Bucket List Tips: Visiting Some of the Most Unique Hotels in the World

Anyone can stay at the Holiday Inn on vacation. You’re pretty much guaranteed a comfortable place to sleep and a complimentary breakfast before checkout. But if you’re looking for a vacation experience you’ll truly remember for the rest of your life, here are five must-stay vacation destinations well worth checking out:

• Dog Bark Park Inn, Cottonwood, Idaho — In the old days, travelers often purchased gas or ate in roadside establishments shaped like coffee pots, teapots, ducks, shoes, and other objects. It is in that spirit that the Dog Bark Park Inn was developed. Shaped like a dog, this unique hotel features chainsaw art sculptures of dogs and a fun gift shop.
• Wigwam Motel, San Bernardino, California — If you’ve ever wanted to sleep in a wigwam, this is your chance. Located along Route 66, this property consists of individual teepee cabins surrounding one large teepee, which acts as the lobby.
• Hotel de Glace, Quebec City, Canada — You may shiver just looking at this hotel, where the rooms are completely made of ice. You’ll sleep on a bed of ice and lounge on ice barstools in the hotel bar. But don’t worry—between you and that ice bed is a wood base, comfortable mattress, sleeping bag, and insulating blanket. The site also provides tips on how to dress to stay warm throughout the night.
• Shack Up Inn, Clarksdale, Mississippi — “The Ritz we ain’t,” the website for this unique hotel proclaims. Guests sleep in shacks at this B&B (short for “bed and beer”), which is so popular, it actually turns down guests. The shacks are located on a former cotton plantation and rooms run from $65-$250 a night.
• The Shady Dell, Bisbee, Arizona — These fully restored vintage aluminum trailers each have their own theme straight out of the 50s. You may have to walk a few feet to get to the shower and toilets, but this is, after all, the great outdoors.

While the accommodations may not be the height of luxury, you’ll definitely return from your vacation with an interesting story (or two) to share with friends and family for years to come.