Unusual Lodgings

Vacation time is approaching and nothing says memories like a hotel in the side of a hill or one that used to house prisoners.

MSN Travel has put together a list of the most unusual hotels in the world. And while the accommodations might take some getting used to they could be well worth your money. And there’s something for everyone. For example Waitomo New Zealand features the Hobbit Motel, designed after Hobbiton from the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. And for all you movie buffs the “Lord of the Rings” set is just 70 miles away.

And if you don’t mind a sordid past, there’s the Liberty Hotel in Boston which for about 140 years housed criminals, before being turned into lodging. The hotel has kept some of the prison features including the three story windows and catwalks but the rooms have been expanded from the three by five foot jail cell. To see the complete list of unusual lodgings just keep reading. Think how much money you’ll save on tourist attractions when you don’t even have to leave your room.

FROM MSN TRAVEL

The Hobbit Motel
These accommodations might have been designed with hobbits in mind, but humans shouldn’t worry about being able to stand up in here. The Hobbit Motel in Waitomo, New Zealand, features units with specially designed décor to evoke the hobbit habitat in the "Lord of the Rings" movies that were filmed in New Zealand. (Less than 70 miles away in Matamata, you can tour the set of Hobbiton.) And there's more wackiness right next door — the Hobbit Motel complex also includes a plane, rail car and World War II patrol boat for you to sleep in.

Jumbo Hostel
Who says you can't teach an old plane new tricks? Jumbo Hostel, right next to the Stockholm airport, is a retired Boeing 747, revamped and put back into service in 2009 as lodging for the budget traveler. Jumbo Hostel has 25 rooms with a total of 85 beds, and the former cockpit is now a suite for two with a panoramic view of the airport. You can judge for yourself how the onboard café's fare compares with that of regular airlines.

Quaker Square Inn
There's no chance you'll feel like a square at the Quaker Square Inn in Akron, Ohio. All of the guestrooms are perfectly round, as the hotel was originally a set of grain silos. Dating from the 19th century, the silos are 120 feet tall and once held 1.5 million bushels of the Quaker Oats Co.'s inventory. As you might guess, this is the heart of farming country; if you'd like to learn more about agriculture, one of the nation's biggest Amish communities is only 40 minutes away.

Gamirasu Cave Hotel
The caves in the photo above have windows — because that's where you’ll be spending the night. The Gamirasu Cave Hotel in Turkey's Cappadocia region has been welcoming troglodytes and hermits since 1999, but the cavernous complex's roots are much older than that — the structure started out 1,000 years ago as a Byzantine monastic retreat. These days, the hotel features 25 modern rooms, decorated with exquisite Turkish furnishings.

Iglu-Dorf
The Iglu-Dorf company operates six "igloo villages" in Andorra, Germany and Switzerland. The igloos can accommodate up to six people, and some even come with an en-suite whirlpool. The igloo villages are in operation from late December through April, but if you miss out, or if you're just bitten by the igloo bug, the company also rents inflatable igloos in two sizes.

Queen Mary
When you board the Queen Mary, you don't have a cruise in your future — the vintage ship is a floating hotel. Permanently moored in Long Beach, Calif., since 1967, the Queen Mary has had its 314 staterooms converted into modern guestrooms and suites that retain their original Art Deco ambiance. Throughout the Queen Mary, guests can read about its rich history as an Atlantic-crossing passenger ship, as well as its military service in World War II.

Three Camel Lodge
Yurts are becoming trendy accommodations in national parks and upscale-camping facilities in the U.S., but at Three Camel Lodge in the heart of Mongolia’s Gobi Desert, you can experience the yurt's ancestor in its natural habitat. Three Camel Lodge houses its guests in traditional Mongolian gers — felt-and-canvas tents developed by the region's nomadic herders. While you're there, be sure to take a camel ride and try the camel's-milk lotion.

Harlingen Lifeboat
Many people would be thrilled just to meet someone who has saved 45 lives. But in Harlingen, The Netherlands, just such a hero invites you to come in and make yourself at home. The Harlingen Lifeboat took part in more than 100 rescue missions along the British coast from 1955 to 1979; now decommissioned and completely restored, its retirement gig is as a two-person hotel replete with modern amenities. You can also hire a captain to pilot you on a tour — the boat may be 55, but it's still plenty spry.

Caboose Motel
The Caboose Motel's name is simple yet accurate: The guestrooms are in individual train cabooses, which once trailed trains from classic rail lines such as the Santa Fe and Great Northern. The Caboose Motel is part of the Railroad Park Resort in Dunsmuir, Calif., which has a number of other historic train cars for you to explore, including a few that contain a restaurant and lounge. If you like trains, it's worth exploring Dunsmuir itself; the town has a long history as a railroad community.

Imperial Boat House Hotel
It's all about the boat at Thailand’s Imperial Boat House Hotel, which features 34 luxury suites made from vintage teakwood rice barges. Even the swimming pool is shaped like a boat, complete with a mast and crow's nest. And if you'd like to take off on a boat ride of your own, the hotel is right on the beach on the island of Koh Samui, off the east coast of the Thai mainland.

Ariau Amazon Towers
Want to live at bird's-eye level? That’s no problem at Brazil's Ariau Amazon Towers. The hotel's rooms are 30 to 70 feet high in the rain forest canopy, with the eight towers linked together by more than five miles of wooden catwalks wending their way through the forest. Besides the 268 guestrooms, the hotel’s restaurants, auditorium and even swimming pools are up in the air as well.

Liberty Hotel
This is the kind of jail that people actually want to enter. The ironically named Liberty Hotel spent close to 140 years housing Boston criminals before being renovated and turned into lodgings for the general public. The hotel has kept some of the more aesthetic features from its prison past, including the 90-foot-high central atrium, three-story windows and historic catwalks. And the downtown location is perfect for breaking out and exploring the city.