Sand castles excite the imagination, so it was only a matter of time before someone figured out how to make it possible to actually stay in one.
The Zand Hotel in the Netherlands isn't the first sand castle hotel by name, but it is the first one that is actually made of sand. Event organizers at Global PowWow spent four weeks building the hotel rooms -- of which there are 60 total -- as part of a sand sculpture festival in the towns of Sneek, Friesland, and Oss, Brabant, in the Netherlands.
From the outside, the hotel looks like a giant sand castle, like one that would be entered in an annual competition.
On the inside, the rooms are up to par with most boutique hotels -- although some of the rooms do look a bit cozy (perhaps for reasons of wall reinforcement).
The furniture is not all made of sand, which is a minor disappointment, though a sand chair likely isn't the most comfortable seating.
The nightly rate is €150 ($168), but you won't be able to book a room this year -- the Zand Hotel is completely booked.
But there's good news for sand castle enthusiasts: The organizers plan to do this again next year at both locations, as well as in the UK and Germany.
