Family Time: 5 Cool Places to Sleep
The family vacation, like the concept of family itself, has evolved. No matter who you’re traveling with, here are five intriguing and unusual places to lay your head that are bound to please everyone in your brood.
> Glass Igloos
Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort (Finland)
No night-lights or tech toys required: Kids lie in bed and watch the aurora borealis (mid-August through April) overhead. Igloos sleep two or four.
> Concrete Tepees
Wigwam Villages (Kentucky, Arizona, and California, USA)
The last roadside motels remaining of seven built from 1936 to 1949 offer 28-foot-high freestanding tepee rooms and a retro American vibe.
> Baronial Castle
Glenapp Castle (Ballantrae, Scotland)
Families get the royal treatment at this fairy-tale castle overlooking the Irish Sea, and kids get to try their hand at the ancient sport of falconry.
> Drive-In Cinema Room
V8 Hotel-Motorworld Region (Stuttgart, Germany)
- Nat Geo Expeditions
Your crew can pile into an apple red Cadillac Coupe DeVille bed to watch their favorite flicks on the wall. The driving theme rolls on throughout the Motorworld complex, with its classic Lamborghinis, McLarens, and other vintage sports cars.
> Beagle-shaped B&B
Dog Bark Park Inn (Cottonwood, Idaho)
The big dog on the Camas Prairie—30-foot-tall Sweet Willy—is built for unplugged family vacations. Inside the beagle’s head is a kid-size loft with books, board games, and puzzles. Visit the on-site chainsaw folk art studio, or meet wolves at the Wolf Education Center.
This piece, reported by Maryellen Kennedy Duckett, first appeared in the April 2015 issue of National Geographic Traveler.
