Want something more than your average holiday? Now’s the time to book somewhere quirky, fun and funky to make the holiday season that little bit special.
Britain is home to a huge variety of not-quite-so-ordinary locations. We’ve stayed in some great hotels, cottages and B&Bs, but never experienced anything as unique as these fun and unusual places to stay.
Liverpool’s Yellow Submarine
We all live in a yellow submarine
Well you can, if you head to Liverpool and rent this barge, floating in the heart of Albert Docks with views of the river and cityscape.
The lounge features gold discs from The Fab Four, and you’ll find the mod scooter from the film Quadrophenia on board too.
Fun things to see in Liverpool
- Take a ferry across the Mersey
- Visit the Beatles Story or take a magical mystery tour
- Sefton Park Palmhouse
- Liverpool FC
Bournemouth’s Chocolate Hotel
Sometimes just eating chocolate is not enough
If you’ve spent any time on our site, you’ll know that we will travel far and wide for good chocolate.
The Chocolate Boutique Hotel promises everything chocolate – cocktails, fountains and workshops – while you stay in chocolate-themed bedrooms.
Fun things to see in Bournemouth
- Seafront and seven miles of coastal walks
- Paultons Park (home of Peppa Pig)
- The Tutankhamun Exhibition
- Longleat Safari Park
Balancing Barn, Suffolk
A question of balance
If modern architecture’s your thing and you want the thrill of living dangerously, why not try The Balancing Barn in Walberswick, Suffolk.
While half the house is securely embedded in the hillside, the other half hangs precariously over the edge. Just a few miles from the seaside (known for its dramatic coastal erosion) this is a startling but safe way to experience life on the edge.
Fun things to see in Suffolk
- Walberswick nature reserve
- Southwold and Aldeburgh
- The Dunwich Museum – dedicated to Suffolk’s lost town
- Crabbing on the seafront
La Rosa, Whitby
Go ask Alice….
For authentic Victorian seaside fun, there’s La Rosa in Whitby.
Housed in a beautiful building overlooking the sea, it’s the place where Lewis Carroll stayed on many of his visits to the town.
The hotel is furnished with vintage and antique finds from auctions, flea markets and car boots, it has a distinct Alice in Wonderland twist with a nod to Whitby’s other famed author Bram Stoker.
Although we’ve not stayed at La Rosa, we did spend one memorable day in Whitby – the only sunny one in an otherwise relentlessly wet and cold summer break – and can vouch for it being delightful.
Loved the ruined Abbey, ate great fish and chips and watched a seal frolicking in the harbour.
Fun things to see in Whitby
- Captain Cook Memorial Museum
- Original Whitby Jet Shop
- Take a Dracula or ghost walk
- Whitby Abbey
Old Railway Station, Sussex
Long train runnin’
Perfect for railway enthusiasts is the Old Railway Station, Petworth in West Sussex, where you can either stay in the station house itself or sleep in one of the elegant Pullman carriages.
Lovingly restored to their colonial grandeur, you can imagine Poirot himself stepping out of the pages of a murder mystery onto the platform.
Fun things to see near Petworth
- Petworth House
- Goodwood
- Cowdray Park
- Bignor Roman Villa
Hotel Pelirocco, Brighton
Brighton rocks
And of course our home city of Brighton is queen of the quirky, and visitors are rather spoilt for choice. For sheer over-the-top decor, there’s really only one place to stay, Hotel Pelirocco.
With 19 individually themed rooms to choose from, there’s bound to be something to your taste.
You can live in cloud-cuckoo-land, feel pretty vacant in the Sex Pistols double room or sleep under the stars, dreaming of universal domination, in Lord Vader’s room.
Fun things to see in Brighton
- The Royal Pavilion
- Palace Pier
- Unique shopping in North Laine
- Visit a Sussex vineyard
All images are copyright to their respective owners.
Images of La Rosa Hotel are by Robert Watson
Where to next?
• Beautiful Bus Rides of Britain
• Holiday and Travel Competitions
• Cambridge – a summer stroll