Inns Outside the Box
America’s Offbeat Roadside Lodgings
By Lisa Anderson Mann

There are times on the road when America seems to be getting a bit homogenous — you find a Starbucks or MacDonald’s or Wal-Mart whether you’re in Tupelo, Miss.; Liberal, Kansas; or Sitka, Alaska. The register clerk’s accent may vary, but the product array will be disappointingly identical, no matter where you are. 

Lodging choices can feel the same; chain hotels offer a welcome predictability after a long day on the interstate, but a Motel 6 in Anaheim, Calif., looks just the same as a Motel 6 in Ann Arbor, Mich. Driving from chain to chain can diminish the sense of discovery that makes the road trip the quintessential American holiday.

But don’t despair. America’s independent (and eccentric) roadside spirit hasn’t been completely erased. Here’s a sampling of some of the unique, even quirky, roadside lodgings you can find in the U.S.

Man’s best friend
Cottonwood, Idaho, boasts the ultimate doghouse — the world’s largest beagle — two stories high and sleeping four. A queen bed is housed in the body of the beagle, and two twin futons are in a loft in its head. The owners are chainsaw artists Dennis Sullivan and Frances Conklin, who specialize in folk-art style wooden dog carvings (a number of which decorate the sleep-in beagle).

Dog Bark Park Inn - Bed & Breakfast,
2421 Business Hwy.
95 at the Dog, Cottonwood, ID 83522
208-962-3647; e-mail: dogbark@camasnet.com; dogbarkparkinn.com.
Rates: $92 double, including breakfast; extra people $8 per person.

Get your kitsch on Route 66
In Arizona, you can stay in one of the original “Wigwam Motels.”  Between the 1930s and the 1950s there was a chain of seven wigwam villages along Route 66, but only three exist today. The teepees have a diameter of 14 feet at the base and a height of 32 feet. Unlike Indian teepees, these steel and concrete constructions have modern conveniences, double beds and air conditioning. There are only three left, and the one near Holbrook is a registered historic monument.
Wigwam Motel,
811 W. Hopi Dr.
Holbrook, AZ 86025
928-524-3048; galerie-kokopelli.com/wigwam/.
Rates: Two double beds $54; one double bed $48.

We all stay in a yellow submarine
In Florida, certified divers can stay five fathoms deep in the world's only underwater hotel (with an underwater swimming pool). Just to enter the lodge, guests must scuba dive 21 feet beneath the surface of the sea. But once through the hatch, guests will find two living chambers — one divided into two eight by eight foot bedrooms; the other an eight by 20 foot common room with dining and entertainment facilities. Between the two chambers is a 10 by 20 foot “wet room” entrance area with a moon pool entrance (similar to a small swimming pool), a shower and bathroom facilities. The lodge hosts two couples, each with a private bedroom and sharing the common spaces, but up to eight in a group can stay here.

Jules Undersea Lodge
Key Largo Undersea Park, 51 Shoreland Dr.
Key Largo, Florida 33037
305-451-2353; e-mail: info@jul.com; jul.com
Rates: $375 per person per night; includes dinner and breakfast, dive gear and unlimited dives.

Underground New Mexico
If visiting nearby Mesa Verde so inspires you, at Kokopelli’s Cave B&B, you can stay in a one-bedroom cave blasted out of a 65-million year old sandstone formation — naturally air-conditioned and complete with a flagstone hot-tub and a replica kiva and working orno fireplace.

Kokopelli's Cave Bed & Breakfast,
3204 Crestridge Dr.,
Farmington, NM 87401;
505-325-7855; bbonline.com/nm/kokopelli/.
Rates: $240 for one or two people, $280 for three or four people.

Almost Africa
Safari West, a 400-acre wildlife park in the heart of California’s Wine Country, feels a lot like the Serengeti plain. This is where the antelope roam, zebras loiter at the watering hole, ostriches gaze curiously at you, the Watusi cattle sleep under the oaks, and a scimitar-horned oryx slows your safari vehicle (an open-sided, double-decker jeep) to a crawl. You’ll wake on the wild side to the sounds of Indian hornbills in a tent cabin (just like those in Africa’s pricy luxury tent safaris)  — complete with wood floors, king-sized beds, a full bath and verandas.

Safari West
3115 Porter Creek Rd.
Santa Rosa, CA  95404
707-579-2551 or 800-616-2695; safariwest.com.

A treehouse for adults
Sleep in a tree at the Out ‘n’ About Treesort in southern Oregon, which has 18 different treehouse rooms perched in an oak grove in the Siskiyou Mountains. The Swiss Family unit (which is heated and sleeps up to four) has a kids’ room and an adult room separated by a swinging bridge; the Treepee is a teepee in a tree. During the day you can take treehouse building classes, or explore the ropes course and zipline, go rafting or horseback riding, or just relax by the pool fed by the East Fork Illinois River. Kitchen and bathroom facilities are on the ground.

