Weird or wonderful? This woman's life is spent in the WACKIEST places on earth


comments

One woman who doesn't mind that she's never had a 'normal' holiday is Jess Waters, a holiday tester with a difference.

Her job is to try out the world's wackiest hotels and accommodation and she travels the world - often with her husband and children - hopping from one bizarre room to the next.

The intrepid traveller has spent about 27 years of her life on the road, and £100,000 on holiday accommodation.

Worth her salt: The Bolivian salt hotel was one place Jess stayed. Hopefully she didn't lick the walls...

Worth her salt: The Bolivian salt hotel was one place Jess stayed. Hopefully she didn't lick the walls...

Open seasoning: The Bolivian Salt Hotel was certainly 'tastefully' decorated

Open seasoning: The Bolivian Salt Hotel was certainly 'tastefully' decorated

Now she's making a living from her addiction to unusual travel by reviewing places to stay for booking website QuirkyAccom.com, which caters for guests looking for the weird and wonderful.

Since she got married and had children ten years ago, they have joined her on her travels too.

Despite living in Spain, Jess, aged 45, has never been on a package holiday or visited the Costa Del Sol.

'It's crazy thinking I've spent so much of my life in hotels,' she says. 'I've stayed in the weirdest places you can imagine from huts in the middle of the Amazon to the isolated islands.

'But I'm passionate about encouraging other people to take unusual holidays so it's all worth it.'

Her wild lifestyle started after she left her home in Ryegate aged 18 to travel the world after being refused a promotion because she was female.

Aluminium dreams: The airstream where she laid her head for a night, was 'parked' in a beautiful setting

Aluminium dreams: The airstream where she laid her head for a night, was 'parked' in a beautiful setting

Hut life: Her hut in Koh Samui was well-placed for a morning dip in the sea

Hut life: Her hut in Koh Samui was well-placed for a morning dip in the sea

Inside the airstream, left
Jess and her family at Les Cols Pavellons in Catalunya - the hotel made entirely of glass

Cosy: Inside the airstream an inviting bed made the stay even more worthwhile. Left, Jess and her family stayed at Les Cols Pavellons in Catalunya - a hotel made entirely of glass

She worked odd jobs to try make ends meet, from waitressing in Hong Kong to windscreen cleaning in Sydney.

Jess has since been to more than 50 countries, stayed in prisons and converted train carriages and set up QuirkyAccom.com to share her passion with other adventurous travellers.

 

Although she's travelled all over the world, the most unusual place she's stayed is a hotel made entirely of glass - Les Cols Pavellons - in northern Spain.

'Staying in quirky hotels is definitely the best way to travel. It just makes every holiday memorable and special,' says Jess.

'You get to see parts of a country you'd never normally see and often if your accommodation is unusual enough that can be your whole holiday - staying in a cabin in the middle of the jungle is an adventure in itself.

Starstruck: The unusual Airstream Retro Trailer Park in the foothills of the Pyrénées has outstanding views of the mountains... and stars

Starstruck: The unusual Airstream Retro Trailer Park in the foothills of the Pyrénées has outstanding views of the mountains... and stars

Chic dining: The Apollo Lounge at the Belpayre retro airstream park is a nice spot for a meal

Chic dining: The Apollo Lounge at the Belpayre retro airstream park is a nice spot for a meal

'Even if you're staying a hotel in the middle of a city, if it's got a theme or a unique design you'll never forget it.

'Les Cols Pavellons was like being on a different planet. There's nothing else like it.'

There haven't been too many disasters, Jess says, because most of the people who own weird and wonderful hotels do it to live out their dream and it is often one person's passion.

'There was one place where monkeys trashed our room because we didn't lock the doors properly one day, but I guess that's the risk you run if you stay in the middle of the jungle in Sri Lanka.'

Jess looks set to continue in her mission to reveal unusual places to stay as long as possible.

'Staying in quirky accommodation is not always the cheapest way to travel,' she points out, but adds, 'I'd still take a basic tepee over a standard three-star hotel any day.'



IFTTT

Put the internet to work for you.

Turn off or edit this Recipe

0 comments:

Post a Comment