Forget cookie-cutter hotels – how about booking a stay in a former prison for your next vacation? Or a disused railway carriage? Or a giant potato? All of these wacky experiences and more are available in the US, so if you’re looking for a hotel, motel or Airbnb with a difference, you’ve come to the right place.
Click through the gallery for our selection of the most unusual stay in every state and DC...
Literary fans will relish the chance to sleep in the former home of The Great Gatsby author F. Scott Fitzgerald. The two-bedroom apartment, where the writer lived between 1931-32 with his wife Zelda, is attached to the Scott & Zelda Fitzgerald Museum, with two suites available to rent individually via Airbnb. Both the Scott and Zelda suites are filled with art, including portraits of the famous couple, and are rich in opulent detail evocative of the Jazz Age.
Billed as the largest, deepest, and darkest motel room in the world, the Underground Cave Suite is not for the faint-hearted. It’s tucked almost 220 feet (67m) below the Grand Canyon and is surprisingly luxurious, with a flatscreen TV, library of old books and magazines, record player and comfy sofas – all contained within walls that are around 65 million years old. There are rooms available above ground too, though this one is definitely the most fun.
Check out America's underground attractions you didn't know existed
Anyone who’s ever fancied living like a billionaire, or perhaps a Bond villain, will relish a stay in this underground hideout, sleeping up to 12 with four bedrooms. Beckham Creek Cave takes seclusion to a new level. The rental is tucked into a natural cavern in the Ozark Mountains in northwest Arkansas, with incredible views over the valley. The inside is pretty easy on the eyes, too, with stylish, comfy furniture dotted within the curves of the cave.
The cabins at Glen Oaks are the stuff that dreams are made of. That is, if you like the idea of sleeping in rustic-chic luxury and with all the gorgeousness of California’s Big Sur coast right outside the door. The best cabins are tucked among the towering redwood trees and some of them have outdoor bathtubs where you can lie back and gaze up at the tree canopies and star-filled sky. Added touches like high-quality coffee, handcrafted wooden furniture, a refrigerator stocked with local wines and outdoor fire pits make it difficult to leave.
This one’s pretty out there – and, according to owner Judy Messoline and the many believers who make a pilgrimage to the site, they’re out there too. This is the world’s first UFO Watchtower and people can book to camp by it in the San Luis Valley desert. There’s a UFO-themed garden and a small museum too, and come nighttime there’s very little light pollution, which makes it perfect for spotting spaceships.
On the surface, Winvian Farm, near the town of Morris, looks pretty normal. Lush forest setting? Check. Indulgent spa with pool? Check. Luxurious log cabins? Check. Fully restored 1968 Sikorsky Sea King Pelican HH3F helicopter? Check! Guests staying in the Helicopter Cottage will find this unusual piece of ‘furniture’ parked in the middle of the bedroom. It isn’t just for decoration, though – the helicopter is kitted out with a bar, comfy seats, a wood-burning stove and flatscreen TV.
First built in 1783, and rebuilt in 1891 in Steamboat Gothic style – taking inspiration from steamboats on the nearby Mispillion River – this Milford B&B is the perfect place for a quirky stay. It's just as decadent and over-the-top inside too. Communal areas are furnished with ornate floor-to-ceiling wooden paneling, stained-glass windows, and there's even a grand piano if you fancy playing a tune. Rooms are simple yet comfortable with a few period details, such as an 18th-century headboard in the Rapunzel Suite, adding to the fairy-tale feel.
Mansion on O Street is unlike any other hotel in the US, and possibly the world. Part museum, part music venue, and part lavish hotel, the building represents a lifetime of collecting and curating by owner H. H. Leonards. The building has more than 100 rooms and 70 secret doors, allowing guests to get lost in an eclectic mountain of memorabilia, artwork, and experimental design. It's played host to plenty of revolutionaries in its time, too, from leaders of the student protest movement in the 1960s to Rosa Parks, for whom the mansion was a home-away-from-home between 1994 and 2003.
This quirky rental property is a replica of Thomas Point Shoal Light, on Chesapeake Bay in Maryland – here transported to a sandy beach on Amelia Island. The two-story interior, with floors linked by a spiral staircase, packs in three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large kitchen, dining room, and living room. But guests will probably want to spend most of their stay sitting on the wraparound deck, which juts right over the sand.
