Weird & Wonderful
PLACES TO STAY
HOTEL JEŠTĚD
Mount Ještěd, Czechia
Ještěd Tower is probably the most impressive TV antenna in the world.
Weird & Wonderful
PLACES TO STAY
HOTEL JEŠTĚD
Mount Ještěd, Czechia
Ještěd Tower is probably the most impressive TV antenna in the world.
HOTEL JEŠTĚD
Mount Ještěd, Czechia
Ještěd Tower is probably the most impressive TV antenna in the world.
Weird & Wonderful
It’s a 94-metre behemoth perched on top of Mount Ještěd, which is already at an altitude of about 1,000 metres. When lit up at night this colossal bit of construction gives the impression of a UFO perching precariously on the mountain top.
And if you’re an alien popping in from another galaxy (which apparently is commonplace nowadays), we can absolutely see why you’d land here—the vantage point offers extraordinary views of Bohemia. Both Poland and Germany are visible from Hotel Ještěd, which is in the cone-shaped building beneath the tower itself. Open since 1973, the once-futuristic and now retro-feeling aesthetic is unique: we're calling it E.T. chic.
It's affordable too: staying in a UFO with some of the best views in Europe for less than 50 Aussie bucks a night sounds pretty good to us.
From AU$191 per night.
THE TWELVE APOSTLES HOTEL AND SPA
Cape Town, South Africa
Between us, the get lost team has stayed at a lot of hotels. Like, a lot. But you know what The Twelve Apostles has going for it (besides its ridiculous sea view terrace, swimming pool, fine dining and pillow menu)? Arguably, the world’s best hotel robe. Gosh, it was luxe. Heavy and comforting, the perfect lounge robe.
Weird & Wonderful
The Apostles is the very definition of 5-star luxury. Perched above the Atlantic Ocean and with a backdrop to Table Mountain, this boutique hotel offers up breathtaking sunsets, access to incredible cape beaches and an award-winning spa. Not to mention you can choose your soap/ skincare. We went with rooibos, hbu?
From AU$340 per night.
SALT OF PALMAR
Mauritius
It's time to put Mauritius on your travel radar.
Weird & Wonderful
Honestly, this place is heaven. In fact, all of Mauritius is heaven, but SALT of Palmar is the cherry on top. Why? Firstly, look at it. It's a colourful pastel wonderland, an aesthetic feast for the eyes. It's also adults-only, now don't get us wrong we love kids and babies and small humans, but trying to relax by the resort pool while there's a game of Marco Polo in progress isn't... well... relaxing. At SALT, it's grown-up time, all the time. Whether you're doing sundowners on the resort rooftop, laying by the private beach, getting a (literal) salt treatment at the spa or eating your way through their locally-sourced menu.
The ethos here is all about creating a sustainable, welcoming vibe for their guests and they've nailed it. On a recent stay, we were invited into the kitchen to learn how to make Mauritian curry—now if that's not bloody welcoming, what is? The curry was perfection, FYI. We ate two servings and rolled into our ocean-side bed slightly sunburnt and satisfied.
From AU$183 per night
MANNA HOTEL
Arcadia, Greece
When you think of Greece, it’s usually the white of Santorini and the blue of the ocean. You think of destroying gyros after gyros, day after day. You think of paying five euro to sit in a beach lounge on Ios because your hangover cannot deal with the blazing Greek sun.
Weird & Wonderful
But the home of the Olympics is actually quite a mountainous place too; 80% of it in fact, is considered mountainous, with the famed Mount Olympus, in the country's far north. Down the other end is Manna, nestled above the village of Arcadia.
This is a hotel which was once a sanatorium for people with chronic illness. It's now a luxury mountain sanctuary, but it’s easy to see why this was considered a good place to heal what ails ya. Really, really old trees surround you at all times, whether you’re chowing down gourmet gyros or taking a bath. Maybe you’re doing both at the same time. There’s no room to be bored: hike, ski, cycle, hunt for mushrooms in the forest, hunt for gyros in the forest, or just chill with a gyros.
From AU$400 per night
GAL OYA LODGE
Gal Oya Valley National Park, Sri Lanka
This national park isn’t like all the other national parks.
Weird & Wonderful
Why? Because you can find elephants swimming the waters here. Then there's the local Vedda community, the earliest known inhabitants of Sri Lanka, who still stroll the forests as they have for thousands of years, climbing trees for food and living in harmony with crocodiles, turtles, monkeys and other animals.
There’s only nine humble bungalows at Gal Oya, so you’re not jostling with hordes of tourists in an attempt to get ‘the shot’. Wildlife geeks will rejoice at the wildlife research centre on-site, and people who eat food will rejoice at the local dishes served up on banana leaves every day. Living.
From AU$410 per night
GLAMPROOK HOTEL
Nagano, Japan
Glamprook Hotel is a strange patchwork of things that shouldn't really work together and yet inexplicably absolutely do.
Weird & Wonderful
Take the glamping domes for example, where ‘camping’ is made to feel super luxurious thanks to some incredibly comfy beds and armchairs made for kicking back and gazing at the starry night skies next to a roaring (if fake) fire.
get lost has never had access to an onsen while camping before, but we’re going to demand it from now on. Soaking, completely starkers, with people you’ve never met before, is a lot more relaxing than it sounds. Then there’s the 10-course dinner, which is actually quite a tidy menu length for Japan. We’re not sure what cuisine to call this: traditional sashimi matched with pasta matched with an outrageous sorbet-honeycomb-brownie thing for dessert. The only common thread between the dishes is that they’re all super colourful, in complete contrast to the snow that falls here in the winter. None of this should work, but it does.
From AU$300 per person, per night
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