It didn’t take Marge and Robert Allen long to agree that The Castle is a fitting name for the luxury suite in which they were staying. The two-story lodging features an octagonal cherry ceiling and a handcrafted Amish-built spiral staircase leading up to a large loft area that is lit by a massive iron chandelier.
The loft, which is furnished with a luxuriously draped king-size bed, opens onto a balcony that provides a gorgeous view over the Mohican Valley in Ohio. No wonder the hotel has been rated among the top 30 of its kind in the world.
“Its kind” refers to treehouse accommodations, and they are one of a number of unusual and unique places to stay that offer something more than typical bed-and-bath lodgings.
That certainly applies to the Mohicans Treehouse Resort in Glenmont, Ohio. Along with cabins and country homes, this family-owned hostelry offers stays in accommodations perched off-ground, each of which has its own touches. The one named White Oak sleeps six guests and features a wraparound deck. The Silver Bullet is a renovated classic Airstream trailer perched 22 feet high.
Forest Fire Lookouts
Another high-altitude sleeping experience awaits at abandoned fire towers that are available for rent. Most of them were built during the 1930s and 1940s by the Civilian Conservation Corps to be manned by lookouts seeking to spot forest fires. They largely have been replaced by modern technology.
They’re located in national forests, Department of Agriculture Forest Service land, and state parks. While rental rates are low, so are amenities. Many turrets are located in a remote area, so visitors have to park and hike in, often carrying their own supplies and water. Electricity and plumbing might be lacking, replaced by an outside pit toilet and cooking area.
True West Campground
Other places to overnight also have touches of the past. Covered wagons helped to push the American frontier all the way to the Pacific Ocean until they were supplanted by the railroads in the 1850s. It’s possible to recapture the nostalgia of that time at the True West Campground in Jamestown, Tennessee. Along with more traditional accommodations, it has covered wagons that offer some creature comforts the pioneers lacked. These include comfortable beds and heat and air conditioning.
Black Tree Resort
Creature comforts also are available at the Black Tree Resort in Lake George, Colorado, where “rustic modern lives among the trees.” Those planning to visit have no need to buy, pack, and assemble camping equipment or food. Black Tree provides fully furnished tents with handcrafted furniture, a private bathroom, a covered deck, and an electric golf cart for getting around the property. Meals are delivered to the tents to be enjoyed at the outside picnic table adjacent to a firepit.
Glamping at facilities such as Black Tree Resort in Lake George, Colo., make camping easy and luxurious. (Pressmaster/Dreamstime)Lock Houses
The atmosphere is different at the historic lock houses that are strung out along a section of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal between Washington and western Maryland. That waterway was constructed between 1828 and 1850 so cargo could be transported in barges pulled by mules.
Because of the elevation change in the terrain, 74 locks were built, with their keepers living in modest houses nearby. Some of those homes are now available to overnight guests. Some of their facilities offer full amenities, some are rustic, and some have electricity only.
Queen Mary
It’s the 1930s that passengers who board the iconic Queen Mary relive. They experience the glamour and excitement of the golden age of Atlantic crossings without leaving port.
The first Queen Mary is permanently docked in Long Beach, California, where it serves as a hotel. Original art deco touches are among reminders of its heyday as a luxury liner, along with three award-winning ocean-view restaurants.
The actual ship and its amenities await guests at the Queen Mary Hotel in Long Beach, Calif. (Juan Camilo Bernal/Dreamstime)Feather Nest Inn
A much earlier trip back in time is available at the Feather Nest Inn. One of the theme suites at the Cherry Hill, New Jersey, property resembles a prehistoric cavern complete with wall paintings, faux animal skins, and rock piles. Another, the Treasure Island Room, features a boat-shaped bed and furniture resembling that salvaged from a shipwreck and a waterfall.
Historic Washington State Park
A very different theme pervades a bed-and-breakfast accommodation at the Historic Washington State Park in Arkansas. One major park attraction is the collection of 54 buildings that made up a pioneer settlement along the Southwest Trail, a 19th-century pioneer route that stretched from Missouri to Texas.
Jailhouse Bed and Breakfast
Another is the Jailhouse Bed and Breakfast, which occupies a two-story jail that was completed in 1918 to replace one built in 1873. The facility housed people convicted of burglary, forgery, assault, and other crimes.
In addition to eight guest rooms, the building has displays where convicts etched their names, two cells, and other hints of its notorious past. According to local lore, a 1922 prisoner named Isaac Evans haunts the premises to this day.
Hutton Hotel
While residents of that Arkansas jail were facing the music because of their actions, a package at the Hutton Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee, focuses upon music enjoyment. Among highlights of the Fender In-Room Experience are guitar lessons, free tickets to a show at the hotel’s Analog music venue, and a discount for a custom song written for the guest—yet another way to make the accommodations part of the experience.
