Sleep on a bed of ice, or underwater, or where witches were burned

If you're a blasé member of the "been there, done that" travel set, consider booking an oddball, nontraditional hotel on your next journey. Take your pick from these highly quirky accommodations designated as the World's Top 10 by knowledgeable editors of that terrific online resource, World Travel Guide at www.worldtravelguide .net.

1. The Ice Hotel, Sweden (www.icehotel.com). Consistently getting top scores in readers' surveys, the Ice Hotel is the coolest hotel around — literally. Built afresh every December with ice from the River Thorne in northern Sweden, and featuring specially commissioned artwork each year, this fairy-tale hotel is a very romantic retreat (you sleep on ice blocks covered in reindeers skins), if you can face the subzero temperatures in the rooms. Features include an ice bar, a wedding chapel and more traditional cabins for those who don't like to be quite so chilled. Go now: With the impact of global warming, the option of staying at this amazing hotel might be endangered.

2. The Madonna Inn, San Luis Obispo, Calif. (www.madonnainn.com). Garish, schlocky, tasteless all apply, but this vestige of the 1960s is a real hoot and the mother of all themed hotels. It boasts 109 rooms, every one of them individually decorated. Try the Caveman Room, all rock and animal prints, or the Bridal Falls, which features a huge stained glass window and a massive waterfall shower. There is a room with a stuffed buffalo head hanging above the bed, and one with a miniature mill structure. The Madonna Suite is another extravagant option, although newlyweds might prefer the aptly named Just Heaven or Cloud Nine rooms. For those not staying, dinner in the completely over-the-top bright pink Steakhouse is the next best thing.

3. Hydropolis, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (www.crescent-hydropolis.com). Think of hotels in the United Arab Emirates and quite a few superlatives will spring to mind. This tiny gulf country is home to some of the world's most spectacular hotels: there is the Burj al Arab, the only 7-star hotel in the world; The Emirates Palace, the most expensive hotel ever built; and, currently under construction, the Burj Dubai, which will be, when completed by the end of 2008, the tallest skyscraper on earth. Hydropolis, the world's first underwater resort, however, promises to be in a class of its own. Inspired by Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Scheduled to open in 2009, it is an engineering achievement and the ultimate underwater fantasy for the 21st century.

4. The Witchery, Edinburgh, Scotland (www.thewitchery.com/accom.html). Located in a historic building at the gates of Edinburgh Castle, The Witchery — so named because of the many hundreds who were burned alive as witches on the Castle hill in the 16th and 17th centuries — is the perfect place for a romantic weekend away. There is no shortage of adjectives, including theatrical, gothic, decadent, sexy and magical, to describe this atmospheric hotel, which has won a host of awards. The rooms are all lavishly decorated, with warm oaks and rich velvets featuring prominently, and each houses unique antique pieces. The bathrooms, too, have to be seen to be believed: the one in the Old Rectory boasts gothic ceilings, marble floors and a bathtub for two. Note that there are only seven suites, and they get booked up months in advance.

5. The Asakusa Capsule Hotel, Tokyo, Japan (www.asakusa-capsule.jp/english). Unique to Japan, capsule hotels offer businessmen who have missed their last train home a place to crash for a few hours before going back to work. They are not for the claustrophobic — you sleep in a capsule averaging 3 by 3 by 6 feet — alongside another 20 or 30 people, whom you will hear cough, snore or shout in their sleep. The capsules are surprisingly comfy, though. Just remember to switch your phone off and leave your smelly trainers in your locker. The Asakusa Capsule Hotel in Tokyo is one of only a handful that accept women.

6. Fur 'n' Feathers, Queensland, Australia (www.rainforesttreehouses.com.au). Hang out in a tree house. Located on the Atherton Tableland in northern Queensland, only 90 minutes from Cairns, Fur 'n' Feathers is a 100-acre private eco wildlife sanctuary hidden in the middle of the rain forest. Lush vegetation and a fantastic array of Australian animals draw wildlife enthusiasts, who come here to spot the weird looking platypus and the elusive cassowary, as well as possums, tree frogs, tree kangaroos, bandicoots, parrots and more.

7. Gamirasu Hotel, Cappadocia, Turkey (www.gamirasu.com). It can get hot in Cappadocia in summer and bitterly cold in winter. To combat these extremes of temperature, the locals have been living in cave houses for centuries. Insulated by volcanic rock, these rooms, carved in the cliffs, are a pleasant 62 to 68 degrees year-round. The Gamirasu Hotel near Urgup is an exquisitely restored 18-room cave house in a former Byzantine monastic retreat that was used by Christian monks until only recently. Just make sure you don't get lost in this underground warren if you've indulged in too much grape.

8. The Shady Dell, Bisbee, Ariz. (www.theshadydell.com). Fancy a step back in time? Rewind back to the 1950s. This trailer park opened in 1927 to cater for travelers along Highway 80, which stretched from San Diego to Savannah. And 81 years later, the same old retro trailers are still there, shiny chrome and all, for the delight of vintage fans. Some even have original black-and-white TV sets and phonographs with a selection of vintage records, and there is also a 1957 Valentine 10-stool diner on site.

9. The Fox Hotel, Copenhagen, Denmark (www.hotelfox.dk). Trendy types on a budget will love this place. Staying here is a bit like being locked in an art gallery after hours. Decorated by a group of 21 young artists who were granted carte blanche, the hotel's rooms have been furnished and embellished in whimsical, wildly eclectic styles. One is inspired by a 1960s thriller, for example, while another reflects the Japanese manga (comics) style.

10. Celica Hostel, Ljubljana, Slovenia (www.souhostel.si). Celica, though operated as a hostel, is fast becoming one of the most popular bedding options in Ljubljana. The former military barracks, built during the Austro-Hungarian Empire, were occupied by various military forces for over a century before being demilitarized after Slovenia's independence in 1992. A group of local artists then took over and tarted the place up. The 20 prison cells do have bars on the windows and doors, although the staff are a lot friendlier than the wardens of yore. You are free to escape any time to check out the sights of this postcard-pretty Slovene capital.

Irene Croft Jr. of Kailua, Kona, is a travel writer and 40-year veteran globetrotter. Her column is published in this section every other week.