Do you always imagine having a 0-star hotel? And how about the absolute absence of finer things? Minimizing luxury is the need to have luxury as a complete removal of all that is mundane. In Switzerland, tourists can visit a new-generation, one-star hotel. There, they can sleep only under the starry sky on a roofless bed, and in a nearby chalet.
The Null Stern Hotel in Switzerland is turning heads around the world because it offers a new interpretation of what a hotel can be—simple. Whether converting a fallout shelter in 2009 or today’s open-to-the-sky suits, this one is all about going back to the roots and the basics.
As people seek luxury and comfort, this article looks at a peculiarity of Switzerland, the 0-star hotel experience. Here’s how you can get your dose of novelty if you aim to shake things up and depart from the obvious option – a 0-star hotel.
Whats is the Concept of a 0-Star Hotel
0-star hotels remove all conventions and minimize the more luxurious aspects of traveling. Rather than luxury, these hotels offer what has been described—a bed to sleep in, a view to behold, and nature. It is a kind of luxury where excess Island means more time with nature and less of anything else.
Frank and Patrik Riklin, two Swiss artists, introduced it to the public, who used art to champion their “anti-luxury” idea. In 2009, they turned an abandoned fallout shelter into a 0-star hotel. Their tagline, “Null Stern – The only star is you!” sparked global interest.
History of Switzerland’s Famous 0-Star Hotel
Learn how the first 0-star hotel was created from a fallout bunker in Switzerland. Two Swiss artists’ ideas changed the meaning of luxury to minimalist aesthetics and interested travelers all over the world. Their idea transformed a minimum-natured space into artwork and proposed a new concept of hospitality. What was just an interactive artwork became a global movement. It encouraged many to pursue minimalism. People now dream of living outdoors, following the mantra: less is more.
World’s First Zero Star Hotel in 2009
A Bold Start
The Riklin twins began how it all by establishing their first 0-star hotel in a nuclear fallout shelter. It offered guests a truly minimalist experience: just the essentials. The given layout provoked people’s interest in art and opened an opportunity to stay at a rather peculiar establishment at the same time.
Art Meets Hospitality
It became an art installation. It welcomes visitors as guests of luxury, not the homeless. Their minimalist look in the small, plain building drew attention to their message. People swarmed the area to know what was happening in different parts of the world.
Incredible Response
This unique art-based accommodation was such a success that guests were booked for weeks in advance. Its random success set a new benchmark. It proved that people would try ‘luxury’ in a new light.
0-star Hotel Under The Open Sky in 2017
After their initial success, the Riklin twins returned in 2017 with a twist, a hotel suite outdoors at the slopes of Heaven in Appenzell, Switzerland.
Nature as a Suite
Here, guests had an opportunity to fondly gaze at mountain views while lying in bed, outdoors, with blankets above their heads. I did not see wires, no ceiling, it was open, and I saw the sky. This new approach went further than what had been seen with minimalism and established its bridge between art and tourism.
Butler Service
Every guest had a personal butler who delivered breakfast and catered to every need. This is service at its finest, yet basic. This service added some courtesy to an otherwise raw experience. It also compensated for the rawness at the same time.
A New Type of Freedom
Frank Riklin says that thanks to the ‘0,’ they could reinvent luxury as no war and nature. Customers found the untouched wilderness. It was far from your hotel and closer to nature.
Riklin Brothers’ 0-Star Anti-Idyllic Suites in 2022
Riklin twins came up with another innovation in 2022, 0-star hotel facilities in Saillon, Valais with more uniqueness.
Thought-Provoking Locations
One was near a service station. Others were in the territories of wineries and beautiful landscapes. This new idea inspired the guests to see the modern concept in a new way, blending commentary with hospitality.
Designed to Be Sleepless:
These suites were intentionally designed as spaces that would. All these suites were planned to make the guests uncomfortable, so they would have to think about global issues and themselves. It showed no interest in creating girlish images. They would provoke thoughts about their great convenience.
Why Stay at a 0-star Hotel?
Create a simple hospitality concept. It should not appeal to tourists with hotel services. Instead, it should offer them physical adventures in nature. For the traveler in need of interesting experiences, 0-star hotels provide such an experience.
Unique Adventure
For those tired of the usual hotels, 0-star hotels are not to be missed. It’s not about the glamor but about creating an experience in an extraordinary environment. Traveling at one of these hotels will make you get into conversations with fellow tourists and elicit curiosity.
