A temporary home on a heritage coast
Coastal footpath, Aberporth, Cardigan Bay, UK
Wendy, the railway carriage, sitting on the coastal footpath overlooking the Ceredigion Heritage Coast of Wales, has a long history. Built in 1908, this London & South Western Railway sleeping car was part of the Plymouth-Waterloo ‘boat train’. The Great Western Railway acquired her in 1911 and she travelled widely across England and Wales. Retired in 1931, she finally reached Aberporth to accommodate visitors seeking to enjoy the heritage coast.
Cuddle down in a caravan
Wind in the Willows Caravan, Monmouthshire County, Wales, UK
This gypsy caravan had starred in the film Wind in the Willows. Today it sits pretty in the middle of a meadow with Black Welsh Mountain sheep for company. “A Victorian doll house with wheels,” wrote Anna Mcdonald in the New York Times.
Go sleep in a tram
Controversy Tram Hotel, Hoogwoud, Netherlands
Few people heart the transport segment like Frank and Irma Appel. Their house is decorated with cars and motor paraphernalia. They sleep inside a double decker bus installed in the living room and their kitchen is a converted French van. A MIG fighter plane, once belonging to the Czech air force, stands parked outside their house. They run a bed and breakfast facility that consists of a 4-berth train carriage and 4 tram bedrooms attached to tram railcars that used to run on the streets of Amsterdam and Germany.
Grounded in a helicopter
Winvian Farm, Litchfield Hills, Connecticut, US
You will love to remain grounded in this genuine U.S. coast guard 1968 Sikorsky Sea King Pelican HH 3F helicopter that has been converted into a cottage that has been built around the chopper. You will find the rotor blades embedded in the ceilings and walls and some of the original paraphernalia such as the pilot’s seat, the switches, etc.
Leaving on a jet plane
Jumbo Hostel, Stockholm-Arlanda, Sweden
This c1976 jumbo jet has en-suite rooms as well as budget dorms and serves as a hostel with great views of the airport. You can also spend time at their café in case you have no plans to spend the night here.
Living in the box car
Northern Rail Train Car Inn, Two Harbors, Minnesota, US
The 17 themed guest rooms are housed in converted train box cars (goods wagons). The rooms are connected by an enclosed walkway that looks like a railway station platform from the earlier times. You can either choose from the Porter rooms or the Conductor suites.
Looking out from the caboose
Featherbed Rail Road Caboose Bed & Breakfast, Lake County, California, US
Located in a pastoral setting near Lake County’s Clear Lake, the nine antique railroad cabooses (American for what we know as the railway brake van) comprise the Featherbed Railroad resort. The theme-based room are stashed with period memorabilia to give you an authentic feel.
Night in a Pullman coach
The Old Railway Station, Petworth, West Sussex, UK
Travelling in a luxury train is not unique any more. But stationary coaches in an old world railway station? These Pullman carriages (once part of the famous trains like the Orient Express, the Golden Arrow, etc.) have been lovingly restored to serve as luxury suites and are located at the Old Station House that was built in 1892 for the Prince of Wales – later Edward VII.
On the flight deck
Airplane Suites, Teuge, Netherlands
This 1960 Ilyushin 18 aircraft began life as a carrier flying high officials of the former German Democratic Republic, including Erich Honecker. Then, as part of the Interflug’s fleet, it undertook commercial flights to places like Cuba, China, Soviet Russia, etc. After the unification of Germany, it housed a restaurant for 15 years. Since 2007, this 40-metre long airplane with its cockpit intact, is running as a hotel — a single luxury suite for two.
Ship on the mountain
Sun Cruise Resort, Gangwon-do, South Korea
This resort may not have history to fall back on but it is no less interesting. Besides, you will never be seasick on this cruise ship that remains happily marooned on the top of a hill. But that does not mean it is wanting in other features of a cruise ship – it has everything from luxury accommodation to restaurants, a night club, a seawater pool, and more. There is also a rotating luxury sky lounge to get a glimpse of the surrounding area from a high perch.
Stay at one, stay at ‘em all
Woodlyn Park, near Waitomo caves, New Zealand
Woodlyn Park’s striking stay options include a plane, a train and a patrol boat, among other things. A 1950 Bristol Freighter Plane – one of the last allied planes out of Vietnam –now houses two self-contained motel units. A 1918 rail carriage – dubbed the Waitomo Express –is a two-roomed unit for six people. A World War II patrol boat – one of the 12 anti-submarine patrol boats built in the Islands (of which only two survived) has been dubbed the Waitanic and converted to a motel with a variety of rooms.
Taking a flight over the jungle
727 Fuselage Home, Hotel Costa Verde, Manuel Antonio National Park, Costa Rica
You can stay at this refurbished 1965 Boeing 727 that once flew passengers of South Africa Air and Colombia’s Avianca Airlines. Perched on a 50-feet pedestal at the edge of the national park, the fuselage juts out through the jungle canopy.