The 11 MOST Unbelievable Unique Places to Stay in Europe

I love finding accommodation that makes me want to plan an entire trip around it. Europe has plenty of beautiful hotels, but some people have taken things MUCH further, building bedrooms inside giant wine barrels, turning a harbor crane into luxury suites, and somehow deciding that a wooden Trojan horse needed a bed inside it. And these out-of-the-box accommodations are the kinds of places to stay that make me the happiest.

These unique places to stay in Europe range from a lighthouse you get all to yourself to a bedroom more than 400 meters underground. There are a couple of castles in here too, because I couldn’t possibly choose between a tower overlooking the Rhine and a medieval fortress in Spain. If you’ve seen my unique stays in the USA article, you already know how easily I get distracted by accommodation like this… so let’s get into it.

1. Treehotel, Sweden: A Mirrored Treehouse Hidden Among the Pines

Treehotel is in Harads, a small village in Swedish Lapland, where a collection of wildly different treehouses sits above the forest floor. The Mirrorcube is the one that first caught my attention: its outside reflects the surrounding pines so well that parts of the building almost disappear. You can see the trees, the sky, and then suddenly a perfect cube hanging between them. SO cool.

Inside, pale wood covers the walls, a tree trunk runs through the room, and windows frame the forest around your bed. But choosing a room here is going to take some deliberation. There’s also a UFO suspended among the trees and a room called Biosphere surrounded by hundreds of birdhouses, which takes waking up to birdsong pretty seriously.

The setting is also a huge part of the appeal, with the Lule River valley below and forest stretching around the cabins. After a day exploring Swedish Lapland, your evening might involve a book, a glass of wine, or some entertainment on your phone, such as looking up a Rocket play promo code. Personally, that huge window is going to get quite a lot of my attention.

2. ICEHOTEL, Sweden: Sleep Inside an Actual Ice Sculpture

Further north in Jukkasjärvi, ICEHOTEL turns ice from the Torne River into rooms that look like enormous frozen art installations. Sculptures rise around the beds, light glows through carved walls, and the shapes change depending on which artists have designed the suites. Some are all sweeping curves and soft blue light; others have creatures and elaborate sculptures watching over your bed. This is definitely one to spend a while choosing your room.

And yes, you actually sleep in the cold part! The ice art suites stay around 23°F (−5°C), with insulated bedding and thermal sleeping bags to keep you cozy on the raised beds. The hotel has warm rooms too, so the ice suite is the room category you want for the FULL most unique stay EVER experience.

The winter hotel is rebuilt with new designs each season, while ICEHOTEL 365 keeps its ice rooms frozen year-round. I love that the accommodation is also a changing art exhibition, with all that work going into something people can actually come and spend the night inside. A sauna and a warm drink the next morning would really complete the experience!

3. Levin Iglut, Finland: Glass Igloos with the Sky Above Your Bed

If the idea of sleeping surrounded by snow sounds dreamy, but an actual frozen bedroom is a step too far, these glass igloos are a pretty spectacular alternative. Levin Iglut sits on Utsuvaara fell near Levi in the faaaaar north Finnish Lapland, with glass roofs opening up the view over the trees and sky. The igloos are heated, and you get a proper private bathroom, so this is very much the cozy, boujie version of sleeping out under the stars.

The beds adjust so you can prop yourself up and look through those angled glass panels. In winter, the trees below are covered in snow, and if the northern lights appear, you can watch them from bed… I think that’s about as good as a bedroom ceiling gets!!

For the full splurge, the Suite Igloos have their own terraces and outdoor hot tubs overlooking the landscape. The photos make an autumn stay look pretty tempting too, with gold and orange trees below the terrace. Snow, fall colors, northern lights… choosing when to go might be harder than choosing the hotel.

4. Sextantio Le Grotte della Civita, Italy: Candlelit Caves in Matera

Matera already looks incredible from the outside, with stone houses and staircases piled across a hillside in southern Italy’s Basilicata region. At Sextantio Le Grotte della Civita, you can sleep inside the caves that form part of its historic Sassi neighborhoods. The hotel has 18 rooms, and the rock itself does most of the decorating.

