Holiday Destinations

AirHotel's hanging rooms lift lodging out of the ordinary

AirHotel's hanging rooms lift lodging out of the ordinary
Guests enjoying the AirHotel's Schulp (Little Cottage)
Guests enjoying the AirHotel's Schulp (Little Cottage)
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Guests enjoying the Sterreschijter
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Guests enjoying the Sterreschijter
Access to the Love Nest is by vertical ladder
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Access to the Love Nest is by vertical ladder
El Ambassador is accessed by a retractable ladder
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El Ambassador is accessed by a retractable ladder
The Lotus opens up to accommodate up to four guests
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The Lotus opens up to accommodate up to four guests
The Night Box is covered with recyclable materials
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The Night Box is covered with recyclable materials
The Night Box is covered with recyclable materials
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The Night Box is covered with recyclable materials
The Night Box perches on a steel frame
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The Night Box perches on a steel frame
Some of the AirHotel's friendly staff
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Some of the AirHotel's friendly staff
Guests entering the Sterreschijter
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Guests entering the Sterreschijter
The Sterreschijter is attached to a tree 19.7 feet (6m) above the ground
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The Sterreschijter is attached to a tree 19.7 feet (6m) above the ground
The Lotus resembles a giant Japanese lantern when closed
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The Lotus resembles a giant Japanese lantern when closed
The Lotus opens up to accommodate up to four guests
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The Lotus opens up to accommodate up to four guests
The Lotus in sleep mode
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The Lotus in sleep mode
Guests entering the Lotus
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Guests entering the Lotus
Two guests bed down in the Lotus
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Two guests bed down in the Lotus
The El Ambassador pod is suspended from four cables
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The El Ambassador pod is suspended from four cables
Access to the Love Nest is by vertical ladder
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Access to the Love Nest is by vertical ladder
Guests check in at the solar-powered Wellness Center
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Guests check in at the solar-powered Wellness Center
The AirHotel's bathing facility
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The AirHotel's bathing facility
The AirHotel's stylish outdoor toilet
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The AirHotel's stylish outdoor toilet
The Schulp (Little Cottage) can sleep up to six
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The Schulp (Little Cottage) can sleep up to six
Guests enjoying the AirHotel's Schulp (Little Cottage)
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Guests enjoying the AirHotel's Schulp (Little Cottage)
View gallery - 22 images

Looking for a place to stay that's sustainable, fun and suspended? The one-of-a-kind, mobile AirHotel, designed by a group of Belgian artists, may be just the ticket. Made from recycled materials, the quirky hotel's six elevated or hanging rooms are each unique in their own way and all come with an unusual form of room service that ranges from a love song to a disco party.

The solar-powered "Wellness Machine" is the nerve center for the unusual traveling complex (actually more motel than hotel) and houses reception, a bar and lounge, a sauna and the breakfast service. Guests stop there first before being whisked off for a tour of the entire facility.

The largest accommodation is the canvas-covered "Schulp" or "Little Cottage". With room for six guests in three distinct rooms, it floats 6.5 feet (2.5m) above the ground. Although it looks more like a screened in hanging porch than a place to stay, it's probably the least unusual looking of all the various rooms or pods.

Perched 13 feet (4m) up, the "Love Nest" does indeed resemble a bird's nest. It's basically a metal frame covered with wood and branches and doubtless gives guests a taste of the bird's life. Fake leather adorns the interior and a large portal window allows natural light to enter.

Guests entering the Sterreschijter
Guests entering the Sterreschijter

The "Sterreschijter", likely a challenge for those with a fear of heights, is firmly mounted 19.7 feet (6m) up and resembles an oversized baby carriage. The room's name, best left untranslated in the original Dutch, hints at the great views it affords of the starry night skies. It sleeps two.

For VIPs, there's "El Ambassador" - a deluxe cocoon-like pod made of wood with views provided through glass skylights that's accessed by a collapsible/retractable ladder. Securely anchored by four cables, its two guests sleep almost 7 feet (2.5m) up.

The "Lotus" is probably the most unusual of all the sleep chambers. When closed, it resembles a giant Japanese lantern but, like its namesake flower, opens into a giant four-petaled flower to accommodate four guests. Also suspended securely from four cables, it floats 13 feet (4m) above the ground.

The Lotus opens up to accommodate up to four guests
The Lotus opens up to accommodate up to four guests

For those not comfortable with being disconnected from the Earth, the "Night Box" is probably the way to go. The cube-shaped room sleeps two and sits atop a beefy steel frame that hoists it several feet off the ground. Its walls, fashioned from a hodge podge of random recycled materials, hinge down to allow access to the bed inside and the roof opens to bring fresh air and light to the occupants.

Reservations are now being taken for the period from May 11-26 when the AirHotel will be located at the Norfolk & Norwich Festival in the UK. Those lucky enough to book a night can expect to pay about US$57 each for a stay that likely won't soon be forgotten.

Source: Time Circus via Inhabitat

View gallery - 22 images
4 comments
4 comments
Mr Stiffy
Hmm the same crowd that made the fall out of the tent backwards, catch your foot in the teeny rope ladder and drop 6 meters onto your head and break your neck tent?
The Schulp looks like it is both over loading the trees it is hanging off, especially when "the party" moves up stairs and into it and the wire looks like it would put a "choking load" around the trees - better to use a wide band, with flat metal ends that the ropes hook into.
But yeah they have taken my input seriously and the designs are fundamentally very good.
The Night Box could do with a better set of steps with rails and all.
sk8dad
Great idea for a club house for the kids though.
James Stutsman
I THINK IT'S GREAT BUT I WONDERED....YOU WOULD HAVE TO HAVE SOME ADJUSTMENT FOR THE GROWTH OF THE TREES. PULLEYS?... HYDRAULICS?. NOT ALL TREES GROW AT THE SAME RATE. I STILL WANT A TREE FORT!
~JAMES~
Jake Dhillon
Can you say...Mosquito Feeding Frenzy!