Affordable Luxury
While they lack five-star amenities, 0-star hotels provide luxury in their right simplicity. Most of these hotels, such as the Null Stern Hotel, provide great views and a feeling of liberty. The simplistic theme is normally cheaper and thus preferred by most people when planning their traveling.
Eco-Friendly Experience
Due to their small size and largely open concept, rooms of 0-star hotels are environmentally friendly. Thus, they build a solution that allows them to be surrounded by aesthetics and avoid wastage at the same time. They urge their guests to adopt eco-friendly practices. This will make their lodging service less harmful to the Earth.
Pros and Cons of 0-Star Hotels
The facilities of the 0-star hotels combine low prices with proximity to nature but entail a minimum level of comfort. Take the elegance of the plain shelters against the actual services you get in outdoor tea doodle cottages.
Pros | Cons |
An affordable, unique experience | Limited privacy, especially outdoors |
Connection to nature and simplicity | Basic comfort; no high-end amenities |
Thought-provoking design | Weather-dependent availability |
Environmentally conscious concept | No walls or roof in open-air suites |
Key Features of the 0-Star Hotel in Switzerland
Camping under a clear sky with no obstructions permanently and having a butler will serve as a dream come through. In Switzerland, you can find an open, minimalist venue of bespoke comfort. It is surrounded by stunning scenery.
Open-Air Suites
As there are no walls and no roof, the guest rents a cloth and lies outdoors, covered with the sky above. This approach is very open. It makes travelers feel part of the environments they are visiting. Thus, a hotel and the environment are almost the same thing.
Butler Service
Still, each suite is extremely simple and comes with butler service breakfast and other types of assistance. The butler is a feature that provides comfort and some standard of a classic butler service to the stay.
Stunning Locations
Every suite is located in a lovely area, like a vineyard or mountains to make a real room with a view. This selection of locations reveals samples of one of the most picturesque countries in Europe.
Local Touches
A strong focus is on regional welcome appetizers, a welcome drink, and breakfast, which are bought from local bakers. That is why the local features shown in these places add a flavor to the Swiss experience.
Focus on Reflection
The Null Stern Hotel aims at helping guests to forget about the continuously increasing amount of things in their surrounding environment and to focus on nature. It is a course that is focused on reflection and minimalism rather than luxury and pampering.
Environmental Awareness
The Null Stern Hotel reduces its surfaces and contact with nature. This fosters environmental concern and intimacy with nature.
Seasonal Operation
Because of the weather conditions in Switzerland, the open-air rooms are functional only during certain predetermined periods, often summer. It is always advisable to book a room in advance since rooms are in limited stock at the hotel.
What’s the Philosophy Behind the 0-Star Hotel Trend
The 0-star represents not only an extraordinary approach to hospitality; it is a statement about consumption. These hotels serve to make us realize just how much can be achieved with little besides a keen understanding of human emotion. They force us to question how financially stable we have to be to be happy.
This philosophy is well in sync with a growing trend of sustainable tourism. 0-star hotels are less typical. They have fewer drawings or constructions. They aim to blend into the environment. So, they occupy less space on Earth. This new wave of travel urges guests to minimize waste. It values experiences over possessions. Guests should bring these lessons home.
Where to Find 0-Star Hotels Near You
Even though it can be tough to come by 0-star hotels there is probably something similar nearby. Here are some ways to locate them:
1. Use Hotel Aggregator Websites
On any given day, online hosts such as Booking.com or Expedia would have a list of peculiar accommodations that might comprise 0-star hotels. Some are general while others are specific and when searching for a show one can use filters such as ‘budget ‘or ‘off-beat’.
2. Look for Local Listings
Many 0-star hotels are franchises. Some are separately owned and managed. So, they may not be listed on big online platforms. Visit local websites, and forums to get recommendations of other interesting places to stay.
3. Try Specialty Lodging Sites
Internet platforms, like Hostelworld or Airbnb, contain unordinary offers that create a 0-star hotel atmosphere.
Tips for Staying in a 0-Star Hotel
Before going out, prepare for the outside environment. Then, adjust it to your comfort level. It has to be said, ride what is allowed to be ridden – this is not your average holiday, nor is it an attempt to bring along more than you need.
