Cheapflights.com Checks-In To The World Of Bizarre Hotels

Uncovers its Top Quirky Hotels Around the Globe

Boston, MA - July 6, 2011 – From snow and ice to underground caves; the 50s to the future; a converted jumbo airplane, elementary school and jail house – welcome to the wacky world of quirky hotels. Cheapflights.com, the online leader in finding and publishing travel deals, has searched the globe in pursuit of the world’s most bizarre hotels. For travelers who are tired of staying in typical, traditional hotels – the kind with large lobbies and hundreds of identical rooms – Cheapflights.com suggests checking into the alternatives uncovered in its list of Top 10 Quirky Hotels. Some are different in their concept, while others in their construction. Either way, in addition to your trip, your hotel stay will definitely be an adventure in itself.

Below are five eccentric hotels from the list that represent creative conversions and construction concepts that will indeed peak your interest and offer great stories to take back home with you.

Liberty Hotel - If you’re going to spend a night – or more – in jail, this is the place to serve your time. Acting as the Charles Street Jail in Boston starting in the mid-1850s, the Liberty Hotel at the foot of historic Beacon Hill was extensively renovated and opened in 2007. Sporting an ultra-stylish interior design, Italian restaurant and upscale lounge, the present-day hotel makes it hard to imagine it as a home for hardened criminals. Along with extensive in-room amenities boasting stunning views of downtown Boston, the Liberty hosts nightly events like fashion shows and parties.

Hotel de Glace - Even though it’s built from snow and ice, Hotel de Glace in Quebec remains a red-hot place to stay. Completely rebuilt each winter, the hotel has 36 rooms and suites and is the only ice hotel in the Americas. It also boasts the famous Ice Bar, a perfect spot to warm up, where even the drink glasses are made from ice. More than 85,000 visitors take tours of the frozen accommodations each year, and 4,000 stay overnight. Guests get to choose from a wide array of winter activities including dog-sledding, snowshoeing, ice-skating and cross-country skiing. Our one piece of advice: bring gloves!

Kennedy School - You won’t mind staying after school at the Kennedy School hotel in Portland, Oregon. A former neighborhood elementary school, the Kennedy was transformed into a luxurious and funky hotel, with guest rooms in former classrooms – complete with school-related décor like blackboards and coatrooms. After-school features include a restaurant, multiple bars, a brewery and a movie theater. Set in an up-and-coming residential neighborhood, the Kennedy draws locals and visitors alike.

Desert Cave Hotel - As the world’s only internationally rated underground hotel, Desert Cave Hotel in Coober Pedy is an exciting change for surface-dwellers. Set in an opal-rich region of the Outback, the hotel is hewn from sandstone and stays cool and dry, and the luxurious rooms are perfect to return to after a long day exploring the scorching and beautiful surroundings. You’ll feel snugger than a baby kangaroo in its pouch when you turn in for the night under down under.

Jumbo Hostel - Jumbo Hostel gives a whole new meaning to sleeping on a plane, and you don’t need a ticket or to take off your shoes to board. A decommissioned 1976 Boeing 747 has been converted into a 27-room hostel on the grounds of Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport. Completely rebuilt from the inside, Jumbo Hostel has “passenger” rooms in the cockpit and cabins, a bar and café, and a first-class lounge-turned-conference room that holds up to eight people – the next best thing to having your own 747.

The remaining quirky hotels to make the list all have themes that are so out of the ordinary, you have to see it to believe it. These include the dog-themed Dog Park Bark Inn in Idaho; the library-themed Library Hotel in New York City; the whimsical cottage retreat Winvian in Connecticut; the 1950s-themed Rendezvous in Palm Springs and the futuristic Qbic Hotel in Amsterdam. (We also included a bonus 11th hotel, the auto-geared V8 Hotel in Stuttgart, Germany, as it was too fun to leave out.)