The 10 Top Tree House Hotels

By NerdWallet 
Published
Edited by Mary M. Flory

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Tree houses are the romantic subject of childhood stories and, for some, a cherished memory of youthful exploration and imagination. Recently, they’ve become a popular accommodation option for adults as well.

Add a bit of youthful excitement to your next trip by checking in to one of these tree house hotels:

Location: Manaus, Brazil

Picture Swiss Family Robinson in the Amazon. Ariau Amazon Towers Hotel is one of the largest tree house hotels in the world. Ten miles of wooden catwalks connect the restaurant and other public areas to private suites (some with their own balconies, plunge pools and Jacuzzis) at 70 to 110 feet above the ground. For the same perspective as those parrots, or to get eye-to-eye with a sloth, climb to the top of the two 150-foot observation towers.

Location: Girona, Spain

Fifty-two miles from Barcelona, Cabanes Als Arbres features 10 cabin-like tree houses. In fact, these rooms are so similar to a cabin—albeit a classy, contemporary cabin—that you can just picture one room cottages atop Douglas fir trees. The tree houses don’t have electricity or running water, but are equipped with flashlights, candles, water jugs and basins.

Location: Cave Junction, Oregon

This place is a small bed & breakfast up in the trees of Oregon. With 18 different treehouses, viewing platforms (some 40 feet up in the air) and even child-sized forts, the Treesort is great for the family looking for some adventure. Zipline around the trees, ride horses or take a dip in the pool - the Treesort offers it all.

Location: Harads, Sweden

This hotel was inspired by the film “The Tree Lover” by Jonas Selberg Augusten—a story about three men who escape from their busy city lives to return to their roots and, yes, they build a tree house together. The Treehotel is designed to provide high-quality accommodation with little impact on the environment in a place that promotes relaxation. Each tree house, or “treeroom”, is suspended about fifteen feet above the ground with fantastic views of the Lule River. Designed by some of Scandinavia’s leading architects, these are not your typical tree houses. There is the Mirrorcube (that looks like an elevated mirrored cube), the Blue Cone (which actually has a red exterior) and the UFO (no explanation needed).

Location: Livingstone, Zambia

Of all the lodging options at Tongabezi, there is only one tree house, but it looks like something out of a dream. Tongabezi is a luxury safari lodge along the Zambezi River, just upstream from Victoria Falls. To get to the tree house from the main lodge area, you take a hidden path that winds along a cliff face. The tree house itself is built into the branches of a riverine Ebony tree and set up against a basalt rock wall. There are no walls, so imagine moving all of the necessities of a hotel room out to an enormous sustainable pine deck with expansive views of the Zambezi. The canopied bed and claw foot bath tub are carefully positioned to let you watch for wildlife from the moment you wake up.

Location: Southern Zone of Costa Rica

Erica and Mateo fell in love with the beauty of Costa Rica in 2006 and decided to settle down and create their version of paradise. Finca Bellavista is a sprawling complex of treehouses connected by bridges and ziplines high in the air. But for the nature lovers, there are over 600 acres of tropical rainforest to explore, including swimming holes, waterfalls and gardens, all wrapped up as a sustainable resort.

Location: Hainan Island, China

The four tree houses at Sanya Nanshan are built into a stand of towering tamarind trees just a minute from the beach and the South China Sea. These tree houses are really nestled in the trees and are accessible only by suspension bridge. The structures twist and turn to hug the tree trunks. Each house is equipped with electricity, but hot showers are back on the ground. Nearby is the 5,000-acre Nanshan Buddhism Cultural Theme Park, featuring a 354-foot statue of the Buddha Guanyin.

Location: Issaquah, Washington

Created by owner, author and treehouse builder Peter Nelson, this resort offers two distinct cabins built into the moss-covered old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest. Think warm, mountain cabin that you access via a suspension bridge or spiral staircase (that wraps around a tree trunk). The wood-frame structures, quilts and vintage chairs create a cozy ambiance and the walls of windows remind you that you’re up amongst the tree tops. An added bonus: Treehouse Point is only twenty-two miles from Seattle.

Location: Limón, Costa Rica

Edsart Besier’s Tree House Lodge was designed to minimize its impact on the surrounding jungle and certified by Costa Rica’s sustainable tourism program. The structures, and the furntiture inside, were built from fallen trees, and hot water is provided by solar power. The Tree House Lodge is also a great option if you want to experience a tree house resort without climbing 100-feet above ground; this tree house sits on eighteen-foot stilts. One-hundred-year-old Sangrillo trees wind through the floors and ceilings of the rooms, whether you’re on the ground or eighteen-feet up.

Location: Ashford, Washington

Just 10 miles from the Nisqually River entrance to Mount Rainier National Park, the Cedar Creek Treehouse provides an unconventional bed and breakfast experience. The cottage is elevated fifty feet above the forest floor in a two hundred year old Western Red Cedar. A rainbow bridge (it’s actually rainbow-colored) connects the treehouse to a new 100-foot-high observatory, providing spectacular views of the surrounding scenery. (Cedar Creek is currently not accepting bookings for the 2018 season.)

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