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What makes Australia's Gold Coast most famous, perhaps, are the beautiful beaches and world-class surfers. Starting today, the famed stretch of land along Australia's east coast will have another moniker to add to its title: the world's first-ever hostel built of sand. For three days, from September 19–21, travelers looking to add yet another memorable experience while visiting the land Down Under can book a room at the Sand Hostel. Commissioned as a joint project by Hostelworld and Gold Coast Tourism, the structure was designed by Jon Dowding, the production designer for such feature films as Mad Max. The structure was built by renowned sand sculptor Dennis Massoud. Referred to as the Sandman, Massoud first gained notoriety for winning the world championship of sand sculpting at a 2003 event in Denmark. He subsequently was commissioned to build his sand sculptures in the only eight-star hotel in the world, the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi.
Located on Kurrawa Beach, Sand Hostel can accommodate adventurous guests in either an eight-bed dorm or a luxury private suite. The structure, which took 21 days to complete, required some 53,000 pounds of sand to build. While Sand Hostel is comprised almost entirely of sand, the structure does include ceilings made of rafters and woven bamboo paneling to ensure structural stability.
And for those guests who don't mind sleeping in a room built of sand, but prefer not to spend the entire day in it, Sand Hostel has created a curated list of activities for the three days it's open. Beach yoga, surfing lessons, and cocktail-making classes are but a few of the events guests can attend. (Unfortunately, sandcastle building is not one of them.)
The idea for Sand Hostel was born from a simple Facebook post: Hostelworld asked its Facebook community what its dream hostel would be. An overwhelming majority voted for a sand hostel. Now the question that has to be asked is, what's next?
