Best Hotels & Lodges

Rhino Lodge Bardia is your ideal place to stay when you are exploring the jungles of this national park. Rhino Lodge Bardia has been the premier and preferred place for visitors to stay for over 20 years. The experience in this jungle park insures you of the best possible trip to the wild lands of this region.

The Manta Resort has a remote hilltop position overlooking the azure waters of the Pemba Channel and one of the most gorgeous swimming beaches in the Zanzibar Archipelago. The lodge's staff create a family atmosphere with genuine warmth and friendliness. Guests are assigned a personal "Service Fundi" on arrival who will look after them for the duration of their stay. The Manta Resort’s recently-opened unique Underwater Room is a floating glass cube which allows guests to be completely immersed in the ocean where multitudes of fish swim by. Expect serenity, first-class service and close encounters with nature here.

Forming part of the ancient Nakasendo route, one of the main connections between Edo and Kyoto, the Kiso Valley is a stunning location from which to explore Alpine Japan. With a name inspired by the beauty of its rivers and mountains, Yama Mizuki Urara Tsutaya is, needless to say, surrounded by astonishing scenery. The ryoken's design celebrates these views from every corner including the large, spring-fed onsen, which looks out across the mountains. It is authentic in every sense of the word, from the dining to the array of activities on offer – and you can even learn about local crafts and cooking, among other things.

Langtang offers guests accommodation options which include a variety of local lodges or teahouses. Although majority of these local lodges/ guesthouses are very basic, they offer comfort while you enjoy the beautiful landscape and hiking trails of Langtang.

The Palm Resort is conveniently located within walking distance of the beach and just five minutes from the nearest airport. The villas at the Palm Resort have two or three bedrooms, large living rooms, dining rooms, and private bathrooms while the selection of rooms and suites are spacious, refined and equipped with all the facilities required for a comfortable stay. The trendy on-site restaurant serves inventive traditional cuisine, and a variety of alcoholic beverages can be enjoyed at the bar. There is also an outdoor swimming pool with a paddling pool for children, a hairdressing salon, beauty salon, sauna, and professional masseuse.

Tswalu Private Game Reserve lies in the arid Northern Cape, and is one of South Africa’s largest private reserves. Tarkuni is an elegant small camp, with just five suites, and perfect for families or groups of friends travelling together. The lodge was formerly the private residence of the Oppenheimer family, and has since been transformed into a fabulous oasis of luxury in the Kalahari Desert. This area is known for its unusual wildlife and vast stretches of rugged wilderness, and as this is one of only two lodges on the reserve, it has a true feeling of isolation and exclusivity.

Corvara is the epicentre of Dolomite tourism. In 1938, Italy's first ski lift was built here, the very same year that the Pezzei family opened their doors. Nearly nine decades on and not much has changed in terms of hospitality and heart. The hotel is right in the centre of the village, a short stroll from the gondolas that connect to the legendary Sellaronda circuit and over 1,200 kilometres of slopes. And it's not just about snow either: in summer, swap your skis for hiking boots or a road bike and tackle the same jaw-dropping passes. The Ladin culture in this corner of South Tyrol is also fascinating — three languages, a fiercely proud identity and food that borrows from neighbouring Austria and the Italian classics.

Ensconced by lush foliage on the banks of Lake Koggala, Tri Lanka is unique in every sense of the word. Designed to mimic the shape of a spiral shell, Tri places great import on wellness and reconnecting with nature. The resort was created with hefty eco-credentials including living walls, roof gardens of dwarf bamboo, and villas built with 100% recycled wood. Dotted across the impressive hillside property, you'll find a secluded yoga venue in a glade of trees and utterly private villas with idyllic lake views. Explore the lake by boat, visiting scenic islands and watching out for flashes of birdlife as you glide by.

Tucked into a quiet corner of Monjo village, this stone-built lodge sits on a hillock between the local monastery and a century-old Sherpa home – a fitting spot for one of Nepal's most heartfelt mountain retreats. With just eleven rooms and views across the imposing flanks of Thamserku, it's the smallest and newest of the Mountain Lodges of Nepal collection, and definitely the most intimate. The family behind it have been pioneers in Himalayan travel for over three decades, and that legacy shows in everything from the organic greenhouse supplying the kitchen to the genuinely warm welcome at the door. A restorative pause before the climb to Namche.

At the dusty end of the Transpantaneira's 147km journey, this unpretentious lodge delivers exactly what serious wildlife enthusiasts crave: proximity to South America's most elusive predator. Forget fancy facilities – you're here because this stretch of the Cuiabá River hosts the world's densest jaguar population. Between July and October, multiple daily sightings are genuinely common, not mere marketing speak. The simply styled rooms won't win any design awards, but when you're watching a jaguar wrestle a caiman at sunrise, thread counts become irrelevant. Passionate guides who know every riverside hunting spot make the magic happen, while the buffet keeps you fuelled for long days on the water.