Propeller Island City Lodge ~ Fancy staying in an upside down room? Then this is the place for you!
At Berlin’s Propeller Island City Lodge, each of the 30 rooms is weird in its own way. The artist-owner, Lars Stroschen, has seen to that. One room, the first built, is made to look like a brightly painted medieval town, with an ultra-mini golf course surrounding the castle bed. Another has furniture attached to the ceiling, another has coffins for beds, and still another has lion cages on stilts (the website claims that kids “love to sleep” in them). Then there’s the Freedom Room, which resembles a prison, complete with a toilet next to the bed.
Features ~ slanted floor, furniture appropriately modified.
Description ~ A room with a slanted floor which makes grandma’s bed seem to fly. The wardrobe comes out of the wall, but table and chair have got to stay straight! In the rustic bathroom of natural stone you will find eggplant-coloured slate. 115 € http://www.propeller-island.com

Hotel De Vrouwe Van Stavoren ~ If you love wine you may love the chance to sleep in a wine barrel!
When they were owned by a Swiss château, the four enormous casks on the grounds of the Hotel De Vrouwe Van Stavoren in the Netherlands held the equivalent of 19,333 bottles of wine. Now, after some creative recycling, it’s guests rather than booze that mellow out inside the casks. The richly worn and airtight oak barrels have two narrow beds, with a small sitting area outside. The grounds are quite close to tiny Stavoren’s harbor, which was a major port in the Middle Ages.
Sleeping in a Wine-Cask, start your day in a 14.500 liter Wine-Cask, open your eyes and find yourself, with sitting room and fully-equipped bathroom.
Prices vary from €52.15 to €.129.50. http://www.hotel-vrouwevanstavoren.nl

Hotel Costa Verde ~ Fancy sleeping in a converted 727 jet, then this hotel is made for you!
Near a beach that’s within Manuel Antonio National Park in Costa Rica, the Hotel Costa Verde doesn’t lack for great sights. But few are as amazing as its own 727 Fuselage Suite, a salvaged 1965 Boeing 727-100 that looks as if it’s crashed into the Costa Rican jungle (it’s actually mounted atop a 50-foot pillar and reached via a spiral staircase). The jet’s interior was once able to hold up to 125 passengers, but there are few reminders left of its days in the service of South African Airways and Colombia’s Avianca Airlines. The suite’s two bedrooms, dining area, and sitting room are now covered over entirely in teak to match the surroundings. Guests can play “spot the toucan” on the small wood deck that sits on top of the right wing. Rates ~ From January 2, 2009 - April 30, 2009 $500.00 daily plus tax.
From May 01, 2009 - Nov 17, 2009 $400.00 daily plus tax. http://www.costaverde.com/727.html

Master Bedroom ~ Master Bathroom

Grand Daddy hotel ~ Trailer park living with a cool penthouse setting!
Cape Town’s sleek Grand Daddy hotel has a surprise on its roof: a fleet of seven Airstream trailers, six of which were imported from the U.S. The aluminum-clad “rooms,” which sleep two people, have been done in playful themes that incorporate icons like “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” (a blonde wig and a bear suit are available for dress-up), and John Lennon and Yoko Ono (the room’s white-on-white furnishings include an enormous bed, natch). If you don’t want to stray as far from the trailers’ original looks, there’s the Pleasantville model, an Eisenhower-era fantasia with chintz, harvest-gold curtains, and flower-covered throw pillows.
Airstream Penthouse. A gleaming fleet of seven iconic American Airstream trailers have packed up their corndogs and tucked away their picnic blankets to roost on the rooftop of The Grand Daddy Hotel.
Here, the quintessential African skies and the alluring outline of Cape Town’s Table Mountain are reflected in the polished aluminium of the American Dream.
Peek inside – there’s more! Each of the seven trailers has been handed over to some incredibly creative Capetonian soul to find new life through playful, eccentric and dazzling décor interpretations of how life in an Airstream can be.
Your Airstream is enclosed by a tidy garden complete with US Postal Service mailboxes. Watch an outdoor movie on hot summer nights at The Pink Flamingo Cinema and find an excuse to make this the destination for your next gathering of family and friends.
All the Airstreams are air-conditioned, incredibly well-insulated, have hot and cold running water, flushing toilets and showers. For those who want to pimp their park life and flash their trailer trash – or for those who simply want to experience the world’s only trailer park penthouse suite - just take the vintage elevator to the third floor, take the rooftop exit and enter the adventure. http://www.daddylonglegs.co.za/

I’m sure all of these slightly unusual hotels are interesting places to stay, but my favourite is the last one, the trailer park hotel, probably because I have so many happy memories of caravan holidays from my childhood.

