There is a holiday home shaped like a boot in New Zealand. In Mexico, you can stay inside an enormous architectural serpent. In Scotland, there is a house built across a river, which gives “waterfront” rather a different meaning.
Unusual Airbnbs are fun to browse because the building is part of the trip. You can spend the day sightseeing and still have something interesting to come back to.
Here are ten real listings that take that idea seriously. This is an editorial selection, not an official Airbnb ranking. We've included the practical details that a striking photograph can leave out, because a ladder, shared grounds or a seasonal pool may matter more to your booking than the shape of the roof.
The quick tour
| Stay | Location | What makes it unusual |
|---|---|---|
| Quetzalcoatl's Nest | Mexico | An apartment within a serpent-shaped complex |
| Hector Cave House | Greece | A former wine cellar above the Santorini caldera |
| Mandala Cob | Canada | A hand-built earthen cottage on a working farm |
| Antico Trullo | Italy | A traditional stone storehouse converted for stays |
| Earthship Modern + Mesa | United States | A home built with reused materials and off-grid systems |
| Mushroom retreat | United States | A tiny dome-shaped retreat paired with a house suite |
| The Boot | New Zealand | A two-storey house shaped like footwear |
| The Bridge House | Scotland | A home spanning the River Ardle |
| Moinho das Feteiras | Portugal | A converted 19th-century windmill |
| Étoile stargazing bubble | Australia | A transparent sleeping space above the landscape |
Ten unusual stays
1. Quetzalcoatl's Nest, Mexico
Image: Quetzalcoatl's Nest on Airbnb.
Architect Javier Senosiain's Quetzalcoatl's Nest in Naucalpan de Juárez is a residential complex built around an enormous serpent-like form. The Airbnb stay is in an apartment within that complex, with relatively restrained interiors set against the much more expressive architecture outside. (Airbnb)
It is an important distinction: you are not renting an entire sculpture park. The listing offers a guided visit to the neighbouring Parque Quetzalcóatl by prior arrangement, with access controlled rather than unlimited wandering.
The accommodation permits personal cellphone photographs but prohibits photo/video sessions and professional equipment. Professional-shoot enquiries must be made separately with the neighbouring park; booking accommodation does not grant park shoot permission. For an ordinary visitor, the attraction is already substantial: the chance to wake up inside a building that makes the usual rectangular floor plan seem a little unambitious.
2. Hector Cave House, Greece
Image: Hector Cave House on Airbnb.
Hector Cave House in Oia began as a wine cellar and is now a small cave home overlooking Santorini's caldera. The listing describes a private veranda, a loft sleeping area and an outdoor plunge pool sized for two. (Airbnb)
The pool comes with a useful qualification: the host lists it as unheated and available between April and November. A winter booking should not be made on the assumption that the summer photograph describes the whole year.
The curved rooms and terrace provide the character here, rather than an enormous interior. Look closely at the sleeping arrangement if travelling as a group. A property's listed capacity can include sofa beds and shared spaces, even when the view is thoroughly five-star in spirit.
3. Mandala Cob, Canada
Image: Mandala Cob on Airbnb.
Mandala Cob on Mayne Island is a small, hand-built cottage on an organic farm. Its rounded earthen walls give it a very different feel from a standard timber cabin, with the farm setting making the building part of a wider working place. (Airbnb)
The bathroom arrangement deserves a proper read. The private toilet and shower are outside the cottage, reached by a covered walkway. That may be entirely comfortable for the right guest, but it is not an en-suite bathroom hidden behind an interior door.
The host also asks guests to respect the practical routines of a farm, including gates and animals. A stay like this works best when the setting is part of the appeal, rather than a surprise discovered during the first late-night trip outside.
4. Antico Trullo, Italy
Image: Antico Trullo on Airbnb.
Antico Trullo near Alberobello turns a former rural storehouse into a compact place to stay. The stone structure and conical roof supply the character, with a modern bathroom, kitchenette and private courtyard making it usable as holiday accommodation. (Airbnb)
This particular listing is in the countryside. Do not assume that every property using Alberobello in its description is on one of the town's central lanes.
For guests, the comparison is between staying inside an unusual traditional building and choosing a more conventional base with extra space. For hosts, it is a good example of letting the original feature lead. The stonework already provides plenty to look at; the instructions should concentrate on making the small kitchen, parking and arrival route easy to use.
5. Earthship Modern + Mesa, United States
Image: Earthship Modern + Mesa on Airbnb.
Earthship Modern + Mesa in El Prado, near Taos, is a two-person stay in the Greater World Earthship community. The host describes building it with reused tyres, cans, bottles and other materials, alongside solar electricity and collected rainwater. Large windows face the surrounding landscape. (Airbnb)
Its interest goes beyond an unusual silhouette. The building's systems are part of the experience, so guests should read how they work and which expectations differ from a conventional home.
