10 incredible hidden hotels to book for your next vacation

You'll have to go 32 miles off the coast of Cape Fear, North Carolina, to arrive at Frying Pan Tower, a decommissioned U.S. Coast Guard lighthouse. Built in 1964 to help mariners avoid running aground in the shallow 50-foot waters, the Frying Pan Tower is now a natural ecosystem for marine wildlife and one of the most unique, remote places to stay in the world. Set 135 feet above the ocean, ecotourism volunteers come to help with tower restoration projects in exchange for a stay at this unique hotel on water. There are 5,000 square feet on the main level with eight bedrooms plus crew quarters. Amenities include a kitchen, communal dining area, bathroom with hot shower, washer and dryer, and a palatial open-air platform for sunbathing and stargazing. When guests aren't working on their volunteer projects, they can fish, partake in biodegradable clay skeet shooting and golfing with biodegradable golf balls, and snorkel or SCUBA dive. Occasionally, there are fireworks launched from the helipad.

Literally away from it all, Beckham Creek Cave Lodge is a secluded four-bedroom, four-bathroom cave home in the Ozark Mountains in northwest Arkansas. Visitors drive through water in the rainy season to reach the home built inside a cave. The massive cave lodge gives off Flintstones vibes with a natural rock formation waterfall in the living room. There are modern-day luxuries like a 75-inch LED satellite television, WiFi, and a chef's kitchen too. The 5,800-square-foot home sleeps up to eight. Amenities include a firepit and spring-fed pond with canoe and seasonal, onsite amenities include a frisbee golf course, horseshoe pit, cornhole game, and a picnic area. A chef, catering, and gong concerts can be added to enhance your stay at this unique hideaway that is anything but primitive.

Perched on a cliff 205 feet above the Pacific Coast, the Heceta Head Lighthouse is a 19th-century working lighthouse that lights the way to one of the most unique places to stay, the adjacent Light Keeper's House. Built in 1894, the Light Keeper's House is a cozy bed and breakfast that is on the National Register of Historic Places. A wooden staircase leads to six rooms in the cottage, each appointed with antique furniture. Guests are treated to an afternoon wine and cheese social next to the fireplace and a seven-course breakfast. Guests under 10 years old are not permitted unless all rooms are rented by the same party.

One hidden gem at Disney World you may not have visited is a super secret suite inside Cinderella's Castle. The fourth floor of the iconic castle wasn't always meant to be a hidden hotel. Originally intended as an apartment for Walt Disney and his family when they visited Florida, the 650-square-foot Cinderella Castle Suite was first used as a storage space and then as an area for telephone operators before it became an ultra-exclusive one-room hotel. Located above Cinderella’s Royal Table restaurant and behind the stained glass windows is a French chateau-style studio that is available only for special guests and via seldomly held contests. The ultra-exclusive fairy tale flat features a foyer, two queen beds, a fireplace, and a bathroom with a spa tub and starry sky ceiling.

Unless you SCUBA dive 21 feet below the water, you would never know there was an underwater hotel with a two-room lodge in the Florida Keys. This awesome aquatic accommodation sleeps up to four and includes amenities like a common room, air conditioning, WiFi, a refrigerator with snacks, and pizza delivery. Each room at Jules' Undersea Lodge includes a round 42-inch window, perfect for finding Nemo. A stay here is truly the best way to sleep with the fish.

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Housed in a 110-year-old Neoclassical church in the heart of the hip Adams Morgan neighborhood, LINE DC is a welcome respite of coffered ceilings, marble floors, custom millwork, and stained glass. Each room features wood floors, Cowshed bath products, micro libraries, and art made by local female artists. Amenities include an on-site restaurant NO GOODBYES, in-room Soothe Spa services, a fitness center with weekly classes like yoga on the rooftop, bicycles, and a community and nonprofit incubator space. Plus, pet lovers' prayers have been answered: pets of all sizes can stay for free.

A sloping sandstone path leads the way to Kokopelli's Cave, a man-made cave that was originally constructed as the private office of a geologist in New Mexico. The 1,700-square-foot bed and breakfast boasts views of the La Plata River valley 300 feet below and the Four Corners (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah). The cool cave, literally and figuratively, is consistently 65 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit and sleeps up to eight guests, who can book rooms March to November. Amenities include a kitchen, dining area, a bathroom with a waterfall shower and hot tub, and a replica Native American kiva (a round room used for spiritual ceremonies by the Hopi and most other Pueblo peoples).

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If you don't stop and stare at the brick facade at 431 Broome Street, you'll likely miss this secret behind the front door of this Federal Revivalist-style building in SoHo. Nestled inside are 14 quiet, Parisian-style guest rooms surrounding an open-air courtyard adorned in Moroccan tiles. Each room at The Broome is smartly decorated with Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams furnishings and savvy guests are welcomed with VOSS water, chocolate, and seasonal fruits. Guests wake up to a French farm-to-table breakfast that includes milk served in a glass bottle and yogurt from Ronnybrook Farm, and bread and pastries from Balthazar Bakery.

The world's deepest hotel room is just off Route 66 and hidden 21 stories below ground inside the Grand Canyon Caverns, the largest dry caverns in the US. Up to six intrepid guests can sleep in The Cavern Suite at Grand Canyon Caverns, arguably the world's quietest hotel room. Nestled in caverns that formed 65 million years ago, the suite overlooks the Chapel of the Age's entrance. The one-of-a-kind accommodation has two queen beds, a fold-down futon, an RV-style bathroom, a kitchenette with refrigerator and microwave, a television with DVDs, and books. Breakfast and dinner are also available.

What at first appear to be abandoned, yet meticulously restored, train cars are actually cozy cars for glamping inside the 302-acre Two Rivers recreation area adjacent to Nebraska's Platte River. The Waterloo Cabooses are a set of 10 retired Union Pacific cabooses that can be booked annually from April 15 through the end of September. Each bright yellow, air-conditioned caboose has been transformed into park lodging with two bunk beds in the rear, two beds in the cupola, a bathroom with shower, a kitchen with stove, microwave, refrigerator, and sink, and a couch. There is also a deck with a picnic table, grill, and fire ring for dining under the stars.