These Treetop Hotel Bubbles Are Even Cooler Than Staying in a Treehouse

If you ever spent hours on end playing in treehouses, dreaming you were living in a magical kingdom filled with fairies and elves, you’ll be happy to know you can relive your childhood with a trip to Canada.

The Free Spirit Spheres on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada are tiny, round hotel pods that look like suspended hobbit homes straight out of a J.R.R. Tolkien novel.

Image zoom Kerry Maguire

The three large spheres, located near Qualicum Beach, are available for overnight rental, and each sphere has its own name: Eryn, Eve, and Melody. A fourth sphere, named Gwynn, is used as a hotel office.

Each sphere is suspended by three Polysteel ropes tethered to surrounding trees, and the smallest sphere is about nine feet in diameter. The other spheres are slightly larger, by about 1.5 feet in diameter.

Image zoom Tom Chudleigh

Inside the spheres, guests will find their sleeping arrangements, fresh water and a sink, heaters, and Wi-Fi. On the outside, there are pit bathrooms at the ground level and a barbeque with a small kitchen for guest to cook meals.

The surrounding grounds are perfect for hiking, exploring, or even just having a picnic by the water.

“Our design principles are influenced by the principles of oneness and biomimicry more than anything else," manager Jamie Cowan told blogger Julia Duin. "There's no separation between the ceiling and floor nor sharp edges like there is in linear architecture. It's harmonious from top to bottom.”

Image zoom Adam Clarke

The Spheres website defines biomimicry as “an approach to innovation that seeks sustainable solutions to human challenges by emulating nature’s time-tested patterns and strategies. The goal is to create products, processes, and policies – new ways of living – that are well-adapted to life on earth over the long haul.”

The site also calls the hotel a “combination of back-to-nature experience with the trendy phenomenon of ‘glamping’.”

Pricing for each sphere varies. In the small, cozy Eve sphere, up to two guests can book for $175 per night. In the slightly larger Eryn sphere, up to three people can share for $299 per night. And in the spacious Melody sphere, which can be transformed into a creative workspace as well as a sleeping space, up to two guests can book for $314 per night.