If there's one thing guaranteed to put you off staying in a hotel it's other people. The solution? Bin them.

Go for a hotel where, if you and your beloved aren't the only guests, then at least there are only a handful of others. You may, though, find that escaping far from the madding crowd means ending up in some unusual locations.

UP, UP AND AWAY

Harlingen Harbour Crane, Netherlands

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BACKGROUND

• The world's 20 best hotels on a budget

• Paragliding into an Oman hotel

• Is this the future of hotels?

• An Alton Towers pirate hotel room, ahoy!

• World's hottest hotels

Six of the best quirky hotel rooms

From sky high to deep sea, Will Hide seeks out the world's weirdest hotel rooms

• Paragliding into an Oman hotel

Related Internet Links

• Hotels, villas, camping, cottages and more in our Where to Stay section

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• Paragliding into an Oman hotel

As far as weird places to stay goes, just two of you, 17m (56ft) above the ground in a fully functioning harbourside crane in Holland is right up there. Literally. Thankfully the original ladders have been replaced by lifts, and in the cabin there's a double bed, chair, shower and minibar. And when you want to be master of your own sightseeing, push the lever and swing her round 360 degrees for a view with a room.

Details: www.vuurtoren-harlingen.nl, B&B for two from £245.

FLOAT ON

Utter Inn, Vasteras, Sweden

Tethered out in the middle of Lake Malaren near the town of Vasteras (which Ryanair passes off as Stockholm, although it's some 90km away) this small floating garden-shed lookalike accommodates two people.

Underwater windows allow you to eyeball passing fish. It's the brainchild of Mikael Genberg, a local artist who has also created a treehouse hotel near by, the Woodpecker. Evening meals are delivered by boat, along with a lovely picnic breakfast for the morning.

Details: 00 46 21 39 01 00, www.vasterasmalarstaden.se. From £190 for two including breakfast.

PEACE IN A POD

Hotel Everland, Paris

You won't get a better view of Paris than from this pod perched atop the roof of the Palais de Tokyo near the Seine, although getting a booking at Paris's most unique des-res is another matter. The one-bedroom hotel, which you can stay in for only a night at a time, has a bathroom, double bed and living room.

Details: www.everland.ch, from £256 for two.

TUBULAR BELLES

Park Hotel, Linz, Austria

Feel as if your life's going down the drain? Celebrate the fact by staying in one. Open from May, the several large, minimalist drainpipe rooms, located in the Austrian city of Linz, are on the banks of the river Danube. As it's in a park, you use the municipal showers and lavatories but that does keep costs down. In fact, the hotel owners operate a “pay what you think it's worth” policy.

Details: www.dasparkhotel.net

DEEP SLEEP

Jules' Undersea Lodge, Key Largo, Florida

To get to this two-room lodge, you have first to don scuba gear and dive 6.5m beneath the briny. Non-divers can stay after a short lesson and you can even get married there. In the living area there's a TV and DVD player should staring competitions with angel fish on the other side of the 1m panoramic windows prove tiresome. Not one, really, for the claustrophobic.

Details: 001 305 451 2353, www.jul.com. Doubles from £375 including dinner.

SPLENDID ISOLATION

Rua Reidh Lighthouse, Gairloch, Scotland

If you want to stay in Britain but get as far away from most people as possible, the northwest of Scotland is your best bet. This lighthouse, built in 1910 on a peninsula near Gairloch, will garner extra hermit points for you. You can book one of the nine rooms but for extra isolation hire out the whole place (minimum stay is two nights). There is beautiful mountain and coastal scenery but should the Scottish weather turn soggy, the lighthouse has its own drying room.

Details: 01445 771 263, www.ruareidh.co.uk. Room-only doubles from £32. To rent the whole lighthouse is from £600 for two nights.

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