LIFE IN THE SLOW LANE

10 of the Most Expensive Hotel Rooms in the World
The hotels listed are in various countries round the world, all of them are considered to be the height of luxury accomodation, with hefty 5-figure nightly tariffs to match.

• 10 ~ Imperial Suite, Park Hyatt-Vendôme, Paris, France ~ $15,500

This 750 square-foot suite provides a peaceful retreat in the centre of Paris, France. it is located within easy walking distance of the Louvre Museum, and the Opera House. Facilities include an ‘In Suite Spa’ which provides a steam room shower, a whirlpool bath, and a massage table.

• 9 ~ Royal Suite, Four Seasons George V, Paris, France ~ $16,000

If you want an alternative to the Imperial Suite at Park Hyatt-Vendôme you could upgrade to one of the two Royal Suites at Four Seasons George V. At 2,600 square-feet, the suite includes a private office with a sleeping area, entertaining area, sauna, full kitchen, and a guest bathroom. The suite is furnished with antiques.

• 8 ~ Royal Armleder Suite, Le Richemond, Geneva, Switzerland ~ $17,500

The Royal Armleder Suite takes up the entire seventh floor, it is decorated with parquet floors mosaics, and gold. The view of Geneva and the Alps from the 300 square foot terrace is pretty special.

• 7 ~ Royal Suite, Burj Al Arab, Dubai, United Arab Emirates ~ $18,000

Dubai, is known for being a playground for the fabulously rich and famous, but the Burj Al Arab is the only hotel in the UAE that makes it on to this list. The Royal Suite is set on two stories, as are all of the suites at the hotel, it has mahogany furniture, and marble flooring. The master bedroom is known for its main feature which is a four-post canopy bed that rotates.

• 6 ~ Ritz-Carlton Suite, The Ritz-Carlton, Moscow, Russia ~ $18,200

The Ritz Carlton Suite is 2,500 square-feet, it includes a library, a grand piano, and a heated floor. The floor-to-ceiling windows enable guests a good view of St. Basil’s Cathedral, the Kremlin, and Red Square.

• 5 ~ Bridge Suite at The Atlantis, Paradise Island, Bahamas ~ $25,000

The Bridge Suite at The Atlantis has ten luxurious rooms that span the space between the two towers of the Atlantis. The hotel is very popular with celebrities.

• 4 ~ Royal Penthouse Suite, President Wilson Hotel, Geneva, Switzerland ~ $33,000

The Royal Penthouse Suite has four bedrooms, and a cocktail lounge that can comfortably accommodate up to forty people.

• 3 ~ Ty Warner Penthouse, Four Seasons, New York ~ $34,000

The Ty Warner Penthouse has nine rooms, and a private butler. The fabrics are woven with gold and platinum, and the walls are covered with mother of pearl inlay. The floor-to-ceiling windows on all sides give a wonderful view of the Manhattan skyline.

• 2 ~ Hugh Hefner Sky Villa, Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas ~ $40,000

The Sky Villa is a two-story, 10,000 square-foot Playboy-themed suite. It has a jacuzzi that looks down on the Las Vegas strip, a rotating bed under a ceiling, and a butler.

• 1 ~ Royal Villa at Grand Resort Lagonissi, Athens, Greece ~ $50,000

The Royal Villa not only has a butler it also has a chef, and a pianist. The villa is furnished with brand name furniture, a fully equipped business centre, an indoor pool, and a private beach.

I’ve only been to one of these hotels; The Burj Al Arab, Dubai. I thoroughly enjoyed my stay at the Burj, despite it being a seriously gaudy over-the-top experience, much like the look of all of the other hotels mentioned on this list!
I think these photographs prove the adage ‘money can’t buy taste’.

