6 amazing hotels to visit

NEW ZEALAND, (DPA) - After stepping into Judy and Steve Richards' garden in New Zealand you could be forgiven for thinking you had walked onto the set of a fantasy film. Between the trees and bushes, an enormous giant's boot, two storeys high, looms up. The boot houses a small, but unique, holiday home. The kitchen, bathroom and living room are situated in the heel and the bedroom is one floor above. Residents can step from the bedroom onto a small balcony with the boot's tongue as a balustrade.

The Richards opened The Boot holiday home 12 years ago on the north coast of New Zealand's South Island. It has become an attraction in its own right along with the nearby Abel Tasman National Park. Travellers can find unusual forms of accommodation like the Richards' all over the world that stand out from normal hotels and guesthouses.

Among them is the Airstream Trailer Park at the Grand Daddy Hotel in central Cape Town in South Africa. Seven vintage Airstream trailers, polished to perfection and ready for the next guests, are perched on the roof of an 1874-built hotel. 

owners imported the trailers five years ago from the United States so they could add a touch of classic American culture to the area. Local artists decorated each trailer to give them an individual style. The Dorothy Airstream is decorated in eggshell blue and white polka dots and has a small temporary art exhibition on board. The Goldilocks and Three Bears trailer has cosy furnishings just like in the fairy tale.

The Montana Magica lodge in Chile has no problem standing out from surrounding buildings - there aren't any. Ten years ago Victor Petermann decided to build a hotel in Huilo Huilo, a nature reserve about 850 kilometres south of the capital Santiago. The hotel needed to be extravagant so that guests would happily make the long journey to get there.

Petermann constructed an artificial hill with a waterfall splashing down the sides of its plant-covered walls. The lodge has 14 guest rooms and it fits like a chameleon into the landscape of forest, lakes and volcano peaks. Soon after opening, the lodge became so popular a second building had to be erected beside the first.

The Sydney Railway Square YHA also fits well into its surroundings in Australia. Situated directly beside Sydney's main railway station, guests are immediately directed to the disused 1A railway line, where goods trains used to arrive.

On the rails are train carriages where guests spend the night. The former post station at the neighbouring track serves as the hostel's main building. The hostel shows extravagant accommodation need not be expensive. Guests sleep on berths in the train's compartments - just like on a real Pullman train.

The Euromast tower in Rotterdam in the Netherlands costs more but guests don't have to sleep in double-decker bunk beds. There are two exclusive suites located on the observation deck 112 metres above ground. On a clear day you can see up to 30 kilometres away. Fittingly the suites are named Heaven and Stars. The Euromast's owners describe the platform as Rotterdam's best balcony. Between 10 pm and 10 am it's sealed off to the public, apart from guests.

Guests at Martin's Patershof in Belgium are also close to the stars. The hotel in the town of Mechelen is built inside a 150-year-old church. Guests bed down beneath arches, shower behind stained glass windows and dine in the church's former choir. Each of the hotel's 56 rooms has a distinctly religious touch thanks to cleverly integrated columns and clerical frescos.

 The Boot Bed and Breakfast, Jester House Estate, 320 Aporo Road, Tasman, Nelson, New Zealand (Tel.: +64/35 26 67 42).

 Grand Daddy Hotel (Airstream Trailer Park), 38 Long Street, Cape Town, South Africa (Tel.: +27/21/424 72 47).

 Montaña Magica, Huilo Huilo, Camino Internacional Panguipulli, Neltume, Región de Los Ríos, Chile (Tel.: +56/2/23 35 59 38).

 Sydney Railway Square YHA, 8-10 Lee Street, Sydney, Australia (Tel.: 00612/92 81 96 66).

 Euromast, Parkhaven 20, Rotterdam, The Netherlands (Tel.: +31/10/ 436 48 11).

 Martin's Patershof, Karmelietenstraat 4, Mechelen, Belgium (Tel.: +32/15/46 46 46).