Best Hotels & Lodges

Set along a quiet channel just off the Zambezi River, where winterthorn trees shade the slowmoving water, Kujana offers an intimate safari experience shaped by both the wilderness around it and the tranquillity of its setting. Located within the National Park on a small, exclusive island in the Discovery Channel—an area renowned for its diverse habitats and abundant wildlife—the camp is designed to feel immersive and uncrowded.

Tucked away on its own private island in the eastern reaches of the Lower Zambezi, Chula is where safari purists go to disappear. Just five mesh-walled tents beneath towering Natal Mahogany trees offer front-row seats to one of Africa's last true wildernesses. This is owner-run, passion-fuelled safari at its most authentic – think bucket showers under the stars, breakfast around a crackling campfire, and guides who paddle these channels like they were born to do just that. It's deliberately simple, refreshingly remote, and completely captivating; the kind of place where hippos provide the morning alarm and elephants might just wander through camp for afternoon tea.

Perched beneath ancient winterthorn trees where the Chongwe meets the mighty Zambezi, these two exclusive suites deliver pared-back luxury with a side of butler service. The Cassia Suite pampers honeymooners with river-facing romance, while the two-bedroom Albida welcomes families who fancy their own slice of wilderness. With private plunge pools, clawfoot bathtubs under the stars, and dedicated guides who'll paddle you past hippo pods at dawn, this is safari refinement without the stuffiness. Elephants regularly wade through the channel right in front of your suite – entertainment courtesy of nature while you sip coffee from your canopied lounge.

Musesenji River Camp is a luxury safari camp opening in April 2027 in Zambia's Lower Zambezi National Park. Set at the confluence of the Zambezi and Musesenji Rivers in the park's remote eastern sector, it offers a more secluded safari experience than many camps in the area. With just six tented suites, private plunge pools, guided walks, boat excursions and game drives, it is ideal for travellers seeking both comfort and a genuine sense of wilderness.

With terraced hills, organic gardens, waterfalls and cobblestoned pathways, Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo feels like an intimate village of its own. A 5-hectare mountainside reserve, the pristine cloudforest setting is a dream for all travellers, but even more so for nature enthusiasts and birdwatchers, with over 210 bird species and 370 orchid species (making it the world’s largest native orchid collection) recorded in the exact area. Amazingly, the hotel’s sustainability efforts have helped preserved hectares of Amazonian forest and native fauna, while also striving to make stays 100% carbon neutral. Staying here for the full Machu Picchu experience just feels right.

Camp Kipwe is a unique place, built in crevices between giant boulders stacked one above the other – a feature typical of this part of northwestern Namibia. You have to admire the ingenuity of the camp's designers, who have managed to combine intimate accommodation with sweeping views across the Aba Huab valley. From this eco-friendly camp, you can explore Damaraland – take an early morning game drive to look for the country's famously elusive desert-dwelling elephants, hike the ancient Aba Huab River or travel back in time at Twyfelfontein, Namibia’s first World Heritage Site.

Located across the road from the historic Wat Chedi Luang temple, Chala Number 6 is a modern and exclusive city hotel featuring all the comforts and amenities of a five star property while being respectful and humble of its significant location.

It is the lifestyle and plentiful nature of this era of Lanna that inspired the design of the hotel. Like living compounds in days past, Chala Number 6’s buildings are scattered around the perimeter of the property, looking inwards towards its communal area. Like traditional homes, living quarters are on the most part upstairs overlooking the compound crowned at its centre by a reproduction of a traditional lhong, or rice barn, exquisitely carved and created from hardwood by a renowned local crafts master.

Aruntara Riverside Boutique Hotel in Chiang Mai, Thailand is located on the banks of the Mae Ping River. Enjoy a peaceful and harmonious stay in this quiet oasis, while only being a short distance away from the vibrant inner city of Chiang Mai.

Guests dining at Tara Restaurant can indulge in a perfect view of the Mae Ping River alongside their delicious meal. An air conditioned seating room is also available, and diners can choose from a wide menu of traditional Thai and International cuisine.

Guests arriving at Hotel BOG are welcomed into a unique world where Colombian elegance meets bold, contemporary design. An urban sanctuary in the heart of Bogotá, Colombia, this award-winning hotel combines style, sophistication, and personalized service like no other.