Rough walls curve around the beds, candles sit in little niches, and simple wooden furniture leaves the old shapes of the rooms visible. Some have freestanding bathtubs right beneath the cave ceilings, which is exactly the combination of ancient and luxurious that I love. You get all those uneven stone textures with a very inviting place to have a soak.

Breakfast is served in a former rock-hewn church called the Cripta della Civita, and outside you have views across the gorge toward the Murgia landscape. It’s such a beautiful extension of exploring Matera itself…. after wandering all those stone lanes, you get to open the door to your own little cave for the night.For more quaint spots like this, check out my list of hidden gems in central Italy.

5. Faralda Crane Hotel, Netherlands: Three Suites Inside a Harbor Crane

There’s a huge crane standing above Amsterdam’s former NDSM shipyard, and somehow three luxury suites have been fitted inside it. Faralda is in Amsterdam Noord, across the water from the historic center, where old industrial buildings share the neighborhood with street art and creative spaces. The crane is very much still recognizable as a crane, which makes the bedrooms inside even more ridiculous… in a good way, obviously.

The three suites sit at different heights, roughly 35 to 45 meters above the ground. Inside, there’s rich fabric, bold color, big windows, and furniture you really wouldn’t expect to find halfway up a piece of industrial machinery. Outside those windows, you get water and city views framed by the crane’s steel structure.

I love how completely they committed to the interiors here. The moody colors and elaborate furniture make it feel like a proper hideaway above the harbor, and then you look down and remember what you’re staying in. For an Amsterdam trip where the accommodation is as interesting as the city, this is a VERY strong contender. If you love unique, combina a stay here with some of these unique things to do in Amsterdam.

6. Quinta da Pacheca, Portugal: A Giant Wine Barrel in a Vineyard

If your Portugal plans already involve drinking wine in the Douro Valley, you can take the theme all the way to your bedroom – literally. Quinta da Pacheca, near Lamego in northern Portugal, has enormous barrel-shaped suites sitting among the vines. Each has a circular glass front and a little terrace, with the vineyard practically at your feet. Here, you actually BECOME the wine.

These are purpose-built rooms shaped like barrels, with curved wooden walls, round beds, and their own bathrooms. The wood carries right across the ceiling, so you really do get that feeling of being tucked inside a barrel, just with considerably more space and a shower. I love the view through the round window, especially with the rows of vines stretching away outside.

The estate also has a conventional hotel, so look for the wine-barrel accommodation specifically. Wine tastings and exploring the estate can fill the afternoon, followed by a glass on your own terrace. A vineyard stay is already pretty high on my list, but the barrel bedroom really seals the deal for me.

7. Wicklow Head Lighthouse, Ireland: Six Octagonal Rooms Above the Sea

This one is an actual lighthouse tower you can stay inside, and the whole thing is yours. Wicklow Head Lighthouse stands on the coast south of Dublin, with grassy headland around its base and sea stretching out on three sides. The tall stone tower dates to 1781 and has six octagonal rooms stacked above one another, so even the shape of your accommodation is unusual.

There are two double bedrooms, a living room, and a kitchen right at the top. Reaching that kitchen involves 109 steps, which is quite a journey for your morning coffee, haha. But the thick walls, deep window recesses, and views through those arched windows make it such a beautiful place to spend a few days, almost like something out of a movie.

Irish Landmark Trust looks after the lighthouse, and the rooms have a comfortable, homey feel, with books, soft furnishings, and space to cook for yourself. I love that you can spend the day walking along the headland and then come back to this very tall little home. The sea views follow you up the stairs.

8. La Balade des Gnomes, Belgium: Stay Inside a Trojan Horse

A giant wooden Trojan horse with a bedroom inside it. A DRAWBRIDGE to get in. I honestly think this might be one of the most wonderfully bizarre unique places to stay in Europe, and it’s hiding near Durbuy in the Belgian Ardennes.