Fancy sleeping in a wine barrel? In addition to RV and tent camping and a lodge, Unicoi State Park in the North Georgia Mountains is home to a string of retired wine barrels that have been repurposed into cozy rooms with kitchens and porches that jut into the forest. There’s a lake with fishing, canoeing, and swimming beaches right outside, along with a network of hiking trails. Guests can also take the scenic three-mile (5km) walk to the pretty village of Helen.
This secluded bamboo tree house sits 15 feet (4.5m) above the tropical rainforest floor of Fern Forest, only 10 miles (16km) from Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Everything about this off-the-ground getaway is eco-friendly and sure to make guests feel at one with nature. There are still plenty of surprises within what looks like basic accommodation from the outside: a handmade bamboo chandelier, port-hole bathroom windows, a rock sink, and a platform bed.
Where else could you sleep in a giant potato but Idaho? This six-ton spud spent seven years on the road as part of the Idaho Potato Commission’s Big Idaho Potato Tour around the US. It’s now retired and lives on a 400-acre farm near downtown Boise, having been beautifully restored into a one-bedroom retreat. The interior, with whitewashed walls, plants, and chic pink furniture, is an elegant surprise – as is the gorgeous outdoor bathroom housed in a converted silo.
School trips have never been so luxurious. This repurposed school bus has been transformed into a cute and cozy retreat with a double bed at the back plus a kitchenette and sofa. It’s solar-powered with an outhouse, a (cold water) outdoor shower and a fire pit. The best thing about it, though, is the setting. The bus is parked on Interwoven Permaculture Farm in the heart of Shawnee National Forest, overlooking a tranquil lake.
If you're after a hideout with history, look no further. Celebrated music composer Cole Porter, best known for writing the musical Kiss Me, Kate, was born in this Victorian building in 1891 and spent his early years here. Cole Porter Inn, in the town of Peru, is now a hotel with just four suites. There’s the Cole Porter Suite, including the room where the musician was born, and the Anything Goes suite, which combines timeless decor with fun touches such as a hand-painted skyline mural on the wall and piano keys set into the floor.
Get a fascinating insight into an intriguing way of life at the Zuber’s Homestead Hotel in Homestead, one of seven historic villages in the Amana Colonies. The colonies were built in the 1850s by German religious exiles who lived in entirely self-sufficient communities for 80 years. The interior is classic and beautifully cozy, with huge comfy beds, and warm textiles.
Located just outside Lawrence, Circle S Ranch is an expansive rural ranch offering outdoor activities including horseback riding, hiking, fishing, and hayrides. Guests can toast s’mores on an open bonfire, watch bison grazing the land or just explore the gorgeous grounds. The rooms themselves are individually decorated in different themes, including the Cowboy Room – with a canopy bed and bucket for a shower head – and the pretty Floral Room.
Fans of modern art will love 21c Museum Hotel in downtown Louisville. Guests get to spend a night (or several) at the museum, sleeping surrounded by contemporary artworks. There are 91 rooms and suites, though arguably the best is the 500 square foot (46sqm) Asleep in the Cyclone suite, where visitors can stay inside an immersive and colorful installation created by artists Jonah Freeman and Justin Lowe.
If you're after a hip and quirky place to stay in New Orleans, Hotel Peter & Paul certainly gives the rest of the city's hotels a run for their money. Housed in an old church in the less-explored Marigny District, the hotel, which opened in 2019, has rooms spread across the old schoolhouse, rectory, and convent. Guests can sleep in beds tucked on mezzanine floors with tall church windows, or opt for more luxurious suites with four-poster beds and limestone bathtubs, plus cute gingham decor throughout.
Maine is famous for its coastline dotted with lighthouses of every size, shape, and color, though there are few you can actually sleep in. Little River Lighthouse, at the entrance to Cutler Harbor, is one of those rare beauties: guests can book the keeper’s house between June and September. The interior of the 1888 house has been nicely restored with three bedrooms (available to book individually), shared bathrooms and a bright white kitchen. You can also ascend the lighthouse itself for gorgeous views across the bay.
Welcome to Middle Earth – in Maryland. All accommodation at the Treehouse Camp fits firmly into the unusual category (it’s mostly, as the name suggests, tree houses), but the Hobbit House is the quirkiest of all. From the circular door and thatched porch to the cozy interior with a wood-burning stove and locally crafted furniture, it would suit Bilbo Baggins and co perfectly, and it’s a pretty enchanting place for mere mortals to stay in too.
