When you hear the words “most luxurious hotel in the world,” most of us picture unreachable palaces for celebrities, where a single night costs as much as a new car. The truth, though, is that the ranking of the planet’s very best addresses hides some enormous surprises. You’ll discover that the 48th best hotel in the world sits just eight hours’ drive from central Europe, and a night there off-season costs about what you’d normally pay in summer for a decent mid-range stay in the mountains.

I’ve pulled together the official ranking of the 50 best hotels in the world for 2025. We’ll go through exactly 29 of them in detail, where you’ll find not only what makes each one exceptional, but above all the real starting rates for the cheapest room. It turns out that five hotels from the global elite start under $500, and, for example, you can bag a legendary hotel in India from just $250.

We’ll also shine a light on the biggest myths of the hotel industry, take a peek inside the most expensive suite that holds a Guinness record, and I’ll show you how to enjoy a slice of this luxury even when you don’t have the budget for a week-long stay in a presidential suite. Get ready for a journey from Parisian palaces all the way to the Maldivian islands, where the rule is: no news, no shoes.

TL;DR

• Winner for 2025: First place this year went to Rosewood Hong Kong, a vertical luxury estate rising above Victoria Harbour.
• The most affordable of the elite: Surprisingly accessible is The Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai, where a night starts at just $250 (around €230).
• The most expensive in the ranking: By contrast, the priciest base rooms belong to Paris’s Le Bristol Paris, where a single night sets you back at least $3,200.
• Closest to central Europe: The stunning Grand Park Hotel Rovinj (48th place) is in Croatian Istria, while Hotel Sacher Wien (49th place) lies just a short hop across the border in Vienna.
• The smallest boutique gem: South Africa’s Singita lodge in Kruger National Park offers total privacy with just 22 rooms.
• Record-breaking suite: The Guinness record for the most expensive room on the planet is held by The Mark Penthouse in New York, at $114,767 a night.
• The seven-star myth: Dubai’s famous Burj Al Arab officially has only five stars — the “seven-star” label was invented in 1999 by an enthusiastic journalist.

Who Decides Which Hotel Is the Most Luxurious

Determining which hotel is objectively the best is a completely impossible task, because there’s no single global standard. Instead, there are several prestigious rating systems whose results often don’t agree at all.

If you’ve ever heard of a seven-star hotel, let me set the record straight right away: no such official classification exists. This modern legend was born in 1999, when a certain British journalist visited a pre-opening tour of Dubai’s Burj Al Arab and wrote in her article that the hotel was so luxurious it would have to be a seven-star. The term caught on instantly and has taken on a life of its own ever since, even though Burj Al Arab officially has five stars from Dubai’s tourism authority and five stars from the Forbes Travel Guide.

The Ranking in Numbers

The World’s 50 Best Hotels for 2025 brought a few interesting twists, with the absolute winner being Rosewood Hong Kong, which took bronze last year. Last year’s defending champion, Thailand’s Capella Bangkok, slipped this year to a still-lovely third place. Asia dominates overall this year, with 20 representatives in the top 50, while Europe holds 17 spots.

The prices in the table below represent the official starting rate — the cost of the very cheapest room outside high season. For context, we’ve converted the amounts using a rate of $1 ≈ €0.92, but please always treat them as a rough starting point.

Looking at the hard data, it’s fascinating to see just how huge the price spread is even within the very cream of the crop. While the cheapest hotel in the selection starts at $250, the most expensive kicks off at $3,200, giving us an incredible 1:13 ratio.

Great news for lovers of exceptional experiences is that five of the fifty hotels start under $500. These include India’s Taj Mahal Palace ($250), Brazil’s Copacabana Palace ($300), Croatia’s Grand Park Hotel Rovinj ($300), Thailand’s Four Seasons Bangkok ($450) and the opulent Atlantis The Royal in Dubai ($460).

