World’s First Zero-Star Hotel Opens in the Mountains of Switzerland

By Mike Richard June 16, 2017

zero-star hotel

Switzerland is hardly known as a budget-friendly vacation destination. But a new mountainside art installation-cum-hotel purports offer the world’s first (and possibly only) “zero-star” lodging.

With each stay at the Zero-Star Hotel, guests are provided little more than a bed and an outhouse. On paper, it sounds more like a rural hostel. In reality, the “bedroom” is a luxury designer suite situated amid the beautiful rolling hills of Switzerland’s Appenzell region. Guests receive a free cocktail on arrival, cooked-to-order breakfast daily, and the service of a butler (usually an area farmer in galoshes). The latter shows guests around the admittedly amenity-free property, shares corny jokes, and offers weather forecasts via an old TV set.

The aforementioned outhouse bathroom is just three minutes away on foot, and it doubles as backup lodging during inclement weather. Storms canceled nearly two-thirds of scheduled stays in 2016. The suite changes location each year. Previous locations included a mile-high spot atop the mountainous Grisons region, as well as in a decommissioned nuclear bunker.

Along with collaborator Daniel Charbonnier, co-founding brothers Patrik and Frank Riklin launched the first suite several years ago as an art project of sorts. Switzerland boasts some of the highest costs of living in the world, and stays at the country’s stunning ski resorts are hardly affordable for most “commoners.” The project’s primary goal takes aim at the concept of a traditional luxury vacation. “Our artistic perspective is to go in the other direction. There is freedom in the zero to define luxury anew.” While it may sound a bit highfalutin, it’s hard to argue their motives. The founders note that the installation has been a hit among art fans. However, Swiss hoteliers are less than thrilled about the blatant jab at their business practices.

zero-star-hotel

For 2017, nightly rates run around 295 Swiss Francs (just over $300 USD), but sky-high demand means the unique space sells out fast. Guests travel from around the world — from as far away as Australia, the U.S., and Africa — just for a chance to stay at the one-of-a-kind site. Amid nearly 1,500 requests this year, it’s almost sold out already.

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Mike Richard has traveled the world since 2008. He's kayaked in Antarctica, tracked endangered African wild dogs in South…

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The Best Boutique Hotels in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico

Hotel mar adentro San Jose del Cabo, Mexico

Just north of the younger, hipper — and decidedly boozier — resort town of Cabo San Lucas lies San Jose del Cabo. The scene feels a bit buttoned-down and grown-up, but it seems no one told the town’s hotel architects. The lodging is among the sleekest in Los Cabos. Here are three of our favorite boutique hotels in San Jose del Cabo.
Hotel El Ganzo
If there’s a boutique hotel that best represents the tourist-meets-expat vibe of San Jose del Cabo, it’s Hotel El Ganzo. It strikes the right balance of everything most would expect in a stylish boutique hotel. It’s hip, but not pretentious; chic, but not flashy, and modern, though not sterile. The decor is equal parts traditional hacienda and sleek Manhattan modern: barn-style doors, smooth concrete floors, oversized windows with sweeping views of the Sea of Cortez, and guest beds which peek into the adjacent glass-enclosed showers. The grounds are situated next to both a marina (with easy kayak launching) and a Jack Nicklaus-designed 18-hole pro golf course. Plus, it’s likely Baja’s only lodging with artist and musician residency programs — clear evidence of the hotel’s commitment to the Peninsula’s burgeoning creative scene. The best part? For all this hotel has to offer, the nightly rates are surprisingly affordable.

Don’t miss: The onsite Gachoo Sushi Bar offers an extensive list of raw specialties, including ceviche, tempura, sashimi, and carpaccios.
Mar Adentro Cabos
If pure style is what you’re after, no hotel in Los Cabos nails it like Mar Adentro Cabos. Renowned Mexican architect, Miguel Ángel Aragonés, described the hotel’s sleek, stark, white-on-white-on-white design as a series of “floating boxes.” Indeed the ultra-modern architecture — with its hard angles, long, barely illuminated hallways, and copious use of floor-to-ceiling glass — feels like the set of a Kubrick sci-fi flick. The hotel is purpose-built to stay out of its own way, allowing guests to focus on the sun, sand, and surf. But, the hustle of Cabo San Lucas is just 20 minutes away (though you’d never know it), and there’s always plenty to see and do — sailing, whale-watching, diving, and paddle boarding to name a few — in the Sea of Cortez.

Travel

Explore the Best Boutique Hotels in Rincón, Puerto Rico

Stock-Rincon-Puerto-Rico

Far from the maddening crowds of resort-seeking tourists in San Juan lies Rincón. This slower corner of Puerto Rico is the island’s surf capital — it’s indeed where the Surfing World Championship took place in 1968. For the many expats who still live there, the vibe and the good times never left. In addition to the relaxed restaurants and toes-in-the-sand beach bars, it’s replete with excellent boutique hotels. Here are just three of our favorites.
Tres Sirenas Beach Inn

Tres Sirenas Beach Inn is a pitch-perfect example of what a boutique beach hotel should be. The tiny guesthouse is home to just five rooms, half of which boast condo-style amenities like gourmet kitchens, multiple bedrooms, and luxurious bathrooms with soak tubs. All feature private balconies where a hot, cooked-to-order breakfast is served daily while guests can enjoy the morning ocean breezes. While the beachfront is technically public (like all Puerto Rican beaches), the size of the beach makes it easy for guests to carve out a semi-private stretch of sand all to themselves. Downtown Rincón and the world-famous surf breaks of Rincón Beach are also less than five minutes away by car.
Tropical Treehouse

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These are the best credit cards with airport lounge access you can get

6 credit cards that will let you wait for your next flight in style

Businessman and business woman looking at laptop in airport lounge

There’s an old credit card slogan that says, “membership has its privileges,” and nowhere is that more apparent than in the case of airport lounges. The lounges' plush spaces and perks like complimentary food and beverages make them desirable places to wait for your flight, especially when compared to the hard chairs, noise, and limited charging stations most airport gates offer.

However, to enter these coveted lounges, you typically need to be flying first class or an elite member of the airline’s frequent flyer program. But there is another way you can gain access: Some travel credit cards come with access to airport lounges as a perk, allowing you to use them anytime you travel just by showing your card.