India's Mihir Garh Fort named world's most extraordinary hotel by Lonely planet.
There are dozens of converted historic forts and palaces offering luxury accommodation in India but a fort, built from scratch in the Rajasthan desert just five years ago, has been named the most extraordinary hotel by Lonely Planet.
There are dozens of converted historic forts and palaces offering luxury accommodation in India but a fort, built from scratch in the Rajasthan desert just five years ago, has been named the most extraordinary hotel by Lonely Planet.
Perched on a sand dune,
overlooking the parched earth and shrubs of the Thar desert, Mihir Garh – or
the fort of the sun – was a labour of love for owner Sidharth Singh, who says
he was driven by intuition rather than reason; hiring more than 100 local
craftsmen and carpenters who worked for two years to create nine 1,700sq ft
suites, each with its own plunge pool, fireplace (made in the local style, from
cow dung) and decorated in furnishings from Jodhpur.
"Few hotels are
created without compromise, Mihir Garh is a rare example. This is not just a
unique place to stay, it's a shrine to the artistic and architectural
traditions of Rajasthan in general and Jodhpur in particular," says Lonely
Planet writer James Kay.The top 10 most extraordinary hotels, is one of three
inaugural lists naming the guidebook publisher's favourite places to stay in
the world. The other two are best-value hotels in the world, and the 10 most
outstanding eco-hotels.
The top 10 most extraordinary hotels, is one of
three inaugural lists naming the guidebook publisher's favourite places to stay
in the world. The other two are best-value hotels in the world, and the 10 most
outstanding eco-hotels.
In second place on the most extraordinary list was
Planet Baobab, a collection of grass and mud huts with an onsite
"shebeen" (bar) in the Makgadikgadi salt pans of Botswana, where the
lunar-like landscape is dotted with 4,000 year old baobab trees.
No UK hotels,
and only a few hotels in Europe, made it on to the three lists. One exception
was Prendiparte B&B in Bologna, a single suite in a 900-year old tower, one
of the few left in the city, with a rooftop terrace "offering breathtaking
views over Bologna's historic skyline"
Other extraordinary places to stay
include a collection of spherical treehouses suspended in the forest on
Vancouver Island, a 1869 lighthouse on the Hudson river in New York State and a
cave hotel in Cappadocia, Turkey, famed for its troglodyte architecture.
Two of the top three best-value hotels in the
world are in South Africa, where tourists are currently getting even more bang
for their buck with the exchange rate at 18 rand to the British pound (10 to
the US dollar). The number one best-value place to stay is The Backpack in Cape
Town, a hostel with a pool, which supports local community projects, is
accredited by Fair Trade Tourism and was recently voted Best Hostel in Africa
2014 by hostelworld.com. Inkosana Lodge, which offers dorms, camping and
private rooms in the Drakensberg mountains, is in third place, while Sydney
harbour YHA, famed for its harbour views, came in second.
South Africa also made an appearance on the
eco-list, with Bulungula Backpackers coming second. A collection of huts
overlooking a remote beach on the wild coast, jointly owned by the local Xhosa
community, it warns potential guests it is "not an old-style, white South
African beach resort". It also promises night skies so clear, it
guarantees "your money back if you don't see a shooting star for half an
hour at night".
In first place was Lapa Rios in the Costa Rica
rainforest, where guests staying at its 16 bungalows fall asleep to the sound
of the Pacific Ocean and are woken by the calls of howler monkeys.
The
full list of winners
Most
extraordinary
1 Mihir Gahr,
Rajasthan, India
2 Planet Baobab,
Gweta, Botswana
3 Prendiparte
B&B, Bologna, Italy
4 Qasr Al Sarab, UAE
5 Peppers Cradle
Mountain Lodge, TAS, Australia
6 Free Spirit
Spheres, British Columbia, Canada
7 Taskonak Hotel,
Goreme, Cappadocia, Turkey
8 Thonga Beach Lodge,
iSimangaliso Wetland Park, South Africa
9 Saugerties
Lighthouse, New York state, USA
10 The Gibbon
Experience Treehouse, Bokeo Reserve, Laos
Best
value
1 The Backpack, Cape
Town, South Africa
2 Sydney Harbour YHA,
Australia
3 Inkosana Lodge,
Champagne Valley, Drakensberg, South Africa
4 Old Plovdiv
Guesthouse, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
5 Hotel Gruner Baum,
Glorenza, Sudtirol, Italy
6 Oztel, Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil
7 Fauzi Azar Inn,
Nazareth, Israel
8 We Hostel Design,
Sao Paulo, Brazil
9 Hotel Hotel Hostel,
Seattle, USA
10 On the corner,
Kolomyya, Ukraine
Outstanding
eco-hotels
1 Lapa Rios,
Peninsula de Osa, Costa Rica
2 Bulungula
Backpackers, South Africa
3 Chole Mjini, Chole
Island, Mafia Archipelago, Tanzania
4 Machu Picchu Pueblo
Hotel, Aguas Calientes, Peru
5 EcoLodge Chepu
Adventures, Chiloe, Chile
6 Maison Anglaise,
Taroudant, Morocco
7 Earthship Rentals,
Taos, New Mexico, USA
8 Dana Guest House,
Jordan
9 Nuli Sapi, Papua
New Guinea
10 Baikaler
Eco-Hostel, Listvyanka, Russia
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