Weird and wonderful hotels

This week we've been indulging in some research on weird and wonderful places to stay. We're not that desperate about anything too overtly kitsch - no ambition to sleep in a re-arranged jumbo jet here - but we've got a lot of time for an interesting hotel that doesn't take itself too seriously. Here are a few places we'd actually book...

1. Chateau de la Goujeonnerie
A sprawling French pile done up in inimitable style by the people behind Shoreditch's Lounge Lover and Les Trois Garcons. Featuring taxidermy unicorn heads, two story chandeliers and it's own small forest. Not exactly a bargain, but you could split the cost with the other 53 people the place can accommodate. The ultimate birthday weekend destination.

2. Kolarbyn
Right at the opposite end of the scale (but no less charming) is Kolarbyn. 'Sweden's most primitive hotel' is a collection of cosy rustic huts dotted around a Swedish forest beside a lake. There is no electricity: light comes from candles and heat from a crackling fireplace. No mains water either: water is brought up daily from a nearby spring. But the extras more than make up for the simple comforts on offer - a floating sauna on the lake, a communal kitchen featuring 'two enormous fires' and your own canoe. Bliss...

3. Hay Hotel

Staying at the no-nonsense end of the scale, we've always fancied a night in a German Hay Hotel (or Heuhotel to be more accurate). These are an evolution of the old fashioned practise of farmers letting travellers sleep in their hay loft in exchange for a little money, usually with breakfast thrown in. They've become quite popular in Germany recently, and not much has changed in terms of the transaction on offer. You get to sleep on a large pile of hay with a blanket over it, topped with pillows and a sleeping bag. The barn is - naturally - communal and like camping there are facilities for bathing and outdoor cooking etc. In the morning a nice breakfast is laid out before you set off with your napsack for the next adventure. It may be hopelessly naive of us, but we think it sounds wonderful.

4. Glass igloos at Hotel Kakslauttaen

Now, it may not be everyone's idea of a good time to go to Finland and sleep in a greenhouse. If that's the case this place also has log cabins, a 'honeymoon turf chamber' and snow igloos (say what you like, we don't fancy a bedroom made of snow, even if they do give you special socks). But honestly, these glass igloos are pretty amazing. Made of special thermal glass to ensure you don't freeze your vitals off (and to prevent the glass from frosting over), each igloo houses 'luxury' beds and a toilet (phew, no dashing into -30 degrees for a wee). And what a view to spend the night with, even if the northern lights don't decide to put in an appearance.