What if you could get a taste of life on the high seas without actually sailing at all? The floating hotel rooms of Bed and Breakfast Afloat are just the thing. Moored on Boston’s Constitution Marina, with luxury options including a 40-foot (12m) yacht, a sailboat, and a houseboat, most of which have private decks, it's the perfect alternative base when visiting the historic New England city.
Perched on the edge of Lake Superior, Rock Harbor Lodge's best rooms, cabins and cottages are those with balconies overlooking the water. The inside is cozy and classically decorated, with wood paneling and chairs facing the windows to make the most of the views. And it’s really the location that makes this so special: Isle Royale National Park is a car-free archipelago with densely forested trails, kayaking on lakes and canals, and endless opportunities for blissful solitude. The lodge is open June through September.
Built by a timber baron in 1910 and once a popular stop for tradespeople, fishing crews and lumberjacks, Kettle Falls Hotel offers a rare chance to sleep in luxury within a national park. The hotel in Voyageurs National Park is close to the Canadian border and reachable only by boat or seaplane, which just adds to the adventure. Its original saloon is famous for its sloped wooden floor, still pockmarked from the loggers’ hobnail boots.
The Tallahatchie Flats, on the banks of the Mississippi River, are six pieces of history people can spend the night in. The small farmhouses were salvaged from nearby cotton plantations and repurposed as individual cabins with comfy bedrooms, bathrooms, small kitchens, and porches. It’s a popular stop for people traveling the Blues Highway, with legendary blues guitarist Robert Johnson rumored to have died in one of the cottages.
Boots Court Motel, built in 1949, is a handsome Art Deco building that offers the quintessential motel experience along America's most iconic highway, Route 66. It was revived in 2012 after a 20-year closure, preserving history that includes stellar guests such as actor Clark Gable, who stayed here in the 1940s. The motel really comes to life at night, when neon green lighting makes it super-visible from the highway.
The clue’s in the name at Howlers Inn, which has some beguiling long-term residents. The B&B, on the edge of Yellowstone National Park, is also a wolf sanctuary providing a home to captive-bred wolves that can’t be released into the wild, and guests can book guided tours to learn more about the charming canids. The rooms in the traditional timber lodge are also lovely, with plumped-up beds, homely decor, and wooden furniture. There’s also a sauna and hot tub, so you can relax while surrounded by unparalleled natural beauty.
This luxury cruise boat and floating B&B is moored by the banks of the Missouri River and has 18 bright and breezy rooms. It’s a short stroll from the charming village of Brownville, with locally owned boutiques, galleries, and museums. Or you can just relax on the deck, taking in the gloriously green surroundings. The B&B itself doesn’t go anywhere, though its sister boat, the Spirit of Brownville, takes guests on dinner cruises along the river on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
The historic mining town of Tonopah in the Nevada desert is home to one of America’s most brilliantly bizarre motels. Or, depending on your point of view, one of the most terrifying. The Clown Motel is packed with thousands of clown dolls, stuffed animals, and other creepy paraphernalia. It’s also close to a cemetery where many miners who died in the Tonopah-Belmont Mine Fire of 1911 are buried. So, perhaps not one for the faint-hearted.
Featuring 19 unashamedly kitsch rooms in different themes, New Hampshire's Adventure Suites allow you to live out an adventure through your hotel room – whether that's staying in a haunted castle or living in an ancient Roman kingdom. They’re all so brilliantly bold and bizarre, guests can have a hard time choosing. Favorites include the Love Shack, an Austin Powers-worthy suite with a two-person hot tub and a disco ball, and the Dragon’s Lair (pictured), with a circular bed suspended from the mouth of a fire-breathing dragon.
Summer Nites is a fun 1950s-inspired B&B on the Jersey Shore in the Wildwoods, an area known for its strip of retro ‘Doo Wop’ motels. Guests can choose from several retro-themed suites, such as the Marilyn Room and the ever-popular Elvis Suite (pictured). There’s also a unique boxcar diner complete with a vintage jukebox, neon lighting, and red-and-white booths.
