*We feel sunnier already.* If you’ve got a slight competitive streak (no judgement here) and like to be amongst the first to do something, have we got a proposition for you. You can now enter a competition to stay in the world’s first sunflower-themed hotel.
Is that a field of Vincent Van Gogh-esque sunflowers in the middle of the Yorkshire countryside? Why no, it’s the Interflora Sunflower Hotel. The international flower powerhouse has partnered with luxury holiday hideaway business Kip & Nook to create the ultimate getaway.
The hotel is housed in a converted shipping container, giving it the sense of being a meadow floating amid the rolling green fields. There’s a full kitchen, luxurious lounge area and king-size bed positioned under the skylight, ideal for star gazing and the perfect way to drift off to sleep.
There’s something so heart-warming about seeing more than 1,000 sunflower heads covering the hot tub cabin (oh yes, there’s a log burning hot tub) and the sunny, sunflower-themed interior – think golden cushions and suspended orbs of helianthuses (yep, we’ve even got the Greek origins of the word down).
If you’ve ever fancied yourself as a florist, winners of the overnight stay will have the chance to spend an hour and a half with one of Interflora’s artisans and create a floral design of their own. Once you’ve created your work of art, you get to take it home, capturing a little slice of the English countryside and its sunny, tranquil days.
The Sunflower Hotel is a little spot of brightness in what has been a dark time for the hospitality industry. We love that when Van Gogh painted his iconic sunflowers paintings, he said that they symbolised gratitude. After the chaos of the past 18 months, it’s a good reminder that there’s still plenty to be grateful for.
While a trip to Yorkshire might be out of the question for Australians right now, that doesn’t mean we can’t plan a sunflower field trip at home. Sunflowers typically bloom from January to March. In Queensland, you’ll find sunflower farms in Toowoomba, Cambooya, Nobby, Warwick and Allora. In New South Wales, the Central Coast Sunflower Harvest in Yarramalong runs April and June each year, and you’ll also find farms on the Liverpool Plains. In Victoria, Dunnstown Sunflower Field can be found near Ballarat, just 90 minutes from Melbourne.