RICHARDS REALM

It is day five of the Kilimanjaro climb for the celebrities taking part in aid of Comic Relief.
Denise Van Outen and Fearne Cotton were reported to have had a tough night.

For Comic Relief 2009, nine British and Irish Celebrities agreed to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, including Chris Moyles, Alesha Dixon, Fearne Cotton, Cheryl Cole, Kimberley Walsh, Denise Van Outen, Gary Barlow, Ben Shephard, and Ronan Keating.
They have reportedly raised over £1,000,000.

During our travels round Africa we visited Tanzania where Richard and I stayed in a hotel with a beautiful view of Mount Kilimanjaro, we discussed climbing it, but when the hotel receptionist informed us that there wasn’t a pub at the top, we decided against it.
Why would anyone climb Kilimanjaro knowing that there is not watering hole at the top?
Maybe they are unaware of this extremely distressing piece of information?

Tanzania

Celebrities galore flocked to the opening party of the £1.5 billion Hotel Atlantis, situated on the man-made Palm Jumeirah Island resort in Dubai.

The event was marked by a huge fireworks display which was reportedly seven ties as big as the display that launched the Beijing Olympics in August this year.
The Atlantis resort fireworks stretched along the 320 miles of Palm Jumeirah, illuminating the Arabian Gulf.

Celebrities and guests were treated to few songs by Kylie Minogue who was reportedly paid £1.5million for a 40-minute set.
Guests at the bash included, Robert De Niro, Ben Affleck, Rhys Ifans, Dame Shirley Bassey, Charlize Theron, Agness Deyn, Denzel Washington, Wesley Snipes, Mary-Kate Olsen, Sir Richard Branson, Fergie - the Duchess of York, Boris Becker, Mischa Barton, Michael Jordan, Lindsay Lohan , and Samantha Ronson.
There were 2,00 guests at the opening party, and the feast included, approximately two tonnes of lobster, 300 kilos of smoked salmon and 4,000 oysters prepared by multi-Michelin starred chefs Santi Santamaria, Michel Rostang, Giorgio Locatelli, celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa, and 500 cooks.
There were 200 dinner tables, decorated with 15,000 stems of carnations, and lit by 3,000 candles.

The Atlantis has 1,539 suites, 27 spa rooms, 24 swimming pools, a dolphinarium, the biggest water park in the Middle East, 65,000 marine creatures, 3,000 staff, and no libraries!
The Atlantis resort is 46 hectares; equal to 64 Wembley pitches.
The hotel, and the island of sand on which it sits, was completed in just four years.
South African hotel magnate Solomon Kerzner, 73, is responsible for this latest mega hotel in Dubai, he also has six five-star resorts.
Speaking about his newest project, Solomon Kerzner said, “The scale of what we have seen here is appropriate.
“It cost me $20 million for the party but people have to be aware of the scale of this project.
“No famous people were paid to be here and we refused to provide private jets. They came because they wanted to.”

According to reports since the Atlantis opened to paying guests six weeks ago, it has been almost 80% full.
Nightly rates range in price from £550 ($814) for a basic suite to $35,000 ($51,845) per night for the hotel’s signature suite, which features floor to ceiling views of Dubai.

$20 million just for the party - I knew the credit crunch was only a myth perpetuated by the government to lead the news headlines away from crime!

The Burj Al Arab Dubai

Richard and I once stayed at the Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai (see one of our videos above), it was as you would expect; over the top gaudy oppulance, but we loved it, although we wouldn’t want our home to resemble the same ’style’ but it was a memorable experience, and the service was excellent.

DUBAI

A short video we shot of the village of Villeneuve les Corbieres, France.

U.S.A.

A short video of the village of Villeneuve les Corbieres, France, on a sunny day.

FRANCE

A short video we shot of the village of Durban Corbieres, France.

FRANCE

A video we shot of the inside of the Basilica of St Nazaire, Carcassonne, France.

FRANCE

A video we shot whilst wandering round the medieval city of Carcassonne, France.

FRANCE

A short video we shot of Narbonne, France.

FRANCE