ONOMA Hotel has a manifesto posted on their website, pledging: “We are against any boring old type of hotels that include all their clients needs in one common package of services”.
Whether you’re sporty, a businessman, a gamer or just someone looking to sprinkle a little chilli into their love life—this is a hotel that will customise your stay to suit you.
ONOMA staff set your room up based on the kind of stay you’re after. A specialised gaming area? Done. A room that’s perfect for a dating app profile photoshoot? Sorted. There’s even a 50 Shades Of Grey themed room which, due to its spicy nature, we are unable to reveal the details of. Plus! A basketball-themed stay that includes a one-of-a-kind basketball court (big Jamie XX vibes) that’s good for shooting—hoops AND photos.
There is a heavy tech focus throughout, with ultrafast wi-fi internet, tablets in every room for smart management, wireless charging and self-check-in and check-out. It feels a lot like ONOMA is in 2050 while the rest of us are faffing around in 2023.
Picture this: it’s a delightful 25 degrees outside, and you’re hiking through a pleasant forest in France’s east…
Fast forward an hour and you’re cooling off by jumping off your own private pontoon, into what feels like your own private lake.
A little while later you’re enjoying drinks in the minimalist, but full-equipped teardrop-shaped treehouse you’re calling home.
As night falls, you can drink a red wine from Burgundy either on your balcony or while soaking in your Nordic bath tub. This is life at Coucoo Cabanes des Grands Lacs, on the banks of Lake Bonnal. And life is good.
Cornwall has been a favourite holiday destination for Brits since before King Henry VIII was chopping off heads, but there’s a brand-new stay in the southern seaside town that would surely satisfy even the big man himself.
‘The Island’ is the unimaginative name for what is actually a pretty imaginative place to stay – a nautical bolthole perched dramatically above a beach on its own little island, only accessible from the mainland by a private suspension footbridge (vehicle access is impossible).
The place is perfect for small groups, for romance, for artists seeking inspiration or anyone who enjoys being up close and personal to the roaring symphony of the ocean crashing into the rocks below. Spectacular storms is one of a number of things Cornwall is famous for, and we can’t think of anywhere we’d rather be than the deck of The Island as Mother Nature gets to work.
Rather than most seaside accommodations, where you are looking out over the water, at The Island it actually feels as if you’re a part of the ocean.
In 1616, a Dutch sailor by the name of Dirk Hartog stumbled across an uninhabited island off the western edge of Australia.
More than 400 years on and very little has changed on what is now called Dirk Hartog Island; a 620-square-kilometre patch of rugged paradise inhabited by only one family.
Dirk Hartog Island Eco Lodge is a chance to escape the madness of the mainland for a few days of magical seclusion.
Untouched marine ecosystems make it possible to swim or paddle alongside turtles, whales, dolphins and more. Enjoy the luxury of uninterrupted access to majestic sand dunes and extraordinary wildlife, and skirt the edge of the island’s spectacular cliffs, where you’ll stand at Australia’s western-most point, taking in the sheer size of the Indian Ocean. At this point you’ll feel tiny, but you also may never feel closer to the planet you live on.
One of Sicily’s most famous aspects is its history as a mafia stronghold, which sells short the island’s beauty. Still, there’s no doubt a well-to-do Godfather would feel right at home in the grandeur of Zash Country Boutique Hotel, an 18th century Villa surrounded by vineyards and citrus groves.
With Mount Etna looming on one side and the Ionian Sea on the other, it doesn’t really matter which side of the sprawling country manor you stay.
There’s an underground spa, a restaurant that specialises in produce found locally (less than one kilometre away), gorgeous terraces, a stunning swimming pool to relax underneath the Sicilian sun in, and more.
The architects of Jølstraholmen in Western Norway seem to have taken literally the lyrics of Talking Heads’ 1978 classic Take Me to the River.
Jølstraholmen is a compound of several different accommodation types, the most memorable being A-Frame tiny homes that are situated right on the river. And when we say right on the river, we actually mean pretty much in it.
