3 of a kind

Hotels for tree lovers

FREE SPIRIT SPHERES VANCOUVER

420 Horne Lake Road, Qualicum Beach, Vancouver Island, BC, Canada, freespiritspheres.com, tel 001-604250-757-9445

By dangling in a ball from tall trees in a Canadian rainforest, you absolutely ensure that your footprint is eco-minuscule. The Free Spirit Spheres sleep one to three and any movement from one body will swing the ball, as will wind in the trees, as these low-mass objects dangle from a web of ropes woven through the tree tops. It is all part of the fun, but generally what you’ll experience is gentle swaying, and be rocked to sleep.

Because of their shape, the walls and ceilings are all one and the makers say that they provide “a habitat for the untamed spirit that exists in us all”. Yet they are comfortably furnished and are wired for iPods and other electrical must-haves.

The spherical abodes are 30km north of Parksville on Vancouver Island, near Qualicum Bay, a seaside resort on the east cost of the island.

Rooms: there are three spheres: Eve, Eryn and Melody. Eve is in cedar and maple trees and is made from cedar strips. It has a single bed, sofa, tea and coffee facilities and built-in speakers. A cosy couple could also sleep here. It costs $135 (€102) a night or $240 (€182) for two nights. Eryn is made from sitka spruce and is reached via a spiral staircase. It has a double and a loft bed, so sleeps up to three. There’s also a sink and fridge and built-in speakers. It costs $190 (€144) a night or $345 (€261) for two, and a third person is an extra $35 (€26.5). Melody is reached via a bridge and stairs that spiral around a tree. Made from black walnut, the interior spec is the same as Eryn although the decor is different. It costs $205 (€157) a night or $375 (€288) for two nights.

TREE HOUSE LODGE, Costa Rica

Limon, Costa Rica, costaricatreehouse.com,

tel 00506-2750-0706

You’ll be up high enough to watch out for the howler monkeys that scoot through the treetops near this Tree House in the Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast. Named for the fact that these big-mouthed black creatures do indeed howl, you may be awoken by them as they carry out their loud morning ritual of marking their territory.

The Tree House is on tall stilts, built around the trunk of a 100-year-old native red sangrillo tree (from the word sangre for blood). The split-level accommodation is all in natural materials, including the tree house itself which was built from fallen tropical hardwoods. Inside is a bamboo-enclosed shower – fed by solar-heated water – and all furniture is carved from sustainable wood.

The tree house is in front of the sandy Punta Uva beach, dotted with 50 types of palm tree, and you get a tranche of the beach to yourself when you stay here. It is also possible to kayak up the rivers and across mangrove swamps that meet the ocean.

Rooms: the tree house sleeps five and has two bedrooms (one with a king-sized bed and the other with a queen bed and a single). The main bedroom is reached via a palm-thatched suspension bridge. There is also a kitchen and shower. Prices start from $300 (€ 226.70) a night, for two people, to $400 (€ 302), for four people.

TREEHOTEL, Sweden

Edeforsvägen, Harads, Sweden, treehotel.se,

tel 0046-928-10403

There are views of the River Lule valley, with its gushing river and miles of forest, from each of these inventive contemporary structures up high in the woods in Harads, north-east Sweden. They promise to provide a good viewing platform for the Northern Lights this year, which are forecast to put on their most spectacular show for 25 years.

The hotel was inspired by the film The Tree Lover by Jonas Selberg Augustsen in which three city dwellers go back to their roots and build a tree-house together. “The significance of trees for humans,” as well as our innate childhood spirits, inspired Kent Lindvall to build the amazing structures with the help of three architects and local builders. Set four to six metres above ground, they are made with sustainable wood, have under-floor heating (from hydroelectric power) and are well insulated. It can get cold outside, after all, and local Lapland activities include a dog-sled tour, ice fishing on Lule River, igloo building and snowshoeing.

Rooms: a choice of five rooms sleeping up to four people: The Cabin, Mirrorcube, Bird’s Nest, Blue Cone, UFO and, well you are in Sweden, you can also sweat in a tree sauna. From 3,990 SEK (€447.80) per room per night including buffet breakfast.