Safiental, Switzerland

Photo: Verein Null Stern
Photo: Verein Null Stern

So you consider yourself a fairly eco-friendly traveler, right? You choose hotels based on buzz words like organic, locally grown, and recycled. You reuse towels and never request to have your sheets changed. You even turn up the air conditioner and switch off the lights when you leave your room. That’s great. But it doesn’t mean you’re ready for this Swiss getaway.

Null Stern is a truly unique hotel. It takes eco-consciousness to an extreme. You don’t have to worry about controlling the temperature or hanging wet towels. There aren’t any. In fact, you don’t have walls or even a roof here. Instead, your double bed—plus nightstands and lamps—are open to the elements nearly 6,500 feet above sea level. You have a panoramic view of the rocky Alps. While stars, thousands and thousands of stars, twinkle in the dark sky above you.

This isn’t the first peculiar lodging from the Null Stern’s team. For their last venture, they turned a former nuclear bunker into a hotel. When the Teufen property was eventually converted into a museum, they turned their attention south toward Safiental. The Grisons—Switzerland’s largest and easternmost canton—are full of alpine valleys, farmland, and dense forests. Whitewashed houses, overflowing flower boxes, and fountains sit in the center of town. Two houses and a church are the only historic sites. It’s the perfect place to sleep outside.

The hotel is, of course, seasonal. It accepts visitors from spring to fall, though all reservations are weather dependent. A breakfast of salami sandwiches and strong coffee are served by a butler, who is outfitted with white gloves and a bowtie, in the morning. While a bathroom is a ten-minute walk away. Now how eco-friendly are you?

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