Page 58 - Exercise 1B

Page 58 - Exercise 1B

Unusual Hotels

1) Over 30,000 tonnes of snow and nearly 2,000 tonnes of ice are used to build the ICEHOTEL in Jukkasjarvi, Sweden. The ice is made with water from the RiverTorne. There’s an ice cinema and an ice bar, and almost everything in the bedrooms is made of ice - chairs, tables, even the beds. You sleep in a sleeping bag on reindeer skins. In the morning you can take a sauna or jump into the hot bath outside. The temperature inside the hotel never rises above minus 4°C, but snow suits, boots and gloves are provided. In May, the hotel melts, so it must be rebuilt every year.

Prices are from €600 per double room per night.

2) If you want a room with an unforgettable view, you won’t do better than The Tree Houses in Kerala. India. The two tree houses have been built in the middle of a rainforest, thirty metres above the ground.

To reach then’, you either tiave to walk along a high mpe bridge, or you can oe pulled up on a rope. From the hotel you can look out over the ra nforest and watch the beautiful birds flying past. Both tree houses have got a sitting room, a bedroom and a shower. Ine larger house has got two double bedrooms. Ore mght costs from €150.

3) Lots of people like to stay in a hotel near the sea, but what about a hotel that’s actually in the sea? The Poseidon Mystery Island resort in Fiji has got twenty-five suites that are twelve metres under the surface of the Pacific Ocean. Seventy per cent of each room is covered in clear acrylic, so you can watch fish swimming past.The fish can be fed by pushing a button. Guests are taken down to the underwater rooms by elevator. There’s also a library, a theatre and a wedding chapel down there. One week at the resort, including two nights in an underwater room, costs €22,000 for a suite.

4) Would you like to spend a few nights in prison? You can in Mount Gambier, South Australia, where the local jail has been converted into a hotel. This isn’t a luxury hotel. It’s very popular with young backpackers, couples and families.

Guests sleep in the old prison cells and meals can be eaten at long tables in the dining hall. You can play football and cricket in the yard. You can also visit the volcano at Mount Schank. Or why not try sandboarding? It’s like snowboarding on sand. Rooms cost between €28 and €30 a night.

5) Even when it’s snowing outside you can have a tropical experience at the Tropical Islands Resort in Krausnick, Germany. The resort is built inside a hangar that was originally used for airships and is the biggest free­ standing hall in the world. The 66,000 square metres contain the world’s largest indoor tropical rainforest, with 50,000 plants and a village where you can see copies of traditional buildings from Thailand, Borneo, Samoa and Bali. You can relax on the beach and swim in the warm water of the lagoon. Or why not try the water slide? It’s 27 metres high! Guests can stay in a lodge for €210 a night, or in a tent in the rainforest camp for €138 a night.