Another myth is the idea that the best has to be the most expensive. The priciest hotels didn’t rank the highest — Paris’s Le Bristol, at $3,200, ended up in 19th place, while Cheval Blanc and Crillon at $3,000 took 21st and 23rd. These Parisian palaces are noticeably more expensive than the number one hotel in the entire ranking.

It also turns out that a hotel’s size plays no role in the ratings. The winning Rosewood has a massive 413 rooms, while fourth-place Passalacqua on Italy’s Lake Como makes do with just 24. The very smallest is Africa’s Singita in Kruger National Park, with 22 rooms.

If you’re after the absolute best value for money, Asian cities clearly lead the way. The winning Rosewood Hong Kong, like tenth-place Upper House, starts at $650, while the third best hotel in the world, Capella Bangkok, can be had from $600. You get a world-class stay for a sum that in Paris probably wouldn’t even get you into the lobby.

29 of the Most Luxurious Hotels and Resorts in the World

Let’s now take a close look at exactly 29 addresses from the official ranking that redefine the limits of modern hospitality. You’ll find out what won these institutions the hearts of the strictest judges — and how much the cheapest room costs.

1. Rosewood Hong Kong

The best hotel in the world for 2025 and king of the Asian market rises to a staggering 270 metres directly above Hong Kong’s iconic Victoria Harbour. Across its 413 rooms, New York designer Tony Chi has created a living fusion of Eastern and Western influences, where you’ll bump into artworks by names like Damien Hirst right at the entrance. One quirk is that the lift lobbies on each floor don’t feel like an ordinary hotel — they’re more like cosy living rooms full of books and art objects.

Base rooms start at a generous 53 square metres, unheard-of luxury in crowded Hong Kong, and feature checked wool wallpaper and marble bathrooms with twin sinks and a freestanding tub. There are an incredible 11 restaurants and bars here, including Michelin-starred venues like The Legacy House and Indian spot Chaat, while cocktails are shaken in the dimly lit Darkside bar. 💡 Tip: If you want a real reset, set aside time for the hotel’s Asaya Spa, which partners with French brand Guerlain and even offers special yoga classes and sound healing. (Hong Kong • 413 rooms • From $650 / approx. €600) check prices and availability

2. Four Seasons Bangkok at Chao Phraya River

This sprawling urban retreat sits right on the banks of the famous River of Kings and is a masterful showcase of cascading architecture, designed by Jean-Michel Gathy. With 299 rooms, it feels more like a tropical resort in the middle of an Asian metropolis, where courtyards flow seamlessly into the river and high ceilings are complemented by modern artworks.

The dining scene here is absolutely phenomenal, led by the Cantonese restaurant Yu Ting Yuan and the acclaimed BKK Social Club, a regular on the lists of Asia’s best bars. The setting is full of muted elegance, glass surfaces and soft marble, making this place an oasis of calm in an otherwise bustling city. 💡 Tip: Try the hotel’s traditional long-tail boat transfer and explore the Charoenkrung district, packed with antique shops, galleries and bistros, without wasting time in Bangkok’s traffic jams. (Bangkok, Thailand • 299 rooms • From $450 / approx. €410) check prices and availability

3. Capella Bangkok

Bangkok is amazing, but its noise and traffic can wear you down fast, which is exactly why Capella Bangkok, with its 101 rooms, is the perfect sanctuary of peace and quiet. The design relies on neutral tones and clean lines inspired by Japan, while entry-level rooms boast huge bathrooms, walk-in closets and terraces with comfy loungers.

The hotel is home to the brilliant restaurant Côte, run by famous chef Mauro Colagreco, as well as the wonderful Thai spot Phra Nakhon right by the river. The real trump card, though, is the staff, whose service feels almost telepathic — they anticipate your every wish before you’ve even said a word. 💡 Tip: Make use of the personal guides known as Capella Culturists, who can arrange something like a private meditation with the head monk in a 250-year-old temple. (Bangkok, Thailand • 101 rooms • From $600 / approx. €550) check prices and availability

4. Passalacqua

This gem on the shores of Italy’s Lake Como is set in an 18th-century villa whose walls remember Pope Innocent XI and composer Vincenzo Bellini. The De Santis family has created a boutique paradise with just 24 rooms, where Italian craftsmanship shouts from every detail — from original frescoes and Venetian mirrors to blown-glass chandeliers from Murano.

