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The 17 Most Unusual Hotels You Have to See in the West

For a completely Instagrammable vacation, choose one of these locales where you can you sleep in a hanging orb in a rainforest of Vancouver, hang out in a fire lookout tower in Oregon, or play amidst an explosion of color in the Arizona desert

Sunset
1 /16 Photo by Tom Chudleigh of Free Spirit Spheres; written by Faith Durand

Free Spirit Spheres, Vancouver Island, BC

Meet Eryn, Eve, and Melody, three oversize orbs made from Sitka spruce and yellow cedar that dangle from conifer trees like spiders from a web in a Vancouver Island rain forest. Free Spirit Spheres’ treehouses—one of the most unusual (and sustainable) hotels in the West—sway ever so slightly in a breeze and were built for guests of the curious and ecologically minded sort. An outdoor composting toilet is a fair trade for the utter bird- singing peace that comes with hanging in a grove of cedar, fir, and maple. If you really love the orbs, you can buy one for your own backyard.
Free Spirit Spheres
   
2 /16 Photos from Rolling Huts; Written by Jaime Gross

Rolling Huts, Methow Valley, WA

Edged by a river, with views of the Cascades, are six glass-and-steel cottages that let you commune with nature, in comfort. Parked in the Methow Valley, each of the Rolling Huts is just 210 square feet, but picture windows and sunny decks make the mod space feel spacious. Sorry, you can’t really roll around in this unusual hotel; the wheels were a nifty design solution, allowing the huts to be built on land zoned for RVs. The modular living room furniture hides a secret: Separately, they’re a bench, table, and stools; pushed together, they form an extra bed.
3 /16 Post Ranch Inn

Post Ranch Inn, Big Sur, CA

The unusual hotel is a crazy-expensive, one-of-a-kind experience, but works hard for your money so you never feel nickeled-and-dimed. Ocean-facing rooms have an edge-of-the-world quality that no other Western hotel quite matches, and the sense of privacy is thrilling with a great yet mostly invisible staff and 25 buildings that melt into the hillside. Even more unique are the treehouse-esque cabins on stilts nestled in the woods. Cliffside pools and private hiking trails let you revel in Big Sur's glorious landscape at one of California's greatest coastal hotels. And in addition to free yoga classes, snacks, drinks, and breakfast, you'll save on gas, seeing as you'd be nuts to leave here during your stay.
Post Ranch Inn
   
4 /16 Photo from Padre Hotel; written by Jennifer Baldwin

Padre Hotel, Bakersfield, CA

Downtown is on the upswing, thanks partly to the swank Padre Hotel. Its cowboy motif gives a nod to the city’s ag and oil history, with unusual hotel art, like giant murals of farm animals on the ceiling in the Farmacy Cafe, and wallpaper featuring oil derricks and mustaches. There’s also a bar and grill, formal dining room, Vegas-style nightclub, and rooftop deck. Stay overnight, or just pull off I-5 for a bite.
Padre Hotel
   
5 /16 Photo by Luis Garcia

Encuentro Guadalupe, Baja, Mexico

Encuentro Guadalupe’s modular bungalows are a sleek departure from Baja’s über-resorts. Scattered across a hillside in Mexico’s Valle de Guadalupe, this unique hotel's 20 cabins sit in the heart of an upcoming wine country, where the warm, dry climate produces fascinating wines like Tempranillo. Sip one by the kiva on your private terrace, strategically placed to soak up the views. That is, when you’re not at the pool, taking a cooking class, or learning how to make your own wine.

Encuentro Guadalupe
   
6 /16 Photo and text by Thomas J. Story

Verana, Yelapa, Mexico

High above the Pacific and surrounded by leafy palms is V House, a cool lodging option at eco-swank Verana. While couples commandeer the pricier rooms, you and five friends can take over these secluded open-air trapezoids that stand on stilts on a hillside. The shared bathroom is a small price to pay for fresh-caught fish, views, and a spa. Access this paradise by boat—and a mule ride uphill if you're too lazy to walk.

Verana
   
7 /16 Photo by David Fenton; written by Jennie Nunn

Shady Dell, Bisbee, AZ

Think of Lucille Ball in The Long, Long Trailer, and you’ll get the picture of the Shady Dell—a vintage aluminum-trailer park revamped into an unusual hotel, within the equally throwback town of Bisbee. Choose among 10 fully furnished trailers, including 1959 Boles Aero (pictured), with a gold-flecked starburst pattern on its walls; and a tiki bus decked out in Polynesian fantasy. Happy hour here is like a tail-gate party, with new friends and croquet on the artificial-turf patio.

