Plenty of people like to visit the beach for their vacations, but now a pair of newly-constructed European hotels is letting visitors bring the beach to them.
Inspired by the Ice Hotels an adventurous traveler might find in Canada, Finland, and Sweden, these SandHotels were constructed recently in the Dutch cities of Oss and Sneek, as part of an annual festival celebrating sand sculpture, reports Gizmag. It’s estimated that each hotel uses 1,750,000 pounds of sand to create the buildings’ primary architecture, and measures over twenty five feet high at parts. Each hotel is themed, with the one in Oss resembling a medieval castle, while the one in Sneek is inspired by Asian architecture.
Speaking with Gizmag, Alec Messchaert, whose GlobalPowWow firm is behind the SandHotels’ construction, explains that it takes a team of four or five expert sand crafters a little under two months to erect the structures. An overnight stay will run the curious patron around a hundred and seventy dollars per night, but comes with a personal tour of the nearby sand sculpture festival, as well as food, drinks, and even in-room WiFi. Yes, just because your hotel is made of sand, doesn’t mean you can’t check your email during your visit.
Amazing as they may seem, the Oss and Sneek SandHotels are actually just the latest sand-based accommodations to pop up and tempt adventurous travelers. The Sand Hotel at Weymouth beach in Dorset, U.K., for example, cost guests just $21 dollars per night when it opened few years ago. However, that hotel’s open-air design and lack of plumbing make the structures in Sneak and Oss–wired for electricity, and outfitted with toilets, showers, and even carpeting–seem downright palatial in comparison.
Unfortunately, the Sneek SandHotel ended its seasonal run on September 20th, while the Oss accommodations are reportedly scheduled to close up shop in the first week of October. However, as Messchaert told Gizmag, not only are both hotels planning to re-open next year, but GlobalPowWow has been approached by a number of other European sites hoping to build their own SandHotels, as well.
[via gizmag, images via zandhotel.nl]