The grounds offer seven acres of perfectly kept terraced gardens with olive trees and roses that flow gracefully down to a pool shaded by striking parasols designed by JJ Martin. The food from the open kitchen led by chef Viviana Varese is unexpectedly simple and celebrates local ingredients, which you can enjoy practically anywhere in the vast garden. 💡 Tip: The best way to explore the villa’s grounds is to borrow an orange Spiaggina (a vintage roofless Fiat 500), or, after a day on the lake, hide away in the vaulted underground spa. (Moltrasio, Lake Como, Italy • 24 rooms • From $1,300 / approx. €1,200) check prices and availability

5. Raffles Singapore

This legendary hotel is literally the embodiment of the golden age of travel, operating since 1887, with the current neo-Renaissance building opening in 1899. Today you’re welcomed by doormen in traditional Sikh uniforms, and you can stroll along the polished teak verandas that connect its 115 historic suites.

Interestingly, the gardens take up nearly half the entire property, making the hotel a perfect oasis in the heart of modern Singapore. The dining options are endless, from the avant-garde Butcher’s Block to modern Chinese cuisine at Yì, and your comfort is looked after by the famous Raffles butlers with their utterly intuitive approach. 💡 Tip: A visit wouldn’t be complete without a stop at the famous Long Bar, where the world-famous Singapore Sling cocktail was supposedly born. (Singapore • 115 rooms • From $2,000 / approx. €1,840) check prices and availability

6. Atlantis The Royal

If you’re after understated luxury, you’re in completely the wrong place, because Atlantis The Royal in Dubai is a monumental celebration of sheer extravagance. This giant complex with 795 rooms offers 16 restaurants, luxury boutiques and an incredible 90 swimming pools, many of which are part of private penthouses with glass walls high in the clouds.

Unlike the rest of the hotel, the rooms are surprisingly restrained, using light tones and minimalist furniture so as not to compete with the breathtaking sea views. Dining here is overseen by culinary legends like Heston Blumenthal and José Andrés, so you can travel the world through food without ever leaving the grounds. 💡 Tip: Pay for entry to the rooftop Cloud 22 pool, balanced on a bridge connecting the two main towers, and enjoy a drink with views over all of Dubai. (Dubai, UAE • 795 rooms • From $460 / approx. €420) check prices and availability

7. Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok

On the banks of the Chao Phraya River, this hotel gem has been welcoming guests for nearly 150 years, with names like Graham Greene, Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando passing through its guest books. From an original coaching inn with twelve rooms, it grew into a giant with 331 rooms, yet it still maintains an incredible attention to detail — from silk kimonos to aluminium cases for the toiletries.

The dining offer spans 12 venues, headed by the acclaimed Le Normandie restaurant, recently taken under the wing of famous chef Anne-Sophie Pic. A 24-hour butler for every room is standard, along with advanced lighting controls that change the whole room’s atmosphere at the touch of a button. 💡 Tip: Don’t miss afternoon tea in the iconic Authors’ Lounge, a room of wicker furniture and shutters that breathes Victorian atmosphere. (Bangkok, Thailand • 331 rooms • From $757 / approx. €700) check prices and availability

8. Chablé Yucatán

This top wellness sanctuary lies deep in the heart of the Yucatán jungle, just 25 minutes from the bustling city of Mérida, yet it feels like another world entirely. Forty beautifully appointed villas and casitas offer huge spaces, and even the smallest of them have their own pools and open-air outdoor showers.