La Balade des Gnomes hotel has a collection of fantasy rooms, but Le Cheval de Troie is the one shaped like an enormous horse. The accommodation spreads over two levels, with a double bed, children’s bunks, a bath, and its own terrace and balcony. You can even look out over the Ardennes from the horse’s head, which is a sentence I was not expecting to write today.

The other rooms are pretty wild too, with twisted wood, elaborate carved details, and spaces that look like they belong in a fairy tale. The interiors pictured above are other themed rooms, so there’s a lot more to explore if the horse isn’t your first choice. Personally, I got as far as the drawbridge and was sold. Wierd? Yes. Amazing? Also yes.

9. Deep Sleep, Wales: Spend the Night 419 Meters Underground

Okay, this one requires a bit more than turning up with a suitcase. Deep Sleep is inside an abandoned slate mine beneath the mountains of Eryri, also known as Snowdonia, in North Wales… home to the highest mountain in Wales that my uncle conned me into climbing the hard way, lol. Anyway, here your bed is 419 meters underground in one of the many mines in the area, and getting there is a guided adventure through the mine, complete with a helmet and harness.

You walk up into the hills before descending past old mine workings, over bridges, and through huge underground chambers. At the bottom, there’s a little camp of four heated twin cabins and a separate double-bed Grotto, where the rock walls rise around the bed. The Grotto is the one in the photo with the red headboard and lights against the rock, and it’s absolutely my favorite.

Go Below’s overnight experience includes the guided journey, dinner, breakfast, and the climb back out the following morning. I love an adventurous stay, but this really takes the idea somewhere else entirely. Spending the night beneath an entire mountain after exploring an old mine is a pretty epic addition to a Wales trip.

10. Hotel auf Schönburg, Germany: A Castle Above the Rhine

Hotel auf Schönburg is exactly the kind of castle that makes me want to rearrange an entire trip around it. It sits above Oberwesel in Germany’s Rhine Valley, with stone towers, vineyards running down the hills, and the river curving through the landscape below. The terraces alone are enough to get my mouth watering, especially when there’s a breakfast table set up with that view!

Inside, each of the rooms have their own individual designs, with features such as canopy beds, antique-style furniture, books, and deep window recesses. Some look out over the Rhine, while others face the courtyard or gardens. The round Tower Room 22 is in a tower and has a balcony overlooking the river, which both feel like pretty convincing reasons to choose a specific room for a unique castle stay in Europe.

There’s also a castle garden and a tower museum to explore, so you can spend a good chunk of time wandering around the property itself. I particularly love how much of the experience involves looking out over the valley from different corners of the castle. It feels like what you would imagine from one of the most unique places to stay in Europe – truly hilltop with views and a lot of epic areas to explore.

11. Parador de Cardona, Spain: A Medieval Fortress on a Hilltop

I couldn’t leave this Spanish castle off the list, either. Parador de Cardona occupies part of a huge hilltop fortress in Catalonia, northwest of Barcelona, with stone walls and towers rising above the town (check out my list of unique places to stay in Barcelona here). The castle’s history stretches back to the ninth century, and the complex also includes the Romanesque church of Sant Vicenç.

The hotel has stone passageways, arched spaces, and rooms with warm colors and traditional furniture. Some room categories have four-poster beds, but the dining room might be my favorite part: its long stone vaults make even an ordinary dinner look like quite an occasion. I love that you can spend the evening inside all that medieval architecture and then simply walk upstairs to bed.

Parador de Cardona also has terraces where you can sit outside and look across the surrounding countryside. Thgis unique stay is a great excuse to explore a smaller Catalan town beyond Barcelona, especially if you’ve been wanting to add a castle stay to your Spain trip. Between this and Schönburg, I think the answer is to try both.

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Well, that’s it for unique places to stay in Europe… which one would you plan a trip around? I’m still torn between the Trojan horse, the cave bathtub, and that castle balcony above the Rhine. Let me know your favorite in the comments, or if you’ve found another wonderfully weird European stay I need to add to my list!