Sleep tight

[Gob]

Most couples try to avoid placing their relationship in a perilous situation. Now you can pay £500-a-night to do just that.



If the idea of sleeping on a vertical rock face with only a sliver of canvas between you and the waves crashing 200ft below keeps you awake at night, then ‘cliff camping’ is probably not for you. But for those with a head for heights, a desire to be different and no history of sleep-walking, then the ‘portaledge hotel’ is open for your business on the North Wales coast. It is extremely bijou. That is to say there are no frills and very little room to manoeuvre.



Guests abseil from the cliff top to their beds at sunset. They are strapped into harnesses which are secured to the rock. A canvas platform — also well attached to terra firma — allows them to stretch out and enjoy a degree of comfort that would otherwise be the preserve of seabirds. Dinner is hot, of course, kept warm on a stove and lowered by staff from the cliff top. Don’t expect anything too fancy or requiring several dishes, though. A warming casserole or a curry in a pot is probably what you will need in any case.

A full Welsh breakfast is served by the same means in the morning. [that's not much, a cup of sweet tea and a fag.]



There are a number of positives, aside from being able to boast to friends of your derring-do. There are no neighbours or next-door guests to disturb you with raucous partying. Even if there were, you wouldn’t hear them thanks to the pounding proximity of the Irish Sea. There is also a constant supply of fresh air. The ‘portaledge hotel’ idea was inspired by American rock climbing techniques. The canvas sleep platforms were used by Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson, who became an internet sensation earlier this year when they completed the first free-climb of the 3,000ft vertical Dawn Wall of the El Capitan peak in Yosemite National Park in California.

[Long Run]

I remember as a child rolling out of bed in my sleep from the top bunk. Need to redefine "ow".

[Lord Jim]

This story really cracked me up...

The very idea of there being people in the world willing to shell out 500 quid to be hung from the side of a cliff 200 feet above certain death really strikes me as funny...

(I imagine if you want a night with high winds or a driving rain pouring down on you, that would cost extra...)

For just 10 pounds more, you can have a Junior Suite at The Savoy:



http://www.fairmont.com/reservations/select-room/

Guess which one I'd pick?

[Crackpot]

But think how mush more it would cost to get a bellhop to dangle you from the balcony while you slept

[Lord Jim]

You know, I honestly hadn't considered that...

[oldr_n_wsr]

I guess room service would be out of the question.

[Gob]

Last time I slept on a portaledge we were half away up an Alp in a snow storm. I cannot imagine paying for the experience.

[Long Run]

If there were crowd funding then, people might well have paid to have you stay out there, and maybe never return.

[Lord Jim]

I guess room service would be out of the question.

Au contraire:

Dinner is hot, of course, kept warm on a stove and lowered by staff from the cliff top. Don’t expect anything too fancy or requiring several dishes, though. A warming casserole or a curry in a pot is probably what you will need in any case.

However, given the uh, "restroom facilities" (which probably consists of a pair of Depends) the very last thing I would want is a bowl of curry....

I believe I'd skip the prix fixe dinner and hold out for The Welsh Breakfast...(and pay extra for a strong shot of whiskey in my sweet tea... )

[Crackpot]

Nah that's why it's important to be on the "top bunk"

[rubato]

Goodness, you could stay someplace nice like the Ahwanee and have a lovely dinner as well.








The last time we were there was a Nov. and it was cold and snowy, outside. I think I had the Kobe beef, lovely.


yrs,
rubato