The ‘Cabins’ each have in-ground hot tubs, meaning you can sit in warmth as the icy waters of the river Jølstra rushes by. Inside, it’s classic Scandinavian minimalist design, which we think looks cosy af, especially when there is snow falling on the outside.
Perfectly situated in the fresh air of Norway’s west coast, this place is an outdoor lover’s dream: it’s possible to kayak, canoe and float down the river in a boat. There’s bike tracks, a water slide, a zip-line, a giant trampoline, amazing spots to fish and more.
Sweden has come up with a typically ingenious idea to bring Halloween to life, by making you the main character in a horror film.
The country’s tourism board has teamed up with bestselling Scandinavian horror author John Ajvide Lindqvist (kind of like a Swedish Stephen King) to deliver an audio story called ‘Kiln’.
We wish we could tell you what happens, but we have no idea. We haven’t listened to it. It is only available in Sweden, and it is recommended, for the full experience, you head to one of the country’s many eerily beautiful forests, the kind that pop up in horror movies all the time.
Imagine wandering around one of these at night with your headphones in and a horror story playing, ideally with some mates for protection and to increase the odds of you not being eaten.
The story takes place in a forest, is based on Swedish folklore and is told in first-person, making you feel as if you are the person at the heart of it. This could be either a really good thing or a really bad thing, depending on how you feel about horror stories.
We think this is an ingenious idea; for the cost of nothing you get Sweden’s epic outdoors as well as drama and spook. Count us in.
At first glance, Skinopi Lodge could be a mirage. A blip on the horizon of an ancient, rocky landscape with the crystal blue waters of the Aegean in the distance.
Built into the slope above a tiny fishing village on Milos, this is quickly emerging as one of the most exotic and extraordinary islands in all of the Cyclades. The volcanic rocks used to construct the Skinopi turn this place into a modest, unassuming retreat offering absolute privacy and unparalleled cliff-edge tranquillity. Milos is a Greek Island slowly gaining global attention, with its protected archaeological heritage and local coastal settlements of Klima and Mandrakia, where there are unbeatable (and undiscovered) local seafood and restaurants.
Imagine rocking up to work in your own personal helicopter.
It’s funny to try and imagine the conversation that led to the creation of The Jetson ONE; “Everyone I’ve got it: what about a drone… but we fly it ourselves?”
It’s a ludicrous idea, and we absolutely love it. The Jetson ONE is described as a ‘personal electric aerial vehicle’, although the Chief Technical Officer of the Swedish company calls it a ‘personal helicopter’. It’s got a top speed of 101 kilometres per hour, and incredibly, weighs in at just 86 kilograms. This isn’t one of those ‘flying car concepts’ – this is an actual product which you can buy (there are still several buyers wanted for the 2023 intake). Yes, it is a bit of a luxury to have a flying vehicle for shits and giggles, but hey – if we had the money, we’d be snapping one up.
The Jetson ONEs are built in Sweden, but are available the world over.
This is a country that gave has given us so much: pizza, pasta, Ferraris, Andrea Pirlo, the piano, the Amalfi Coast and more – they’ve now given us the Hotel Schwarzschmied. Built in 1981, the Schwarzmied (owing its name to a proximity to the Swiss border) has recently been updated so that it is a match for the stunning location it finds itself in.
Surrounded by a winery, and more broadly by mountains, gorges and hiking spots, some of the hotel itself has been kept from the 1980s, and looks from a distance like a cheap, mildly unattractive hotel that you might find on the outskirts of a city transposed into paradise.
It’s only once you get a bit closer that you reveal the beautiful interiors, the 29-meter outdoor pool, various spas and a Finnish outdoor sauna that you realise this place is pretty special. Its as if the hotel isn’t playing all its cards up front, and there’s an edifying satisfaction in unravelling all this grandeur a little slower.
Which is what the place is all about, really; taking it slow, and easy.
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