Out ‘n’ About Treesort.
300 Page Creek Rd.
Cave Junction, OR  97523
541-592-2208; e-mail: treesort@treehouses.comtreehouses.com/treehouse/treesort/prclst.html

Bookworms rejoice
The Library Hotel in New York City offers its book-loving guests over 6,000 volumes organized throughout the hotel by the Dewey Decimal System. Each of the 10 guestroom floors reflects one of the 10 categories of the Dewey Decimal System and each of the 60 rooms has a unique collection of books and art based on a topic within its Dewey Decimal category. Got a favorite genre? Ask for a room in the 400s (Languages) for a touch of French, the 700s (Arts) for architecture or music, the 900s (History) for a period flavor, or the 800s (Literature) for a chilly winter night curled up with a good book.

Library Hotel
299 Madison Ave. (at 41st St.)
New York, NY 10017
212-204-5413
libraryhotel.com
Rates: $270 to $609 double occupancy, including breakfast.

Canned ham trailers and Ralph Lauren teepees
In the Yakima Valley of Washington, Sarah Fewel rents by the night two retro 1950s airstream-style trailers (“canned ham” trailers, she  laughs), set amidst the vines in the Christopher Cellars vineyard. The retro pink trailer is done up to appeal to your inner princess, complete with chandelier. More of a tomboy? The cowgirl trailer is decked out with kitschy ’50s cowgirl décor. The airstreams are not recommended for people 6'4" or taller. Sarah’s mother-in-law, Pepper Fewel, rents “Ralph Lauren style luxury” teepees nearby, and organizes horseback wine tasting tours.

Cherrywood B&B.
3271 Roza Dr., Zilah, WA
509-829-3500
cherrywoodbbandb.com.
Rates: $110 double occupancy, including breakfast.

Do Time in Kentucky 
Iron bars on windows and 30-inch thick stone walls are reminders of this building’s original purpose; until 1987 it was the Old Nelson County Jail. It was the oldest operating jail complex in Kentucky and is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places, but it’s now a six room B&B. Five of the rooms are typical b&b fare, but the Jail Cell room may be the most fun. Decorated in black and white, it has two of the original jail cell bunks and a waterbed.

Jailer’s Inn B&B,
111 W. Stephen Foster Ave.
Bardstown, KY 40004
502-348-5551 or 800-948-5551; jailersinn.com
Rate: Jail Cell (sleeps up to four) $80, including breakfast.

Monastery retreat
This monastery offers accommodations to people for short retreats (one to six nights) and long-term stays (30 days). Guests observe the same silence as the monks, eat the same vegetarian meals and can take part in the prayer services, if they wish, with a monk designated to help them. During the main meal at noon, a book is read aloud by one of the monks. The monks of Mepkin Abbey belong to the worldwide Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (commonly called Trappists). The rooms are furnished simply with a bed, desk, reading chair, and a private bath with shower. Married couples can be accommodated, but they ask all guests to have respect; this is an actual monastery, not a theme park.

Mepkin Abbey
1098 Mepkin Abbey Rd.
Moncks Corner, SC 29461
843-761-8509
Rates: The cost is a free will offering.

Boston B&Bs (Boat & Breakfast)
Water taxis go straight from Boston Logan Airport to your accommodations, where you can catch a view of the city off the bow of your room onboard a 59-foot Ketch docked at the Constitution Marina. These boats are anything but rustic; the Rozinante, for example has a marble-lined Jacuzzi, hand-crafted woodwork, and sleeps fours in two staterooms.

Bed and Breakfast Afloat,
Constitution Marina
28 Constitution Rd.
Boston, MA 02129
617-241-9640; bedandbreakfastafloat.com.
Rates: $135 to $195 per night.

Medieval brew, bed, and breakfast
The Viking Inn, which owner Steinarr Elmerson (“the Crazy Viking”) calls “Central Minnesota’s Nordic Inn Medieval Brew and Bed,” is a church converted to a Viking-themed interactive dinner theater and a bed and breakfast.

Nordic Inn,
210 First Ave. NW
Crosby, MN 56441
218-546-8299; vikinginn.com.
Rates: $58.50 to $150 double occupancy, including breakfast and Viking wear.

Ho, Ho, Home away from home
Love Christmas, even in July? The Inn at Christmas Place in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., keeps the holiday spirit year round with Christmas decorations and frequent Santa sightings. The Incredible Christmas Place, one of America’s biggest Christmas retailers, is across the street, so if Tennessee’s summer weather or the water slide at the pool threatens to drown out the carols in your heart, a quick stroll through the garlands in the lobby or the massive Christmas shop across the street will bring back the fa-la-la spirit.

The Inn at Christmas Place
119 Christmas Tree Ln.
Pigeon Forge, TN 37868
888-465-9644; innatchristmasplace.com.