The Shady Dell
   
8 /16 Photo by Andrea Gómez; written by Rachel Levin

TreeHouse Point, Snoqualmie Valley, WA

Julia Butterfly Hill certainly didn’t have it this good: built-in cedar beds, leather reading chairs, hand-made quilts. At TreeHouse Point, 10 minutes from Snoqualmie Falls, Pete Nelson has created a treehouse utopia. Dreamy and unusual hotel features include: giant hammocks hung 18-feet-high, trails leading to a rocky riverfront beach, and a night sky filled with stars that you feel just a smidge closer to. The Temple of the Blue Moon (pictured) is accessed by a swaying bridge that shakes the house when someone walks the planks.

TreeHouse Point
   
9 /16 Photo courtesy of the U.S. Forest Service; written by Ted Katauskas

Clear Lake Butte Fire Lookout, Mt. Hood National Forest, OR

One of the world’s cheapest rooms with a (killer) view comes with a price: a four-hour uphill kick-and-glide over a groomed snowmobile trail. Destination? The historic fire lookout on Oregon’s Clear Lake Butte, one of the dozens of U.S. Forest Service fire lookouts around the West. It has a full-size bed (BYO bedding for additional guests) plus a gas range for fixing dinner, a potbelly stove for staying warm— and a 360° panorama that’ll keep you mesmerized till it’s time to turn in.

Clear Lake Butte Fire Lookout
   
10 /16 Photo by Eric Staudenmaier; written by MacKenzie Geidt

Venice Beach Eco Cottages, Venice, CA

The super-cute and cozy Venice Beach Eco Cottages have a sweet spot on a leafy street between Venice’s famous beach and the shops and restaurants along Abbot Kinney Boulevard. You'll feel right at home basking in front of the Victorian fireplace, sipping coffee at the sunlit breakfast banquette, and soaking in the red claw-foot tub at one of the most unusual hotels in the area.

Venice Beach Cottages
   
11 /16 Santa Barbara AutoCamp

Santa Barbara AutoCamp, Santa Barbara, CA

Santa Barbara AutoCamp is the latest in a crop of quirky camper hotels around the West that have all the romance of the open road, with none of the heavy towing. In other words, Santa Barbara camping, done in style. In the heart of town, where reasonably priced rooms are rare, these five mod renovated trailers are enough to make an Airstream convert out of anyone. Each comes with two beach cruisers for touring the coast like a local.

AutoCamp Santa Barbara
   
12 /16 Hicksville Trailer Palace

Hicksville Trailer Palace, Joshua Tree, CA

As far as unusual hotels go, Joshua Tree takes the cake. The Hicksville Trailer Palace has nine kitschy trailers, including one with a ’70s theme and electric fireplace. There’s also an archery range, pool, and mini-golf course. In nearby Landers, Kate’s Lazy Desert’s six vintage trailers, restored by The B-52s’ “Love Shack” video backdrop artists, are from another world, one where you live in a lava lamp.
The Hicksville Trailer Palace
   
Katy's Lazy Desert
   
13 /16 Photo from The Charlie Hotel; written by MacKenzie Geidt

The Charlie, West Hollywood, CA

Once upon a time, Charlie Chaplin lived on a compound of storybook English Tudor–style cottages surrounded by flowers and vines and even a wishing well—right in the middle of L.A. Flash forward, and now the estate is the Charlie: an unusual hotel with 14 secluded garden bungalows, from studios to fully loaded two-bedrooms, that feel both glam and gothic (in the best Norma Desmond kind of way).

The Charlie Hotel
   
14 /16 Photo from Figueroa Hotel; written by MacKenzie Geidt

Figueroa Hotel, Los Angeles, CA

Humphrey Bogart would fit right in at this unusual hotel—a cinematic Moroccan-inspired oasis in the middle of downtown's flurry. For a fun date night, catch a concert at the nearby L.A. Live entertainment complex before you head back to North Africa.

Figueroa Hotel
   
15 /16 Photo from La Casa del Camino; written by MacKenzie Geidt

La Casa del Camino, Laguna Beach, CA

You don’t have to be a surfer dude to enjoy the splashy surf suites at La Casa del Camino, one of the great surf hotels we're blessed to have in the West. They’re done up with wall-size underwater-photo murals, surfboards on the walls, pillows made of boardshorts material, and, in some cases, views of the crashing waves from the window. Pop up to the rooftop bar (the only one in town) for drinks and insanely gorgeous sunsets.

La Casa del Camino
   
16 /16 The Saguaro, Scottsdale

The Saguaro, Palm Springs, CA

Drenched in a rainbow of 12 hues inspired by the colors of desert flowers, this unusual hotel pops, and the rooms—more fun than fancy—are splashed with color right down to the brightly striped bedding. La Señora restaurant is the place for tacos, tortilla soup, and tequila flights in a warm, wood-paneled space. The Vault is for fresh, healthy smoothies and coffee.

The Saguaro