A year ago, my husband and I accidentally started a tradition of staying in unique hotels to get away for our anniversary. It all started with a surprise visit to a hobbit hole.

A Hobbit Hole

It was a secret dream of mine to stay in a hobbit hole. I hadn’t voiced this before, except telling my family I wanted to visit New Zealand someday where they filmed my favorite movie. Last year knowing how much of a Lord of the Rings fan I was, my husband, Dan, found a place to stay called the Hobbit Inn located in Orondo, Washington. He managed to keep it a secret from me until we were an hour or two away from our destination. After we arrived, I couldn’t keep from smiling which progressed into happy tears as I saw what would be our place to stay for the night for our anniversary. The attention to detail was amazing. When you walked up the long, winding path, you came to a small fence and gate. As you entered there was a small yard and garden with hobbit-sized tools and walking sticks. But the real star was the front door. The green door was large and round-much bigger than in the book. The builders scaled it so the room would be big enough for us humans.

When you walked through the round hole, an ornate bed greeted us with a chandelier made from lanterns you could easily wack your head on if you weren’t careful as you were getting up on the bed. The hobbit hole fortunately came with a fully functioning bathroom and a small sitting area with a fireplace. Across from the sitting area stood a side table with an electric kettle for tea (you had to turn off the electricity and use the generator, because the kettle took too much juice to run) and a place to whittle a piece of wood. I tried my hand at whittling, but my owl did not turn out well. My son affectionately named it “Beaver Attack” when he saw the results I brought home.

When night came, I remember the two of us sitting outside in rocking chairs and looking up at all the stars. We could star gaze easily since we were in the middle of nowhere with no distractions. It was a dream come true to live like a hobbit for a short time (no pun intended).

An Old School House

This year Dan found another unique place for us to celebrate our anniversary-The Society Hotel in Bingen, Washington. Here in this small town is a gem created from an old schoolhouse. I am a former teacher, so I loved that they didn’t tear it down, but transformed it into a place for travelers. The school was built in 1901 and served as a grade school until 1984. The schoolhouse had to be rebuilt in 1940 after a fire destroyed the building, except for the gym which still remains. The school then became a wind-surfing school and hostel until 2017. The school was renovated, and The Society Hotel opened to the public in 2019.

A cafe, lobby, and library with lots of seating greeted us this time as we walked in through a regular door. After checking in, we went to one of the school rooms. We stayed in the English room, which is one of the smaller rooms, with a comfy bed, some storage, and a sink. The people who work here are friendly and hospitable. When we opened the door to our room, the two of us found a card on the queen sized bed congratulating us on our 26th anniversary. Though our room wasn’t large, both of us soon realized this was a hotel set up to relax in other places as well. This hotel also had bunk rooms in the school house, and a ring a cabins out where the baseball field was located in the past. In the middle of the ring of cabins was where their spa was located.

One of my favorite things to do here was soaking in the spa pools. There were three soaking pools: hot, cold, and warm-plus a sauna. The cold pool lived up to its name. It was a whopping 50 degrees. After we soaked in the hot pool for 15 minutes, I was determined to go under the water in the cold pool to get the maximum benefits. I do not like cold water, but I am stubborn so I enlisted the help of my husband; with some encouragement, I made it under the water! Then I promptly retreated to the warm pool.

My husband and I enjoyed our stay here and would come back again to try out the cabins. This place would also be perfect for a girls weekend away!

One thing both of these places had in common: limited distractions. The hotels themselves were unique enough that we didn’t want to go anywhere else. I think that was appealing for us. Instead we played games, read books and relaxed. Wherever you live, try and find a unique place to rest and rejuvenate from life’s busyness next time you want a getaway with a loved one or some friends. I am anxious to see where we can find to stay next!

Do you have a unique place you have stayed in? Share it in the comments.