Dar Ahlam

Copyright: Dar Ahlam

 

Hidden among palm groves near Ouarzazate, this rarefied kasbah – the 14-key brainchild of 700’000 heures founder Thierry Teyssier – is less a hotel and more of an experience. There’s no reception, no keys and no restaurant, but instead an exceptionally choreographed collection of moments: meals – made with farm-fresh produce from its own 2,000sq m garden – are rarely served in the same place; suites, stuffed with Moroccan curios, delight at every turn; and immersive excursions on offer include overnight stays in the adjacent desert or an ancient Berber village. 

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Shinta Mani Wild

Arrival here is not for the faint of heart: you hurtle in via zipline, skimming the emerald canopy of the Cardamom rainforest, in Cambodia’s wild southwest. It’s a fitting preamble for a thrill-packed experience menu spanning river pontoon cruises, foraging for your dinner, joining anti-poaching patrols on motorbike, and much more. Still, a stay here is not all about adrenaline: each of the resort’s 15 guest tents boasts calming, locally inspired aesthetics by starchitect Bill Bensley and a generous deck with a river-facing soaking tub from which to come down after a day in the field. 

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Southern Ocean Lodge 

Having been devastated by the 2020 bushfires, which ravaged much of its home on Kangaroo Island, this much-loved clifftop retreat is firmly back in the swing since reopening in late 2023. Now ringed by a 20m wilderness buffer of fire-retardant succulents, guests staying in its 25 suites are once again spotting wildlife (the island – sometimes referred to as “Australia’s Galápagos” – is brimming with kangaroos, koalas, ospreys et al), swimming with wild dolphins, and settling in for catch-of-the-day dinners overlooking the Southern Ocean.

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Sterrekopje Healing Farm

Few passion projects can compete with the sheer natural beauty of this idyllic estate cradled beneath the craggy peaks of Franschhoek, just east of Cape Town. Created by partners Nicole Boekhoorn and Fleur Huijskens as a sanctuary for both people and the land, the on-site farm produces more than 100 indigenous and heritage plants, many of which are used in the kitchen, and the rhythms of daily life across the grounds feel like nowhere else, thanks to their concept of “reciprocal hospitality” and the ever-present celebration of biodiversity, ancient rituals and regenerative ideas. 

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Andean Lodges

Copyright: Andean Lodges

 

Beyond Lima’s culinary credentials and the almost mythic pull of Machu Picchu, there’s plenty more to discover in the vast and varied nation of Peru – not least the high Andes, where this Cusco-based outfitter operates. Along a number of different multiday routes, with overnight sojourns at its own rustic lodges, adventure-minded travellers (and a small herd of gear-toting llamas and horses) trek on foot across jaw-dropping and oft dizzying landscapes, past crimson sandstone formations, formidable glaciers, and glittering alpine lakes, engaging with outlying Andean communities along the way. 

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Lilløy Lindenberg

For 37 years, this traditional house – the lone abode on the 3.5ha isle of Midtøy, along Norway’s western coast – stood empty, before coming back to life as a 10-guest hideaway early last year. Four rustic-chic bedrooms, including a boathouse whose living room looks out to the sea at water level, are joined by the tome-filled Botanical Library for aperitivi and tea on tap, a sauna housed in a retrofitted electric station, and a communal kitchen, where guests play chef with a pantry of foraged ingredients reaped from the surrounding land and sea. 

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Eha

Copyright: Eha

 

Experiencing Waldeinsamkeit – a near-untranslatable German word describing the peaceful, contemplative feeling of being alone in the forest – is all but guaranteed at this striking new retreat on Hiiumaa Island, a Unesco Biosphere Reserve in the Estonian Black Sea: two-thirds of the island is covered in forest, with just nine people per square kilometre, and there’s almost no light pollution. The resort itself hosts just 22 guests in 11 beautifully minimalist suites and thatched-roof cabins, encouraging nature-led soul searching through woodland foraging, gardening, a serene spa and seasonal cuisine cooked up by Michelin Green-starred chef Peeter Pihel. 

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Na Praia

An idyllic landscape of sand dunes and verdant wilderness along the Portuguese coast, an hour south of Lisbon, Comporta counted as one of Europe’s best-kept secrets until 2014, when the family that owned the sprawling Herdade de Comporta estate went bankrupt. Development has been fast and, in some places, furious – but not at the forthcoming 340ha slice of paradise known as Na Praia. A 113-key hotel opening this spring, the remarkable property, which orients everything – from guest experience to architecture –  around nature, is a testament to the decade of planning and conservation by owner José António Uva, the eighth-generation proprietor of São Lourenço do Barrocal, a renowned hotel in nearby Alentejo.

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La Donaira

When is a farm more than just a farm? Set on 700 hectares between Málaga and Cádiz in southern Spain, this nine-key hostelry was more than a decade in development before it opened to the public in 2015 as one of Europe’s most sophisticated eco-retreats. Regenerative farming and the seed-to-table restaurant (the property is a member of Relais & Châteaux) are just the beginning: it’s the monumental landscape, engagement with the community, and the free-roaming Lusitano horses that make every stay in this natural paradise an unforgettable experience.    

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Binidufà 

Ambitious Spanish hospitality brand Vestige has embarked on a one-of-a-kind project to restore iconic palaces across Spain into super-luxe villas and hotels. The latest to open, this April, is Binidufà, an 11-bed stunner which dates back to the 18th century and shares the 800ha private estate in Menorca’s unspoiled northern reaches alongside sister property Son Ermità. Nestled in a whisper-quiet valley, the landscape around Binidufà has been meticulously restored, unfurling across verdant hills with tracks leading down to three untouched coves.

