Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Branching out: The stunning hotel where guests squirrel themselves away in the tree tops

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Sky high: The Cabin Room at the Treehotel resort in Harads, Sweden, which is just 40 miles south of the Arctic Circle


Well off the beaten track, 40 miles south of the Arctic Circle, this incredible hotel comes with a touch of Swedish eccentricity.

Called simply the 'Treehotel', it consists of four rooms, each designed by a different Swedish architect, nestled anywhere between six and 40 feet up in the pines.

The most striking is a luxury room called the Mirrorcube, which is coated in a reflective material that causes it to blend into the surrounding forest.

With room names like The Bird's Nest and the Blue Cone, the eco-friendly hotel near to the town of Harads, has been named on the prestigious Conde Nast Traveller Hot List for 2011.


The interior of the Cabin: Each of the four rooms was designed by a different Swedish architect


'The idea was to create a comfortable, well built hotel which will allow people to live in harmony with nature in the tree tops,' said Kent Lindwall, who created the Tree Hotel concept with his wife Britta Jonsson Lindvall last year.

'Each room is designed to have a different character and most contain double beds, seating, but no televisions, because that isn't the ethos of the hotel.

'The rooms are accessible through wooden ladders and ropes and the Mirrorcube has a protective transparent UV paint on it which prevents birds from colliding with it.


Highlight: The Mirrorcube Room is almost invisible from the ground as it reflects the trees and sky surrounding it


'We have gone out of our way to make these rooms as eco-friendly as possible, with incinerating toilets in every treehouse.'

Each of the hotel rooms is built from wood and aluminum locally sourced in Sweden and the floors are heated using a solar generator on the property.

'We are mindful of the forest here in Sweden and we purchased this land and rescued it from being cut down,' said Kent.

'Within five years we hope to have 24 rooms here all designed by different designers, all ready to show case the beautiful forest here.'



Eccentric: This red coloured building is dubbed the Blue Cone room and costs from £390 a night

With a night at the Treehotel costing at least £390 a night, Kent and Britta's beautiful resort is making a distinct impression, despite some of it being almost invisible.

'The Mirrorcube is a designed to reflect everything, the clouds, the trees, everything,' said Kent.

'It is our most impressive and famous feature.'

source: dailymail