The Magazine of The Sierra Club
Whether you crave quiet contemplation, carefree adventure, or simply a return to when scraped knees were the worst of your worries, go out on a limb for your next trip, and stay at one of this week's featured treehouse hotels. Yesterday, we ventured to Hainan, an island in the South China Sea, for a meditative retreat at Sanya Nanshan Treehouse Resort and Beach Club. Today, we continue circling the globe, stopping in Sweden to explore the eccentric Treehotel.
Travelers seeking a more avant-garde, though no less eco-friendly, experience can stay in the newest treehouse hotel in this week’s series. Nestled in the tiny village of Harads in northern Sweden, Treehotel’s houses feature signature airy, Scandinavian designs, but with startling twists. You'll see houses taking a variety of surreal forms, from a mirror-paneled cube to a shiny spaceship to a giant bird’s nest.
Beyond aesthetics, the hotels’ design also emphasizes sustainability. Each house comes supplied with hydroelectric power and LED lighting. Bathrooms have water-efficient sinks, as well as electrically powered, odorless toilets that incinerate or freeze waste. (One room’s toilet actually contributes to heating during wintertime.) Showers and a sauna are located in separate units. Houses don’t have sewage systems, and hotel staff use eco-friendly cleaning products.
Treehotel offers sweeping views of the coniferous Lule River Valley, where guests can delight in the Northern Lights dancing across the winter sky. A short stroll away, Harads offers eateries, a shop, and a guesthouse. Outdoor enthusiasts can indulge in a wide array of activities, from hiking, biking and horseback riding to fishing, kayaking, and dog sledding.
The arboreal villa will open its sixth treehouse this week, with plans to open 24 rooms in total. Houses can sleep two to four people and rent at about $500 for one adult, $670 for two adults, and $65 for children over two years old. Kids under age two lodge for free.
Read More:
5 Unbelievable Hotels Made of Natural Materials
Tree and Human Health May Be Linked
Melissa Pandika is an editorial intern at Sierra and a graduate journalism student at Stanford University. Her interests include environmental health and justice, urban environmental issues, and conservation biology. She has a soft spot for cetaceans.