10 Adventurous Digs That Totally Beat A Hotel Room

Make your next trip something truly out of the ordinary with our roundup of offbeat travel accommodations, including tepees in Texas and tree houses in Sweden.
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By Hannah Martin for Architectural Digest.

Make your next trip something truly out of the ordinary with our roundup of offbeat travel accommodations, including tepees in Texas and tree houses in Sweden.

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(photo: Nick Simonite)

El Cosmico, a quirky campground in the desert of Marfa, Texas, offers a choice of eccentric accommodations. The Sioux-style tepees--22 feet in diameter--are far more luxurious than your typical tent, with brick floors, heated queen-size beds, and a cheerfully furnished sitting area. From $150/night; elcosmico.com.

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(photo: Nick Simonite)

Looking for a different desert vibe? Channel Breaking Bad with retro trailer rentals, also at El Cosmico, with everything-you-could-think-of amenities, down to locally made shampoo and snacks. From $120/night; elcosmico.com.

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(photo: Peter Lundstrom)

Sweden's Treehotel comprises a series of funky tree houses in the forests of Harads. The candy-red façade of the birch-clad Blue Cone (pictured) pops from the surrounding woods. The guesthouse, created by the architecture firm SandellSandberg, is accessible only by bridge from a nearby mountain.

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(photo: Peter Lundstrom)

Experience a new kind of bird's-eye view from Treehotel's Bird's Nest, designed by the firm Inredningsgruppen, where guests can roost within a structure of branches and twigs. The sleek interior, featuring porthole windows and wood paneling, is a stark contrast to the rustic exterior. Pack light--the only entrance is a long, retractable ladder. From $4,000/night; treehotel.se.

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(photo: 4 Rivers Floating Lodge)

Accessible only by boat, the eco-friendly 4 Rivers Floating Lodge in Cambodia consists of 12 luxury tents arranged along a bend in the Tatai River, which winds through the remote Cardamom mountains. The octagonal floating structures--whose furnishings are made from the locally abundant water hyacinth--boast windows on all sides, allowing guests to take in lush views from every angle. From $220/night; ecolodges.asia.

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(photo: Cappadocia Cave Suites)

Looking to vacation Fred Flintstone-style? Cappadocia, located in central Turkey, is famed for its unusual rock formations, which were used as ancient cave dwellings. Cappadocia Cave Suites offers 36 modern rooms and suites that are built on the original foundation of a 1,000-year-old monastic complex. Architectural additions were made with hand-carved stone that blends into the historic design. From $125/night; cappadociacavesuites.com.

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(photo: EcoCamp)

Situated in Chile's Torres del Paine National Park, at the southern tip of the Andes, EcoCamp shares the landscape with Patagonian forests, glaciers, lakes, rivers, and fjords. Nature-loving guests are put up in environmentally friendly geodesic domes, which are modeled after the early dwellings of the area. From $719/three nights; ecocamp.travel.

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(photo: Benhaim)

Encuentro Guadalupe accommodations in Baja California, Mexico, were conceptualized by Encuentro Antiresorts--a group that aims to create resortlike experiences that reflect local communities. Comprising 20 stylish steel-and-glass eco-lofts perched atop the craggy terrain in the Valle de Guadalupe wine region, the hotel has an on-site winery and several kitchens that specialize in the native cuisine. From $240/night; encuentroguadalupe.com.

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(photo: Kakslauttanen Artic Resort)

Stay in a magical glass igloo, snow igloo, or log cabin at Finland's Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort, 155 miles north of the Arctic Circle. Guests can take a chilly dip in a natural spring--if it's frozen over, the staff will cut a hole for you to jump through. In the summer, the resort offers mountain biking and riverboat cruises on the Lemmenjoki river, and in the winter, guests can go cross-country skiing and dogsledding. From $78/night; kakslauttanen.fi.

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(photo: Jesper Anhede/Genberg Art Uw)

Sleep surrounded by fish and an expanse of crystal-blue sea in the underwater room at the Manta Resort, located off Pemba Island in Tanzania. The structure was created by Sweden's Genberg Underwater Hotels and features two floors made of local hardwoods and a submerged glass room that offers 360-degree views of a thriving coral reef. $1,500/night; themantaresort.com.

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