Prepare for the Elements
Adverse weather will be expected, therefore pack according to the rudimentary geographic location. Nature has its rules. You may dress for summer, but the weather might require extra jackets and waterproof clothes.
Bring Personal Comforts
Besides, essentials must be simple. But, an extra blanket, a flashlight, or earplugs are welcome. There are a few familiarisations that can improve your experience — but you’ll be ready if it’s as basic as this.
Embrace the Unconventional
For a stay, expect the worst in luxury. You’ll be surprised. The trick is to take pleasure in the liberty and accept a chance to have something out of the ordinary.
Disconnect to Reconnect
They enhance nature by leaving behind tech, like PCs and laptops. This is a nice chance to free your mind from all kinds of distractions and worries and focus on what is going on around you.
Other Notable 0-Star Experiences Worldwide
Although the 0-star hotel was created in Switzerland, free experience hotelizing has been done in other countries as well. Here are a few:
Eco-Friendly Camps
In countries like Costa Rica and New Zealand, eco-camps are a way to stay in nature-friendly, low-impact places. They appeal to nature lovers. These eco camps give much emphasis on the environment where guest can enjoy their holidays with minimal effects on the environment.
Desert Stays in the Middle East
A few desert camps allow nudity. They have only tents or beds made of rope, with blankets overhead. Others have designs with the stars as the roof. There are few things in life as beautiful as the desert at sunrise or sunset and night, that’s why staying in the desert is so special.
Forest Cabins in Scandinavia
Theresa Lambert found that mossy, 0-star cabins in Scandinavia provide only a bed, a view, and great scenery. These are small cabins in remote areas. They will offer simplicity and peace, as they lack almost any extras.
What Does It Feel Like to Stay in a 0-Star Hotel?
Guests who have been privileged to be located at the Null Stern Hotel express their experience in a balance of rest and adventure. The lack of separate walls and roofs connects you to nature. Every sound, smell, and breeze becomes part of your vacation. You will stop watching Netflix and be amazed at the sight of clouds in the sky or wake up to the beautiful chirping of birds.
There is also the guest fraternity that forms, and you can bet that people eating from the same bowl would be friends. Because privacy is scarce, people make their narratives, get to know one another during a meal, and take sweet memories back home.
The MC Lodges is the best place that you will find if you are sick and tired of hotels and want a place with character in Jhang. While the notion of a 0-star hotel is linked to an idea of a plain and simple, MC Lodges combines comfort with trends, as well as creates a home-like atmosphere for the guests. Whether you are in town for a business trip or a tourist, we have comfortable lodgings that you require, and you will be accorded a quiet service. While the 0-star hotel makes you closer to nature, MC Lodges can be a perfect place for comfortable accommodation with the homely atmosphere necessary for the rest, so if you are in search of the extra, it is the place to turn to.
FAQs
What makes a 0-star hotel different from traditional hotels?
Hoping for a one-star, you get a minimalist experience. It lacks luxury, with no walls, roofs, or furniture. It is focused on nature and the absence of ornamentation; guests can sleep in tents.
Do 0-star hotels provide basic amenities like bathrooms?
0-star hotels have very few luxury services, and the toilets would be in a different area, a form of outside lavatory. It is not a conventional comfort kind of experience that people are getting when choosing to camp in the wilds.
How much does it cost to stay in a 0-star hotel?
The price may differ, but in the Swiss 0-Star Hotel, a night costs about 295 Swiss Francs. These are, for example, butler service, welcome drink, and breakfast.
Are 0-star hotels safe for all weather conditions?
Safety is a concern, yet since these are the exterior suites they can only be provided based on the weather conditions. Some locations may shut down in case of unfavorable conditions.
What should I bring when staying at a 0-star hotel?
The best thing is to dress for being outdoors – heavy clothing, a blanket, and other necessary items for a warm night in the tents.
Conclusion
If you want to try something unusual while traveling, a 0-star hotel could be the thing to do. These simple stays defy conventions of opulence, and teach a lesson in the philosophy that the world does not need more clutter.
The Null Stern Hotel, Switzerland, makes it clear. While glamour and opulence are lovely, they are not necessary. Comfort and memorable moments can be created without them. These famous hotels introduce guests to a great adventure tourists can get by touching nature and enjoying simplicity. Therefore, the next time you plan a getaway, why don’t you try a 0-star hotel? Indeed, as the television commercials say, “It’s all about you.”