To enhance your travel experience, you can choose a hotel with a unique design and non-standard concept. Sometimes they can even outshine nearby tourist attractions! Look at the starry sky through a glass roof, spend the night in a medieval castle or surrounded by museum exhibits? We have selected 7 unusual hotels that can surprise even the most sophisticated travelers.
16th century castle surrounded by a garden
Where is: Sochi city, Kurortny Prospekt, 72/7.
The four-star boutique hotel Villa Anna can be seen from afar. Its architecture is not similar to the neighboring buildings, because it is a real medieval knight’s castle. And it’s not so important that this is not an ancient fortress of past centuries, but a remake, built in 2004. In a 7-story elegant mansion on the Black Sea coast, guests are greeted at the entrance by knights in armor, and the rooms are stylized to the Middle Ages: forged lamps and carved furniture.
The territory of the boutique hotel borders the Arboretum Park, where trees, shrubs and flowers from different parts of the world are collected. “Villa Anna” is located on the second coastline from the Black Sea, just 500 m from the beach. Within walking distance from the hotel are the Sochi Circus, theaters and museums, a sailing center and a health path – a 4.5 km long health walking path for leisurely walks.
How to get there: by plane to Sochi International Airport in Adler. The hotel is located 300 m from the public transport stop “Circus”, which is served by buses No. 105a, No. 105c from the airport (about an hour on the road) and routes No. 12, No. 43 from the railway station (the journey takes about 20 minutes).
Seven upside-down houses
Where is: Moscow city, Mikhailovo-Yartsevskoye village, Luzhki village, Solnechny Gorod-2 microdistrict, 2.
In the four-star Latchi country club you will not find banal buildings or boring cottages. 7 upside-down houses were built on the territory, named after heroes of fairy tales and literary works, for example, “Gorgon”, “Kikimora” and “Shapoklyak”. The other part of the hotel rooms is located in seven main buildings, but they also have non-standard shapes in the form of a steam locomotive or a large flower. The facades of many buildings are decorated with interesting and comical architectural elements that surprise not only children, but also adults.
The hotel has everything for relaxation and entertainment – a bath complex with swimming pools, plunge pools and spa treatments, several restaurants, fields for playing football, volleyball and basketball, playgrounds, a rope park, laser tag, gazebos on the shore of the pond and walking paths. In winter, the ice skating rink and tubing slide open.
How to get there:The country club is located 35 km from Moscow along the Kyiv highway. By car you need to cross the Moscow Small Ring and move towards Podolsk. From Moscow you can take bus No. 514 from the Olkhovaya metro station to the Yartsevo stop.
Museum rooms of the Peter the Great era
Where is: city of St. Petersburg, Universitetskaya embankment, 21.
The five-star Trezzini Palace hotel in the historical center of the Northern capital is named after one of the main architects of St. Petersburg – Domenico Trezzini. The luxurious hotel rooms are located in the building of an architectural monument of the 18th century, which was built by order of Peter I. The interior of the palace resembles a real museum, where guests live surrounded by antique furniture, marble columns and various interior items of the Peter the Great Baroque style. Each room is thought out to the smallest detail and has its own exclusive design.
Within walking distance from the Trezzini Palace on Vasilyevsky Island are the University Embankment on the banks of the Bolshaya Neva, the Academic and Rumyantsev Gardens, the Spice Museum, the mysterious Court of Spirits, St. Andrew’s Cathedral and the Menshikov Palace.
How to get there:by plane to Pulkovo International Airport or by train to one of five railway stations. The hotel is located two blocks from the Vasileostrovskaya metro station and a five-minute walk from the Universitetskaya Naberezhnaya public transport stop.
Panorama of Lake Ladoga
Where is: Leningrad region, city of Priozersk, st. Zaozernaya, section 12.
The three-star design hotel “Point on the Map of Priozersk” is located on Cape Mayachny in Northern Ladoga. Each hotel room is a cozy wooden box module with a separate entrance and panoramic glazing to comfortably admire nature. Just a few minutes walk from the eco-lodges is the sandy shore of Lake Ladoga, the mouth of the Vuoksa River and a pine forest. The hotel’s restaurant serves Nordic cuisine. Try the Karelian fish soup, and for dessert, pine creme brulee with lavender cookies.
The boutique hotel is conveniently located near the main attractions of the Northern Ladoga region. You can go on a mini-trip to the island of Valaam, walk around the territory of the medieval fortress of Korela, or explore the rocky islands of the Ladoga skerries, which are often compared to the Norwegian fjords.
