Located 6,463 feet above sea level in the middle of the Swiss Alps, the Null Stern concept hotel takes the minimalist approach to the extreme, removing the walls, roof, basic amenities like toilets and leaving guests with just a king-size bed and a stunning 360-degree view to admire.
It might seem rudimentary, but setting up the Null Stern hotel room way up in the mountains actually required a bit of work. A construction crew, including an excavator, had to first flatten the terrain, before the bed, nightstands and bed lamps could be installed. I suspect having them transported through what looks like very rough terrain was no walk in the park either.
So why go through the trouble?
Null Stern hotel co-founder Daniel Charbonnier says the goal was "to put the guest at the center of the experience and to focus on the intangible by reducing everything else to the minimum." So they skipped building the walls and roof of the room, as well as the bathroom. That last one may be a big problem for a lot of people, but Null Stern mentions that there is a public bathroom available 10 miles down the mountain.
Null Stern is German for "Zero Stars", so you shouldn't expect too much, but this open-air hotel does offer room service. Guests are welcomed by their very own butler with a drink and a breakfast basket. Throughout their stay, he will live in a nearby wooden cabin, where he will prepare their meals, including breakfast in bed.
Booking a stay at the Null Stern hotel costs 250 Swiss Francs ($260) per night, which seems outrageously expensive, but hasn't deterred people from fully booking it for the whole month of August. The hotel is open throughout spring and autumn, but owners reserve the right to cancel reservations at any time due to poor weather.
Interestingly, this is not the world's first zero-star hotel. That title goes to an old nuclear bunker in the Swiss town of Tuefen, which Null Stern inaugurated in 2008. Who knows what they'll come up with next. Whatever it is, I bet people will pay big money to stay there.
For the sake of clarification, Null Stern founders Frank and Patrik Riklin and business partner Daniel Charbonnier are not actually hoteliers, but conceptual artists who chose hotels as a form of expression. That's not stopping them from charging an arm and a leg for a night's stay at their artworks, though.
