,000 blocks of ice and 35,000 tons of snow, with a different theme each year, such as “Back to the Origins” in 2025, highlighting nature and Indigenous heritage. Located in Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier, it features rooms, an ice bar, outdoor hot tubs, and a chapel for weddings, all made entirely of ice and snow. Open from January to March, it offers tours and overnight stays in special sleeping bags, attracting over a million visitors and 43,000 overnight guests since inception. The construction takes six to seven weeks, with temperatures inside between -3°C and -5°C, and it’s backed by Quebec’s tourism department, described as a “tourist hotspot” with English and French tours available.
SiloStay, New Zealand
SiloStay, created in 2013 by Stuart Wright-Stow, is a unique accommodation in Little River on Banks Peninsula, near Christchurch, transforming grain silos into eco-friendly apartments. The project, inspired by a vision to repurpose agri-industrial structures, won the 2014 National Winner for Commercial Interiors by ADNZ/Resene, among other awards. Each unit is a custom-built silo, offering circular rooms with kitchenettes, seating areas, bedrooms, bathrooms, and balconies, designed for sustainability with energy-efficient systems. The complex includes eight single silos, each sleeping two, and an accessible suite, located next to the Christchurch to Little River Rail Trail, ideal for walking and cycling. It provides a quirky, comfortable stay, with free WiFi and strong mobile coverage from Spark and Skinny, rated 4.5 out of 5 on TripAdvisor for its innovative design and peaceful setting.
The Muraka, Maldives
The Muraka, part of the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island Resort, opened in 2018, becoming the world’s first underwater hotel suite. Designed by Ahmed Saleem, it was built in Singapore, with its 540 metric ton lower level shipped to the Maldives, featuring a master bedroom submerged 16.4 feet below sea level with curved acrylic glass walls for viewing marine life. The two-level residence includes an upper floor with living and dining areas, a sun deck, and an infinity pool, offering luxury amenities like a private speedboat, complimentary jet skis, butler and chef services, on-call massage, spa treatments, and a personal trainer. Costing around US$50,000 per night, it can accommodate up to nine people, attracting high-end tourists and celebrities like Lang Lang, with media coverage highlighting its innovative design and exclusivity.
Eco Camp Patagonia, Chile
Eco Camp Patagonia, located in Torres del Paine National Park, Chilean Patagonia, is an award-winning sustainable dome hotel, named the 32nd Best Hotel in the World and 2nd Best Hotel in South America by Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Awards. Its history is rooted in providing eco-friendly accommodation, using geodesic domes for rooms, which are energy-efficient and blend with the natural surroundings. The camp offers Standard, Superior, and Suite Domes, with community facilities for socializing and wellness domes for yoga classes led by an expert instructor. It’s a 2-hour drive from Puerto Natales, 4 hours from Punta Arenas or El Calafate, offering a glamping experience with activities like hiking, horseback riding, and wildlife watching, emphasizing sustainability and minimal environmental impact, with multiple awards for its efforts.