Extreme hotels/ The world's deepest subterranean hotel room

The eerie hotel suite accommodates two and is situated 155 meters (509 ft) below the earth's surface, amidst winding tunnels and deep cavities (image: Sala Silvermine)

Deep within the dark tunnels and cavity shafts of an old Swedish silver mine, guests can sleep in the world's deepest hotel suite. The Sala Silvermine is located in Sala (120 km/75 miles from Stockholm) and is believed to date back to the Middle Ages. For a long period of time the mine was Sweden's largest source of silver, and is now home to an underground hotel room, dining experience, museum, live theater and numerous exploration activities.

The eerie hotel suite accommodates two and is situated 155 meters (509 ft) below the earth's surface, amidst winding tunnels and deep cavities. The suite is not suitable for claustrophobes, as the dark chamber features a double bed surrounded by three rock walls, candles, seating and little else.
Upon arrival, the daring guests receive a guided tour of the space to orientate themselves before being left alone for the night. A staff member remains available above ground for the duration of the stay, contactable by an intercom radio. Guests are also reminded that cell phones do not work this deep underground! 

There is a toilet located 50 meters (165 ft) below ground, however guests will have to use the bathroom facilities in the adjoining hostel above ground.
The mine also features two dining rooms in the vicinity of the hotel suite, where dinner guests can experience a banquet in a truly unique environment.

Above ground, in the southern area of the mine, lie several high wire adventure tracks, including ropeways, hanging bridges and other tree challenges. But if you'd prefer to go underground, adventurers have the opportunity to go cave diving. The cave dive offers a limited number of divers access to explore the mine's underwater environment. The water temperature is constantly a chilly 2 degrees Celsius / 35 degrees Fahrenheit, however divers braving the cold conditions are promised a "spectacular scenery" experience.
A night's stay in the underground suite at the Sala Silvermine will cost approximately US$580.

»»  read more

Tourist Attraction/Kingdom Tower – Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed bin Talal announced plans to build the Kingdom Tower, world’s tallest building in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah, less than two years after the Burj Khalifa opened in Dubai at a height that many thought wouldn’t be surpassed for years.
The planned tower will be 1km tall (3,281 feet) when it is completed and consist of hotels, offices, luxury apartments and a shopping centre. Prince Alwaleed said his company, Kingdom Holding Co., had signed a $1.23 billion deal with Bin Laden Group to build the tower, which is expected to take more than five years to complete. Building this tower in Jeddah sends a financial and economic message that should not be ignored, Prince Alwaleed told. It has a political depth to it to tell the world that we Saudis invest in our country despite what is happening around us from events, turmoil and revolutions even.

With a total construction area of over 500,000 square meters, the soaring Kingdom Tower will be a mixed-use building featuring a Four Seasons hotel, Four Seasons service apartments, first class office space, luxury condominiums and an observatory that will be higher than the world’s current highest observation deck.
US company Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture has been employed to design and oversee development of the project. The sprawling mega project, first announced in 2008, will cover two square miles at its base. Originally, the intention was to build the tower a mile high – a feat that would mean a 12-minute journey in a lift to get to the top – but there were fears that the soil would not support its foundations. It is not 1,000 meters. It is more, could be more by many meters… The figure is secret, only a small number of people know, said Prince Alwaleed.

The great height of Kingdom Tower necessitates one of the world’s most sophisticated elevator systems. The Kingdom Tower complex will contain 59 elevators, including 54 single-deck and five double-deck elevators, along with 12 escalators. Elevators serving the observatory will travel at a rate of 10 meters per second in both directions. Another unique feature of the design is a sky terrace, roughly 30 meters (98 feet) in diameter, at level 157. It is an outdoor amenity space intended for use by the penthouse floor.

Kingdom Tower will be the centerpiece and the first construction phase of Kingdom City, Jeddah Economic Company’s (JEC) new urban development of more than 5.3 million square meters of land in the north of Jeddah, overlooking the Red Sea and Obhur Creek. The overall construction cost of the tower is $1.2 billion and the overall estimated cost of the entire Kingdom City project is anticipated to be $20 billion. This project will provide sustainable profits to Kingdom Holding shareholders, Prince Alwaleed said.
Prince Alwaleed, who owns 95% of Kingdom Holding, has focused his investments on banks, hotels and media companies, building sizable stakes in firms such as Citigroup Inc., News Corp., Apple Inc. and Time Warner Inc. News Corp. owns Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal.