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Bazaruto Archipelago

Copyright: Elsa Young for Kisawa Sanctuary

 

The marine wilderness off Mozambique’s coast is one of Africa’s most underappreciated natural wonders, where seas teem with dugongs, whale sharks, rays, dolphins, coral reefs and more, while beaches are pristine and – for now – uncrowded. &Beyond Benguerra Island was the first luxe hotel to arrive in the area in 2015, and, in the past few years, two resorts have brought with them a design-first approach: Kisawa Sanctuary, on the southern tip of Benguerra Island, and Sussurro, a little to the north on the mainland. Singita is also developing a new property elsewhere in the Bazaruto Archipelago, an island escape set to open next year.

 

Gangtey Lodge

High-end tourism in Bhutan is barely two decades old, beginning in 2004, when both Amankora and Como Uma Paro opened their doors. Much has changed in the intervening years, as a more diverse range of properties has sprung up across the land of Gross National Happiness. Take Gangtey Lodge, the leading sustainability-centred luxury destination. Set above a nature reserve in the remote Phobjikha Valley, where there are no other hotels, the emphasis here is on connection with both the spectacular environs and the local people.

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The Lindis Lodge

If South Island were an opera, then this New Zealand resort would be the hottest ticket in the house, providing stays in glass-walled suites and pods with uninterrupted vistas of all the natural drama the Ahuriri Valley has in store. Guests at the high-country station spend their days making their way, on foot or horseback, past golden tussocks and along snaky rivers, and their evenings supping on hyper-locavore dishes at the Great Hall before the resounding crescendo: the Milky Way, seen speckled across one of the clearest, darkest night skies on the planet.

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Amangiri

Copyright: Courtesy of Aman

 

When Aman founder Adrian Zecha came across the austerely beautiful land where this 34-key hotel is now located, it was still owned by the US government. It took an act of Congress – and many years of planning and careful construction – for the American Southwest’s most iconic property to take shape, unveiled in 2009 to universal acclaim. The raw splendour of the terrain is on full display from each room – and from the tents at nearby Camp Sarika, which opened as part of the resort in 2020.

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Naila Fort

Perhaps the most exclusive address in Rajasthan, this erstwhile stronghold was built in 1849 in a commanding position overlooking the countryside near Jaipur. In recent years, it served as a private retreat – open by invitation only – but in February, the Oberoi family opened it up to the public on an exclusive-use basis. Suffused with quiet refinement and exquisite details, the four-bedroom property boasts two dining spaces, a pool and fitness centre – and, of course, the stunning panoramas of the Aravalli mountains.

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Origami Minamiaso

Tucked away in a serene valley beneath the volcanic Mount Aso, this two-villa hideaway boasts a rich forest view from every corner. Set in Kumamoto prefecture on the southern island of Kyushu – known for its crystal-clear springs and lush terrain – Origami offers a chance to unwind beneath the komorebi sunlight, whether soaking in a semi-outdoor tub or letting the tranquillity seep into the open-living area. Recently added, the Mt.3 Café serves expertly prepared drinks and seasonal sweets on its spacious terrace, inviting guests to let the surrounding nature do the talking.

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Fregate Island

Copyright: Unique Fregate

 

Occupying a 219ha island still recovering from 200 years of overfarming, this Seychelles paradise – home to an Oetker Collection hotel – takes its role as steward seriously: its conservation efforts have saved several endangered species (such as the Aldabra giant tortoise, more than 3,500 of which now roam here freely). Reopening after renovations this year, stays here also are guided by a nature-first philosophy: its 17 villas are partially solar powered, and 80 per cent of the cuisine is made with island-grown flora. That same low-impact mindset shapes the guest experience – including on its seven beaches, one of them reservable for complete and total privacy.

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Bawah Reserve

Copyright: Reto Guntli

 

The Anambas Islands are only a short hop from Singapore, but they feel a world away from civilisation. Spread across six of these private paradisiacal islets, this bejungled retreat is a slice of Indonesia with few peers. Preservation of the primordial environment takes top priority, with just 36 suites, bungalows and villas ensuring that every stay is both personal and meaningful. From scuba diving and kayaking to treetop dining and jungle hiking, the immersion in nature is complete – and the service truly top-notch.

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Hope

The scale of WildLand’s ambition is mind-boggling: spread across 13 estates in Scotland and more than 89,000 hectares, one of Europe’s largest rewilding projects is transforming the idea of what conservation can do. And, equally notably, they are managing to keep the tourist hordes at bay, with just a few handsomely appointed cabins, suites and lodges available for stays. The newest, set to open in May, is Hope, a former hunting lodge on the country’s secluded north coast.

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Fogo Island Inn

Copyright: Fogo Island Inn

 

The travel world is abuzz with talk of “sustainable development”, and conversations among those in the know always, always wind up discussing Fogo Island, the remote, windswept islet off the northeast coast of the Canadian province of Newfoundland. Local resident Zita Cobb started an artists’ retreat in 2011 and, two years later, opened a luxury hotel in which every detail has been created with sustainability in mind, from exclusively employing locals to super-low-waste policies, with the surrounding nature taking centre stage.

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Southern Ocean Lodge, Kisawa Sanctuary, Amangiri, and Fogo Island Inn are all part of Fine Hotels + Resorts. For more information or to make a booking, please contact your Centurion Travel Service.