Pirate Cove is a small hotel, consisting of comfortable cabins, bungalows, Ac Room and Deluxe Cabin located on Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica.

The twelve cabins are hidden among rainforest trees on 2 kilometer (l mile) deserted beach on the Pacific Ocean. Here, you will experience the true pristine and naturea beauty of Costa Rica and nearby Corcovado National Park.

Explore the pristine isolation of Golfo Dulce, kayaking through the hushed mangroves of Los Mogos where wildlife reigns supreme, and plunging into the crystalline depths surrounding Punta Adela and Isla del Caño—a marine sanctuary rarely experienced by outsiders. Venture deep into the verdant, wild embrace of Corcovado National Park, where the untamed rainforest pulsates with life, or conquer the exhilarating rapids of the Savegre River, a true wilderness challenge.

This is your chance to disconnect from the ordinary and immerse yourself in the raw, unparalleled beauty of a Costa Rica few ever witness.

Hidden away in Fez's ancient medina, this former pasha's palace has been lovingly transformed by a Provençal antique dealer with an eye for the extraordinary. Michel Biehn didn't just restore this 1906 summer retreat, he also filled every corner with carefully curated antiquities from Central Asia to Africa. From the Royal Suite with its soaring glass dome to rooms inspired by Marco Polo's silk road adventures, each space feels more like a private collection than a hotel suite. The magnificent Andalusian garden – complete with Isfahan roses, jasmine, and a tranquil swimming pool – provides a blissful escape from the medina's bustling souks.

Aswan is where Egypt starts to feel Nubian, the river slowing and spreading around the granite islands of the First Cataract. One of them belongs entirely to this resort. Isis Island is twenty-eight acres of gardens and palm walks with water on every side, the Aga Khan's mausoleum on the hill opposite and the Old Cataract Hotel glowing across the channel. The only way on or off is the hotel's own boat, ten minutes each way, running around the clock. The building opened in 1992 and shows it in places. The island doesn't, and that turns out to matter rather a lot.

Named after Ernest 'Papa' Hemingway – who famously survived not one but two plane crashes in this very stretch of wilderness – this intimate tented camp channels the romance of golden-age safaris. Tucked beneath towering fig trees on the south bank of the Nile, it sits within a 350-square-kilometre low-use zone of Murchison Falls National Park, shared with no other camp. Lions are prolific here (a recent census counted over 45), and a habituated hyena den near camp offers extraordinary viewing. The roar of the rapids drifts through at night, elephants and buffalo roam the riverbanks, and the thundering falls themselves are an easy game drive away. With only five tents, exclusivity is guaranteed.

Forget everything you think you know about beach lodges. On a secluded section of powder-white sand north of Vilanculos, Italian couple Elena and Fabio have crafted something rather extraordinary. Their eight-suite retreat feels more like staying with impossibly stylish friends than checking into a hotel. With every suite boasting its own private pool and the Bazaruto Archipelago shimmering on the horizon, this fully inclusive hideaway strikes that perfect balance between barefoot luxury and genuine warmth. From the home-grown vegetables in your five-course dinner to the daily spa treatments, every detail whispers, "we've got this sorted".

Ethiopia's southwestern corner is one of the last outposts of traditional life. Here, in the Omo Valley, eight ethnic tribes reside, including the Mursi, Hamar and Karo people – 200,000 in all. They face a tough future, one that is threatened by developments such as river damming. Eco-Omo Safari Lodge sits in Omo's heart, on the eastern edge of Mago National Park in the clamorous and colourful town of Jinka. Adventurous, open-minded travellers interested in the plight of indigenous people and keen to understand their way of life should seek out this dusty, barely trickling backwater before it's too late.

Tucked within a boutique estate that's devoted entirely to the art of Cap Classique, this exclusive-use villa puts you in the heart of Franschhoek with your own chef, butler, and very generous pours of some of South Africa's finest bubbles. Award-winning designer Etienne Hanekom has worked his magic on the interiors, and the result is a refined sanctuary that feels every bit as polished as the wines in the cellar. Blending sessions, vineyard picnics, and helicopter flights are all on the cards – though simply sinking into the heated pool with a glass of Blanc de Blancs works too.