10 Unusual Airbnbs: Cube Houses, Castles, a Clock Tower and a Seashell

Some holiday rentals are worth booking for the building alone. From a tilted cube in Rotterdam to a conch shell on a Caribbean island, these ten homes turned up on Airbnb in 2016, and each tells a story about architecture, history or one owner’s imagination.

1. Cube Houses, Rotterdam, Netherlands

Dutch architect Piet Blom designed Rotterdam’s Kubuswoningen, a cluster of yellow houses each tipped onto one corner, with walls and windows set at 54.7 degrees. There are 40 cubes in all, 38 small ones and two “super-cubes”, built on Overblaak Street directly above Blaak metro station. One owner runs a furnished Show Cube that visitors can tour, and since 2009 the larger cubes have housed a Stayokay hostel.

2. The Tile House, Twentynine Palms, California

Out in the Mojave Desert near Joshua Tree, the Tile House is covered inside and out in a mosaic of Mexican tile, glass baubles, vintage ceramics and broken plates, all grouted into the walls and floors, with junk art scattered around the yard. It became one of the most wish-listed homes on Airbnb. It is private property, so admire it from the road unless you have a booking.

3. Headfort House, County Meath, Ireland

On the southern edge of Kells, Headfort House was built between 1769 and 1771 for the 1st Earl of Bective to designs by George Semple, with interiors by the Scottish architect Robert Adam. The Taylour family, Marquesses of Headfort, lived there until 1949, when the main house was leased to Headfort School.

4. A castle in Cumbria, England

The north of England is castle country, and this turreted stone castle in Cumbria let guests sleep behind thick walls in wood-panelled rooms with open fireplaces, red upholstery and curtained windows. Cumbria is also the home of the Lake District, so a castle stay doubles as a base for walking the fells.

5. A private Palm Springs retreat, California

Palm Springs is famous for its mid-century desert homes, and this low, tiled-roof house fits the mood: a private pool outside, and inside a timber-ceilinged living room with sofas, shelves of books and a jukebox.

6. St Pancras clock tower, London

St Pancras station opened in 1868 under William Henry Barlow’s great single-span train shed, and George Gilbert Scott’s Gothic Revival Midland Grand Hotel followed in front of it in 1873. After a long restoration the hotel reopened in 2011, while the upper floors of the old building became apartments. This listing offered a stay inside the clock tower, with a tall brick interior above the station that is now London’s Eurostar terminus.

7. Dairsie Castle, Fife, Scotland

Dairsie Castle stands above the River Eden in north-east Fife. The first castle on the site dates from around 1300, when it belonged to the bishops of St Andrews, and a Scottish parliament met here in 1335. The Learmonth family rebuilt it in the 16th century, and Archbishop John Spottiswoode bought it and built Dairsie Old Church beside it in 1621. After falling into ruin in the 19th century, it was rebuilt in the 1990s and is now private holiday accommodation.

8. Villa San Gennariello, Portici, Italy

At the foot of Vesuvius on the Bay of Naples, this 18th-century villa is part of the Bourbon pheasantry complex of the Royal Palace of Portici, built when the town was a favourite retreat of Neapolitan nobility. Guests stay in rooms with antique furniture, take breakfast in the courtyard in summer and walk in a park of old trees and palms. Herculaneum and Pompeii are a short trip away.

9. Rainforest tree house, Alajuela, Costa Rica

In Costa Rica’s Alajuela province, this raised timber tree house sits among tropical vegetation, with a bedroom under a mosquito net and a small kitchen tucked beneath a wooden staircase.

10. The Seashell House, Isla Mujeres, Mexico

Off the Yucatán coast near Cancún, Isla Mujeres has a house shaped like a giant conch. It was designed by the Mexican artist Octavio Ocampo and his brother, the architect Eduardo Ocampo, and took about three years to build from 2001. Inside, sinks and taps are made from coral and shell, a scallop-shaped headboard crowns the master bed and Octavio’s mermaid paintings hang on the walls. There are two bedrooms and a pool looking out over the Caribbean.

Booking an unusual stay

Listings change hands and disappear, so search each place by name before you plan around it. Unusual buildings often come with steep stairs, ladders or low beams, so read the room layout and ask the host if that matters to your group. New to Airbnb? You can sign up using this link. For staffed alternatives, see our unusual hotel guide.

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