That does not make every stay in a distinctive building an engineering course. It means a little preparation can make the visit more interesting and avoid unnecessary confusion. “Where does the water come from?” is a much better question to answer in the guidebook than to leave as a mystery at the sink.
6. The mushroom retreat, United States
Image: Land of Paradise suite with mushroom retreat on Airbnb.
The small mushroom-shaped building in Aptos, California, has the kind of roof that makes a normal garden shed feel deeply underdressed. Its rounded retreat space has long been the visual attraction, but the current listing needs careful reading. (Airbnb)
The reservation is for the main-house suite and includes unlimited access to the mushroom retreat; the dome is not offered as a standalone rental. It nevertheless has basic cooking equipment and its own shower and composting toilet.
That is a useful reminder for anyone collecting unusual stays from older articles or social posts. A photograph can continue circulating after the accommodation arrangement changes. Follow the current listing, check what is included and make sure the memorable building is available in the way you expect to use it.
7. The Boot, New Zealand
Image: The Boot on Airbnb.
The Boot in the Tasman area near Nelson is a two-person stay built in the shape of a large boot. Inside are a bedroom and bathroom; outside are a private courtyard and garden setting, with fireplaces adding to the fairytale feeling. (Airbnb)
The host describes breakfast provisions as part of the stay. Check the current listing for exactly what is supplied and how that fits your plans for other meals.
There is no need to work terribly hard to explain the appeal. It is a house shaped like a boot. The useful questions come afterwards: how the rooms connect, where guests cook or eat, and what the surrounding property offers. Even the most whimsical stay benefits from some thoroughly ordinary information.
8. The Bridge House, Scotland
Image: The Bridge House on Airbnb.
The Bridge House at Ballintuim was built across the River Ardle in 1881. Rather than looking at a bridge through the window, guests stay in the building on it, with stonework, a conservatory dining space and a wood-burning stove adding to the atmosphere. (Airbnb)
Read the layout before packing. Access includes a spiral stone staircase, and one of the two bedrooms has a small double bed. A separate stables apartment may appear in the wider property information, but it is not automatically part of this booking.
This is an especially good example of why precise descriptions matter. “Two bedrooms in a historic house over a river” is already an appealing proposition. The dimensions and access details help it find the guests who will enjoy it most.
9. Moinho das Feteiras, Portugal
Image: Moinho das Feteiras on Airbnb.
Moinho das Feteiras on São Miguel is a converted 19th-century windmill with a bedroom, kitchenette and upper-floor views across the sea and surrounding landscape. The listing includes private parking and access to a garden setting. (Airbnb)
Other accommodation units share the wider property, so this is a private windmill stay within a small collection of buildings. That is different from having an entire isolated estate to yourself.
The vertical layout is part of the point. It is also a reason to look at the stairs and room arrangement before booking. A mill provides an unusual place to spend the night, but a circular building does not suddenly become a conventional flat once you bring a suitcase through the door.
10. Étoile stargazing bubble, Australia
Image: Étoile stargazing bubble on Airbnb.
Étoile in Agnes, Victoria, places a bed beneath a transparent canopy overlooking the landscape towards Wilsons Promontory. The listing includes heating and cooling, an en-suite bathroom, a compact kitchenette and a sheltered barbecue area. (Airbnb)
It is an adults-only stay on a working farm, with individual sites fenced off and instructions to close the gates. A transparent roof makes stargazing possible from bed; it cannot arrange clear weather.
The contrast is what makes the stay interesting: an open view above the sleeping area, with practical facilities close at hand. Guests should still check privacy arrangements and the current house rules. Sleeping under the sky feels rather better when the less romantic details have already been sorted out.
Before booking an unusual Airbnb
Look at the booking as a sequence of ordinary actions. Arrive, carry bags, use the bathroom, make a meal, sleep and leave. Check where each happens and what equipment or access it involves.
In particular, confirm:
- Whether you are booking the whole building, a room or an apartment within a larger site.
- Which areas are shared and which are private.
- Stairs, ladders, walking routes and bathroom access.
- Seasonal facilities, connectivity and cooking equipment.
- The total price and current terms for your dates and guest count.
These details do not take the fun out of the search. They help the remarkable photograph turn into a stay you will actually enjoy.
For hosts, the same list makes a useful guidebook audit. The more individual the property, the less you can assume a guest already knows how it works. letbloom helps guests ask those everyday questions on WhatsApp using your property information, with urgent or unusual problems passed to your team. See how it works.
Sources and images
Property descriptions and photographs come from the ten linked Airbnb listings. The list is a curated selection, with no claim that Airbnb has ranked these as the world's ten most unusual homes. Amenities and booking arrangements can change; use the current listing as the source for a planned stay.