The whole concept revolves around Mayan healing traditions, and the spa itself is the first in the world built directly around a sacred cenote (a natural sinkhole). The kitchen, led by chef Jorge Vallejo of Mexico’s Quintonil, makes generous use of produce from its own Mayan gardens, while the Ki’ol venue specialises purely in healthy, balanced dishes. 💡 Tip: After wellness treatments in the traditional temazcal steam house, you can explore one of the world’s largest tequila collections, which the hotel holds. (Chocholá, Yucatán, Mexico • 40 rooms • From $770 / approx. €710) check prices and availability

9. Four Seasons Firenze

This distinctive hotel occupies a beautifully restored 15th-century Medici family palazzo and hides the largest private garden in Florence. All 115 rooms are split between the main Palazzo della Gherardesca and a former 16th-century convent, where guests are greeted by a separate reception with a personal butler.

The entrance hall is a dazzling display of natural light and giant floral installations, with bas-reliefs of mythological creatures emerging from the walls. Also worth mentioning is the Michelin-starred Italian restaurant Il Palagio, which gives regional Tuscan recipes an exciting modern makeover, and the gorgeous outdoor pool open all summer. 💡 Tip: Given the hotel’s slightly out-of-the-way location, use the free shuttle service, which whisks you stress-free straight to the sights in central Florence. (Florence, Italy • 115 rooms • From $1,000 / approx. €920) check prices and availability

10. Upper House

This architectural triumph floats high above the Pacific Place shopping centre and is the very first hotel project by acclaimed Asian designer André Fu. Right at the entrance you’re struck by the brutalist facade by Thomas Heatherwick and the minimalist reception concept, where check-in is handled entirely paper-free.

With just 117 rooms and studios, this is an oasis of calm in pulsating Hong Kong, and the room sizes easily put most local apartments to shame. The interiors go for muted shades of cream and stone, freestanding limestone tubs and huge windows that frame the city below like a living painting. 💡 Tip: Head to the rooftop restaurant Salisterra, which offers refined Mediterranean cuisine and probably the best view of Hong Kong’s skyscrapers. (Hong Kong • 117 rooms • From $650 / approx. €600) check prices and availability

11. Copacabana Palace

The brilliant white facade of this legendary 1923 hotel majestically looks down on the most famous beach in Rio de Janeiro, while the statue of Christ the Redeemer watches over it from above. With its 239 rooms, the hotel brought European glamour to Brazil and became the centre of social life, where celebrities mingle with wealthy travellers around the giant pool.

The interiors retain their traditional opulence with spacious living rooms, yet thanks to careful renovations they feel fresh and modern. The property also hides three top-class restaurants, including the Asian-inspired Mee, and the hotel’s management has long been praised for bringing sustainable, eco-friendly practices into the luxury segment. 💡 Tip: If you want to save, choose the standard city-view rooms, which are noticeably cheaper than the famous suites facing Copacabana beach. (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil • 239 rooms • From $300 / approx. €280) check prices and availability

13. Royal Mansour

This project by King Mohammed VI is no ordinary hotel — it’s a physical embodiment of Moroccan heritage, where you won’t find any classic rooms. Instead, the property is made up of 53 three-storey private riads scattered across beautiful gardens, each with its own rooftop pool and personal butler.

What’s truly unique here is the service system, because all the staff move through a network of underground tunnels and enter the riads via hidden doors, so the service is one hundred percent invisible. The kitchens are run by an absolute elite: Massimiliano Alajmo looks after the Italian restaurant Sesamo, while the famous Hélène Darroze conducts the traditional Moroccan menu. 💡 Tip: Experience the city from a different angle and book a personalised tour of the medina, paired with tasting local specialities straight from the vendors. (Marrakesh, Morocco • 53 rooms • From $1,900 / approx. €1,750) check prices and availability

16. Claridge’s

This London gem in Mayfair has hosted British high society ever since it opened in 1856 and is one of the royal family’s favourite luxury hotels in London. Its 269 rooms recently underwent a renovation that further emphasised its signature Art Deco style, combined with calm earthy tones and a regal pale blue.