How to get there: from the Finlyandsky railway station in St. Petersburg to the Priozersk railway station you can take an electric train or the Lastochka express train. The journey from Priozersk railway station to the hotel takes about 15 minutes by taxi.
Dome houses in the middle of Bashkir nature
Where is: Republic of Bashkortostan, Nurimanovsky district, Staroisaevo village, before reaching the village of Ishmuratovo.
Park Hotel “Quiet Coast” is located surrounded by wild Bashkir nature. Here you can stay in one of the rooms in a large domed building overlooking the lake and blue sky. And if you are lucky with the weather, then in the dark, watch the stars right from your bed. The interior of the houses is ideally combined with nature – the decoration is made of natural unpainted wood, beams and ceilings are visible. Large groups can stay in two-story houses (“Lake View Chalet” and Shy House) with their own bathhouse, sauna and swimming pool on the street near the lake shore.
The territory of the park hotel occupies 35 hectares, surrounded only by dense wild forest and lakes. But if you decide to spend a mini-vacation here, the hotel offers many leisure options. For example, swimming in a Furaco barrel with heated water in the open air, horse riding (the hotel has its own stable), visiting a restaurant and karaoke bar, crossbow shooting, bicycle rental and fishing. Local lakes are home to carp, trout, silver carp and grass carp. In winter, an ice skating rink and trails for snowmobiling, skiing and cheesecake are opened.
How to get there: by plane to Ufa International Airport. The distance from the city to the park hotel is 80 km along the M5 highway towards the south of the Nurimanovsky district.
One hotel and four cities
Where is: city of St. Petersburg, embankment of the Pryazhka River, 30.
The four-star Red Stars Hotel is an innovative project with a unique design, located on the embankment of the Pryazhka River a few steps from the Mariinsky Theater. By staying at the hotel, you will definitely receive a charge of energy and drive, even though from the street this building looks typical of urban development. Inside you will find real street art and a riot of colors – the hotel’s interiors in rich red colors were decorated by the best street artists of Russia. The walls of each of the four floors of the hotel are painted with graffiti, and the theme reflects the culture of the world’s capitals: Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, London and New York. For complete immersion in the atmosphere of megacities, media installations are installed on the floors. The overall design concept in rich red tones continues in the rooms, restaurant and bar.
The hotel is located in the historical part of St. Petersburg, and many attractions can be reached on foot. Visit the Yusupov Palace on the Moika and the Jaani Kirik Concert Hall, stroll around the beautiful buildings of the Great Choral Synagogue and the St. Nicholas Cathedral.
How to get there: by plane to Pulkovo International Airport or by train to one of the five railway stations. There are no metro stations near the hotel, and the nearest one, Admiralteyskaya, takes about 30 minutes to walk. Alternatively, take buses No. 2 or No. 22 from the metro to the English Prospekt public transport stop, and from there it’s just a two-minute walk to the Red Stars Hotel.
Boutique hotel in the rock
Where is: Anapa city, Mayakovskogo street, 2B.
The five-star boutique hotel “Utyosov” is integrated into the surrounding landscape and seems to grow out of the rock. From the sea, it seems that the building has only one floor, and its base is recessed into the mountain range. In addition to 29 designer rooms, Utesovo has a modern spa complex, a beautiful lounge area with hookahs, a sauna, a fitness room, a grill bar and a restaurant. In the latter, by the way, you will hardly find banal dishes; gazpacho and minestrone are served for lunch, and jamon with melon and Black Sea rapana are served for an appetizer. Spacious rooms with panoramic views of the Black Sea have a choice of cozy balconies or terraces with jacuzzi.
Behind the territory of the boutique hotel, in the opposite direction from the sea, there is the Walnut Grove park. Its pride is the largest rose garden in Anapa, as well as a variety of coniferous and deciduous trees. Walking along the Black Sea embankment, reach a local landmark – 300 steps that lead from the seashore to the city up a steep cliff.
How to get there: The nearest airport is located in Sochi, from where Lastochka departs to Anapa daily on schedule. The second option is by train, for example, “Moscow – Anapa” to the local railway station. From there, the journey by taxi takes about 20 minutes, and by public transport it takes about an hour (the fastest way is by minibus No. 100 from the Anapa Station stop to Mayakovskogo Street).
