The experience of travel is all about experiencing something new and different. Vacation destinations should be memorable, and so should the hotel, for all the right reasons of course. Luxury hotels can be found in castles and forts as well as on boats. There are themed hotels all over the world based on art, pop music, Marilyn Monroe, the Wild West or whatever else you might dream of. If all this has aroused your curiosity, here are three themed hotels to get you started:
Ice Hotel, Sweden
The Ice Hotel in Jukkasjarvi in Sweden has to be the coolest hotel on the planet! Created from slabs of ice, this magical palace-cum-igloo is built fresh every year. It includes ice chandeliers lit with fiber optics, an ice bar and even ice beds piled high with reindeer hides and high-tech sleeping bags. This Land of the Midnight Sun location also offers unlimited snow sports including cross-country skiing, dog sleds and snowmobiles as well as helicopter tours to Lapland and if you’re really lucky, the spectacular aurora borealis. Voted the ‘Best Experience in Sweden’ the Ice Hotel continues to draw an eclectic crowd every year from royalty and celebrities to hardy honeymoon couples.
Aria Hotel, Prague
Located in Prague, a city renowned for its classical music, the Aria Hotel is conveniently located between the State Opera House and Rudolfinum, the home of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. Follow the Gregorian chants set in the mosaic footpath, which leads from the wrought iron gate right into reception. Every floor of this luxury hotel is dedicated to a different category of music, from contemporary and classic to opera and jazz. Delightfully furnished guest rooms are predictably named after a composer or musician, but that’s not all. The rooms are a shrine to individual artists with original artwork, biographies, books and even an iPod loaded with their music so that you can totally immerse yourself in your chosen favorite. You get round-the-clock Mozart, Elvis or even Billie Holliday, so choose your room with care! The Aria Hotel even has its own Director of Music to advice and enhance your musical vacation.
Pelican Hotel, Miami
For those who want more from a luxury hotel in Miami ‘s South Beach than Art Deco features, the Diesel-owned Pelican offers a choice of wacky rooms. The only condition is that you must like neon, and lots of it. Themed rooms range from the garish to the glitzy, based on such themes as Best Whorehouse, Cubarean Islands and Psychedelic Girl. The Pelican Café, spilling out onto the terrace and sidewalk, is considered THE place to be seen having breakfast.