»»  read more

Travel/Anopura – The Smallest Luxury Hotel In India, Perhaps In The World

The smallest luxury hotel in India, perhaps in the world, named Anopura is located in the shadow of the ancient Aravali mountains, an hour’s drive from Jaipur, Radjasthan. This tiny hotel features just two bedrooms within the main thatched house in addition to a romantic Rajasthani-tented bedroom in the garden, surrounded by swathes of lush free farmland.

Designed by Philippe de Villegas as a country house, surrounded by farmlands, it has a thatched roof so as to blend into the local countryside and carries a collection of local artworks. This traditional Rajasthani country home with a stunning step-well inspired plunge pool, Anopura artfully brings together the necessities of the most demanding Western traveler within a landscape and agricultural environment virtually unchanged in a millennia.

From the moment you arrive, the superbly trained staff welcomes you with chilled towels and fresh seasonal fruit juice, where you realize that you are truly in the lap of luxury. As you explore your new surroundings, you can move through the garden, rich with the scent of frangipani and other perfumed plants, arriving through a book-laden anteroom into Anopura’s shaded central courtyard, off which are the bedrooms, the dining room and a small study with satellite television and an Internet connected workstation.

In front of the house lies a stone clad plunge pool surrounded by charpoys, the traditional Indian day-bed, where you can lie back and take in the majestic views of the hills of the Aravali. You may also choose to explore your new domain on foot, mountain bike, or more leisurely, by camel cart or jeep. To one side of the pool is a large pavilion for relaxing, reading, dining or simply taking aperitifs during sunset.

Although the smallest hotel in India, Anopura can provide the greatest luxury and beauty that you’ve ever experienced.

»»  read more

Singita Grumeti Reserves won the INFLUENTIAL MAGAZINE's World Best Hotel Awards 2011

 Singita Grumeti Reserves, Tanzania

Singita Grumeti Reserves in Tanzania has been declared as the world’s best hotel by influential magazine Travel + Leisure in its Annual World’s Best Awards 2011. Offering the greatest luxury in the thick of the wild, Singita Grumeti Reserves consists of the Sasakwa Lodge, Sabora Tented camp and the Faru Faru Lodge. It was one of six African properties to place within the world’s top ten hotels this year.

Nancy Novogrod, Travel + Leisure‘s editor, said it was a return to the top for authentic destinations. It’s clear that remote and exotic destinations—places that convey a sense of authenticity and adventure—are ruling the day once again in Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Awards. The top ten hotels overall are African camps and lodges; resorts in India; a property in Chiang Mai; and a luxury lodge in Montana, she said.

Although Singita  is really far away, its guests are treated to five-star service and accommodations. Rooms in the tents and villas start at around $1,095 per person per night; rates include daily game drives, food, and drink. It’s not expensive, considering that it is a world’s best hotel!

Hotel Interiors of Singita Grumeti Reserves

»»  read more

Travel/See the World’s Largest Artificial Floating Island In Seoul

The world’s largest artificial Floating Island has recently been opened in the South Korean capital, Seoul. Floating island under construction on the Hangang (Han River) is first equipped with an aquatic convention center and it is made for concerts, conventions, exhibitions, water sports and restaurants.

Floating island consists of three man-made inter-connected islets. Islet 1, the biggest of the three islets, is three stories high and measures 10,845 square meters. It includes a 700-seat convention hall. Islet 2, a three-story structure measuring 5,373 square meters, puts a focus on developing facilities for cultural events. Islet 3, two stories high, takes up a 4,164 square-meter area and is devoted to various aquatic leisure sports activities like yachting. The total number of seats for exhibitions and conventions reaches 1,400 uniting all three of the islets. The islands can accommodate 6,200 people and are set to make the Han River, which 59 million people visited last year, an even more popular tourist spot.

About $80 million was invested in the sprawling 20,382 square-meter Floating Island. There are numerous projects next to and on the water, to ensure the Han remains an important focal point. The riverbanks are also being transformed into parks and public spaces. From the drawing board to the opening of the floating island, there were months of painstaking work. The central challenge was how to keep three heavy structures afloat, using only giant buoys and mooring chains. The whole thing also had to be environmentally friendly. It is scheduled for completion in September this year.

Choi Heung-Soon, with the Seoul Metropolitan Government, said: The north and south sides of the river have been developed with housing, and the river was only something to look at in this area. But now, with the floating island, we can really make use of it and create a new culture.

»»  read more