Unusual Hotels: Sleeping with the Fishes (Utter Inn)
4 October, 2009Sweden’s Vasteras Utter Inn
From the shores of Lake Malaren in Sweden, the Utter Inn (see picture above) looks like a bright red gardening shack being rather out of place in the middle of the lake.
This is actually a hotel big enough for 2 single beds. The visible section of the Inn includes a kitchenette and little dining area surrounded by an outdoor terrace. What’s really cool is the part you could not see from the shore – the bedroom is underwater! The sleeping quarters, accessible via a ladder from the house, is submerged 3 meters (10 feet) underwater and has windows with views of the lake on all sides.
You will literally sleep with the fishes swimming around you – instead of you looking at fishes swimming within the confines of an aquarium, now you are in the aquarium with fishes swimming freely around you and looking at you while you sleep. 🙂
The Utter Inn staff brings guests to the Inn by boat from the port of Vasteras (about a 90 minute drive west of Stockholm) and then leaves you to enjoy it privately. Don’t worry, you will not be completely stranded in the middle of a lake – There’s a small row boat you could use to explore the lake and the islands around it and the Utter Inn staff is just a phone call away.
You can prepare your own meals (there’s a little fridge and stove top) or have meals boated out to you. Rates vary but average around 1200 Swedish Kroner. Be aware, reservations should be made well in advance for this verypopular inn, especially during summer. There is no official website for Utter Inn but you can contact someone in Västerås at this number: +46 (0)21-39 01 00 to make a booking.
Comments (16)
avontflex
4 October, 2009 at 3:55 pmshark swims by and?!
Zhiqiang
5 October, 2009 at 11:01 pmdraw the curtain and pray? 🙂 Unlikely there are sharks anyway since the house is in the middle of a lake or the sea.
MAYANK
27 December, 2010 at 2:49 pmhi thanks for sharing i really like this
accesags
14 January, 2011 at 6:08 amI found here something new and interesting. Thanks
Yee
17 August, 2010 at 10:25 pmNice cozy place. Without you telling, I can guess where all the water discharge are going to anyway 🙂
Tim Kessler
6 October, 2010 at 9:48 pmWhat a great idea for an inn. I wish they’d have it near me cos I’d love to spend a night in one. Do they have only one or are there more floating around the lake?
Zhiqiang & Tingyi
6 October, 2010 at 10:38 pmJust one floating in the middle of the lake – i guess it must be quite expensive to maintain.
kits
18 December, 2010 at 7:51 amGreat article. There’s a lot of good data here, though I did want to let you know something – I am running Mac OS X with the up-to-date beta of Firefox, and the design of your blog is kind of quirky for me.
Alan Jujitsu
20 December, 2010 at 3:05 pmHaha, I really liked your blog, it is in my bookmarks. Jujitsu
bugs
13 January, 2011 at 3:20 amI found here something new and interesting. Thanks
chebags
14 January, 2011 at 5:44 amI enjoyed to find this article. I like your point of view. Thanks a lot. Cheers
buline
14 January, 2011 at 6:07 amFirst of all I care for the quality of your post. That was interesting to read and helpful article. And Im lookin’ forward to see your next thinks.
Martin
22 January, 2011 at 9:41 pmWhat a brilliant idea. An Aquarium Inn. 🙂 At 1200 kr. it is not cheap, but mind you, if it is only for a single day, that is not too much of an issue. I’ll be sure to drop next time I go to Sweden. ( I am Danish, living in London, but spend a fair amount of time in Sweden.)
Thanks Zhiqiang,
Martin
Zhiqiang & Tingyi
22 January, 2011 at 9:47 pmno problem Martin, i agree its quite expensive but its a once-in-a-lifetime experience 🙂
Jennifer
28 September, 2011 at 10:22 pmHello!
What a great article. The number that you book the hotel Utter Inn goes to Västerås Tourist Office: +46 (0)21-39 01 00. You can also book your hotel online at http://www.visit-vasteras.com.
Did you know that in Västerås is one more unusual hotel? Hotel Woodpecker up in an oak tree in the middle of central park of Västerås. More about both hotels can be found at http://www.visit-vasteras.com
Ciao!
Sam
17 January, 2014 at 4:29 amwho is came up it?,so great idea, what about WIFI internet it is existing there:))