Fancy a hotel that's totally off-grid? Look no further than New Mexico's Earthships, dotted around the Sangre de Cristo mountains. These sustainable vacation homes, which look like unique sculptures, are built with natural and reclaimed materials and designed to be entirely self-sufficient. Meanwhile the on-site greenhouse is a jungle right in the heart of the desert, teeming with life including grape vines, banana trees, a fishpond, and tropical birds. Phoenix Earthship, sleeping six, is one of the incredible structures that can be rented for overnight or weekly stays.
The Jane Hotel, in New York’s Meatpacking District, provided shelter to survivors from the Titanic. Built in 1908 as a home for the American Seamen’s Friend Society, it was designed by William A. Boring, the architect behind Ellis Island’s immigrant station. Thanks to its tiny rooms, The Jane is a relatively inexpensive but wonderfully quirky base for those visiting the Big Apple. The interiors are gloriously vintage, the lounge’s fireplace is almost big enough to stand in and the rooftop terrace bar is particularly plush.
The luxury Mongolian tents at Sky Ridge Yurts are perched on a ridge line in the Great Smoky Mountains, offering gorgeous panoramas across the gray-blue peaks and verdant valleys. There’s no compromising on comfort, either, as the cozy yurts come with huge beds, full kitchens, and walk-in showers, plus outdoor fire pits and decks jutting towards those views. There are different-sized yurts which sleep between three and six guests, plus there's a fully kitted-out woodland cabin if glamping isn't your thing.
Pipestem Creek, near Jamestown, is a working, family-run grain farm in the heart of North Dakota’s birding haven. Two on-site granaries have been beautifully restored as lodgings, while the Bird’s Nest Cabin is a cute hideaway for two – and all accommodation options come with a complimentary birding map. Birding is a lifelong passion of Pipestem's owner, Ann Reimers Hoffert, who hosts a Potholes & Prairie Birding Festival each June. Guests are likely to spot birds including the sprague’s pipit and the chestnut-collared longspur around the grounds.
For a former prison, the Old Vermilion Jailhouse is surprisingly charming – and we’re guessing a lot more luxurious than it used to be. The jailhouse was converted into a private inn in 2003 and is rented on an exclusive basis, sleeping up to four in cells repurposed as bedrooms. One cell has also been made into an ornate bathroom. The 1910 building was a library and then a police station before becoming the town’s jailhouse.
This quirky little slice of Americana transports guests back to a time when poodle skirts and greasers were all the rage. Happy Days Hotel has an outdoor pool and a delightfully retro diner where visitors can eat steak and burgers surrounded by 1950s memorabilia and watched by cut-outs of Elvis Presley and James Dean. The theme spills into the rooms, too, with bold colors and quirky touches like a Lucille Ball shower curtain.
Housed in an urban lot in Portland’s vibrant Alberta Arts District, this tiny house hotel is a colorful collection of small but perfectly formed trailer homes. The beautifully handcrafted spaces squeeze in loft beds, bathrooms, and even kitchens. Ranging in size from 120 to 170 square feet (11-16sqm), each of the cabins is individually designed and has its own unique stamp. The Pacifica caravan, which was added to the site in 2016, was created by renowned tiny house builder Zyl Vardos and includes an undulating roof designed to resemble waves, a bespoke stained-glass window, and a Talavera-tile sink area.
Spend the night on the tracks at the Red Caboose Motel, where 38 caboose railroad cars have been converted into cute, individual cabins. Choose from either one of the family cabooses, which sleep up to six, or couples cabooses, the most luxurious of which includes a whirlpool bath and outdoor deck. There are also domed or bay windows so guests can gaze out and pretend they’re on a glamorous journey. There's plenty to do outside the cabins too, from authentic Amish buggy rides to watching movies in the Train Barn, or taking a hike along the nearby 9.6-mile (15.4km) Oil Creek State Park trail.
Spending a night in jail has never been more delightful (we assume). The Jailhouse Inn occupies Newport’s old prison and police station, built in 1772. Now small, hard beds and metal bars have been replaced with plush furnishings and soft, neutral decor throughout its 23 rooms. Guests are also free to come and go as they please, making it easy to explore the nearby attractions of downtown Newport. Breakfast is included too – no gruel or slop in sight.
Sleeping in a tree house should probably be novel enough. Carolina Heritage Outfitters adds to the delight by taking guests on a guided canoe trip to reach their hotel rooms, perched on stilts above the riverbank. There are three tree houses, each with a sleeping loft, dining deck, rope hammock and tiny kitchen, while bathrooms are down on the ground. It’s a bring-your-own food situation, though rechargeable lanterns, drinking water, and games are provided, as are the canoes to get there (and return the next day).
