The Treehotel in Sweden features unique, futuristic camp sites.

Imagine the scene: you’re walking through a forest in northern Sweden, when suddenly you come upon a collection of bizarre objects suspended from trees: a mirrored cube, a UFO, a giant bird’s nest. Have you been abducted into a Dadaistic art installation?

Relax, it’s n0t a flashback to a youthful overindulgence of banned substances, a sojourn through William S. Burroughs’ Interzone or even a Trekkie bootcamp. It’s a 21st century designer eco-hotel-camp called Treehotel.

Treehotel’s green credentials are exactly as you’d expect for a Swedish hotel set in a forest: renewable energy provided by hydroelectric power from the nearby river, LED lighting and water-efficient sinks, and combustion toilets. In most units, waste is heat-blasted at 600C; in the Mirrorcube, your poop gets frozen, while the heat from the freezer’s element is used to heat the room in winter. Dead smart, those Swedes.

The five “treerooms,” designed by leading Scandinavian architects, are all different inside as well as out, with simple furnishings. The UFO, accessed by a ladder underneath has spacey print fabrics, while the ultra-realistic Bird’s Nest is circular with tiny round windows in its pale wood walls. The Cabin is much more conventional, but also larger – a rectangular box with huge windows and an outdoor deck, while the Blue Cone overlooks the river.

The Mirrorcube is like a live work of art. Its outer surfaces show constantly changing images of trees and sky, which you can appreciate from a roof terrace, a more zen alternative to watching TV. Another building houses a sauna and hot tub (this is Sweden, after all). The bad news: this is also where the showers are located, since none of the treehouses has its own tub or shower. This is the Swedish idea of glamping: fab interiors offset outdoor plumbing.

Meals are served, and guests greeted, in a guesthouse run by one of the owners named Britta.

Rates from $573, including tax, breakfast and unbeatable dinner table stories.

Photos: Peter Lundstrom, WDO; Frank Updates via Harper’s Bazaar

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The Orchard Garden Hotel in San Francisco is a wallet-friendly city-center green retreat.

When you’re travelling on business, how green are the places where you choose to stay? The Orchard Garden Hotel is slap-bang in the heart of Frisco, near Union Square, so you’ve got no excuse for not taking public transport to get there. They’ve even got bike stalls.

What the hotel lacks in interior-design zing, it more than makes up for with its eco-credentials. Made from recycled materials – glass and steel – it was one of the US’s first LEED-certified hotels. Its interior decór doesn’t have us singing, but the green agenda seals the deal: paper and carpets are made from recycled materials, the inks are soy-based, the paint is non-toxic and the cleaning products are citrus-based and chemical free.

The 86 guest rooms, spread over 10 floors, are decorated in the natural tones, and furniture is made from FSC-approved wood, with organic Aveda bath goodies for pampering (being good has its rewards). As in many hotels these days, you get a large-screen HD TV, DVD player, iPod dock and WIFI.

Now, listen up: when you leave your hotel room, do you remember to turn off all these electronic toys? Really? Honestly? (I don’t.) Doesn’t matter – your eco-conscience is safe, as this hotel has the genius keycard system, as used in Europe. When you enter your room, the (recycled plastic) card goes in the slot, all the lights come on and everything is ready to go. When you leave, you take it out, and – hey presto – all systems go off (bar one outlet for charging a device). All this saves a whopping 20% in energy costs. And potential second-guessing.

Staying downtown in a city, even if you’re here for work, it’s a crime to miss the view: suites have their own terraces, as well as a sofabed for tagalong buddies. If your budget doesn’t stretch to that – prices for interior rooms are impressively reasonable – you can always check out the skyline from the roof terrace.

Rates start at $125/night plus tax, city buzz and bike parking included, car parking definitely not.

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