Deadwood was an infamous vice and gambling town after the 1870s Gold Rush, when the likes of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane roamed the streets. Martin Mason Hotel, with its antique furnishings, luxurious textiles, and original 1898 ballroom, evokes the atmosphere of the town in its 19th-century heyday. There’s also a casino where guests can really get into the Gold Rush spirit, plus popular breakfast spot Lee Street Station Cafe attached.
Standing on a bend of the Tennessee River Gorge, Pot Point Cabin was built in 1835 from logs and planks salvaged from a flat boat wrecked in nearby rapids. Not that you’d ever guess – the rental property is stunning inside and out. It’s since been renovated again with floor-to-ceiling windows that make the most of river views, plus three bedrooms (sleeping up to 10 in total) and two generous outdoor decks. There’s also a self-guided nature trail nearby, and chances are guests won’t see another soul during their stay.
Few lodgings can compete with Goodnight Cabin at Palo Duro Canyon when it comes to views. It’s one of a handful of cabins in Palo Duro Canyon State Park, and was hewn from the rock on the edge of the canyon’s lip as part of a conservation labor project by Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930s. It’s both delightfully isolated, with access to the park’s hiking, biking, and horseback riding trails, and well-equipped, with a bathroom, indoor fireplace and a deck with a BBQ overlooking the vast expanse of red and gray rock.
Locations don’t come much more inspiring than this. Ofland Escalante (formerly Yonder Escalante) is a luxury trailer park with vintage Airstream cabins dotted around the site of a former drive-in movie theater, situated within Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and close to Bryce Canyon National Park. Special touches including outdoor showers, a nightly bonfire with s’mores and open-air film screenings really make the most of the incredible surroundings.
There are only four bedrooms in this cute and quirky inn and each is beautifully decadent, stuffed with locally made furniture and bold artworks. Made INN Vermont describes itself as a ‘living museum,’ though the emphasis is very much on the living. The inn was built in 1881 and has been revitalized with modern touches while maintaining some of its period details, including Victorian windows, 1960s tulip chairs, and restored antique chandeliers. Stays include cooked-to-order breakfasts and complimentary, locally-made snacks in the room.
There are just three perfectly positioned cabins on the gorgeous grounds of Rose River Farm. The cabins are designed in the style of Mongolian yurts but constructed with cedar, glass, and steel for a more modern feel. They’re huge inside – more like large apartments – with two bedrooms and two bathrooms. But the main draw here is the great outdoors. This is a popular fishing spot, with a pond stocked with bass and trout, while the cabins open up to spectacular views of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Rose River Valley.
The seven cozy tree houses at this serene retreat, just half an hour from Seattle, are tucked amid cedar and towering Douglas fir trees, with birdsong and the Raging River below providing a soothing soundtrack to your stay. Breakfast is provided and there are several restaurants within driving distance, though it’s recommended that guests pick up some picnic provisions to enjoy eating alfresco too.
This is certainly one to avoid if you're afraid of heights. Thorny Mountain Fire Tower, available for stays between April through October, sits on a 65-foot-high (20m) perch gazing across Seneca State Forest and, at night, up to dark skies dense with stars. With no electricity or wifi, this is about getting back to basics and soaking up the spectacular forest, mountain, and valley views. Three flights of stairs lead to the bedroom, while there’s an outhouse and fire ring at the base.
Made with reclaimed glass walls and a recycled tin roof, the Glass House at Candlewood Cabins is a glorious woodland retreat. One of a handful of upscale cabins on the site, the Glass House is tucked among the rolling hills of Richmond County with fishing, birding, and hiking a short distance from the door. The interior is stylishly decorated and wonderfully cozy, with a bath and kitchenette accessed via a footbridge.
This iconic Wild West–style hotel, just outside Yellowstone National Park, was opened by William ‘Buffalo Bill’ Cody in 1902. The Civil War soldier named the place after his daughter, and guests can stay in his personal suite. The highlight, though, must be the restaurant’s beautiful cherrywood bar – a gift from Queen Victoria when she came to visit. Guests can sit here or take a pew on the porch, which is where Bill and Irma used to watch the Cody Gunfighters Show.