Between 2015 and 2022, a massive seven-year excavation project took place beneath the hotel, creating five new underground floors that house a Japanese spa, a 25-metre pool and an in-house bakery. The Claridge’s Restaurant serves top-class British gastronomy, and the venue is also famous for a temporary cocktail pop-up by the legendary New York bar Dante. 💡 Tip: Keep your eyes peeled in the lobby, because the hotel is known for its absolute discretion and regularly welcomes the likes of Mick Jagger for lunch. (London, England • 269 rooms • From $1,200 / approx. €1,100)

17. Four Seasons Astir Palace

On the picturesque Vouliagmeni peninsula near Athens sprawls this giant resort with 303 rooms, which defines luxury on the so-called Athens Riviera. Guests have access to gorgeous private beaches, huge pools and interiors kept in soothing light tones that let the turquoise sea shine.

The resort offers everything from top tennis facilities to an extensive spa, with the dining options crowned by the Michelin-starred restaurant Pelagos. The whole complex is designed so you never have to leave during your holiday, offering the perfect balance between relaxation and active downtime with first-class service. 💡 Tip: Prices peak here from May to September, so come in the shoulder months of spring or autumn, when rates are much friendlier. (Vouliagmeni near Athens, Greece • 303 rooms • From $550 / approx. €510) check prices and availability

19. Le Bristol Paris

This Parisian palace, celebrating a full hundred years since it opened in 1925, was a favourite retreat of both Coco Chanel and Pablo Picasso. It sits a short walk from the Champs-Élysées, and its 190 rooms are adorned with period Louis XV furniture, silk drapes and marble bathrooms with luxury cosmetics.

The main draw here, though, is the gastronomy, because the hotel boasts the three-Michelin-starred restaurant Epicure under Arnaud Faye, which serves masterpieces overlooking a flowering courtyard. After a day exploring Paris, guests can unwind at the boat-shaped rooftop pool. 💡 Tip: You don’t have to pay thousands of dollars for a room — just pop into Café Antonia, whose afternoon tea and fantastic pastries are famous all across Paris. (Paris, France • 190 rooms • From $3,200 / approx. €2,950) check prices and availability

Lukáš and Lucie recommend

Where to stay in world luxury hotels

6 accommodations — hotels, wellness hotels and other accommodation options

⭐ TOP CHOICE 🏨 Hotel

Rosewood Hong Kong

Best hotel 2025, 270m tall, 413 rooms overlooking Victoria Harbour with 11 restaurants and Asaya Spa.

★★★★ from 650 USD/night (~€590)

Check availability 🏨 Hotel

Four Seasons Bangkok at Chao Phraya River

299 rooms on Chao Phraya River with BKK Social Club and traditional boat transport.

★★★★ from 450 USD/night (~€410)

Check availability 🏨 Hotel

Capella Bangkok

101 rooms, sanctuary of calm with Michelin-starred Côte restaurant and personal Culturists guides.

★★★★ from 600 USD/night (~€545)

Check availability 🏨 Hotel

Passalacqua

24 rooms in 18th-century villa on Lake Como with terraced gardens and Murano glass.

★★★★ from 1,300 USD/night (~€1,180)

Check availability ⭐ Luxury

Raffles Singapore

Historic 115 suites since 1887, birthplace of Singapore Sling, half of property is gardens.

★★★★ from 2,000 USD/night (~€1,820)

Check availability ⭐ Luxury

Atlantis The Royal

795 rooms, 90 pools, 16 restaurants with celebrity chefs like Heston Blumenthal.

★★★★ from 460 USD/night (~€420)

Check availability

21. Cheval Blanc Paris

This relatively new addition to the Parisian luxury scene, owned by the LVMH group, took over the iconic La Samaritaine building right by the Pont Neuf. Across 72 rooms, architect Peter Marino has created a bold mix of Art Deco and contemporary art, dominated in the lobby by a giant photographic installation of the Eiffel Tower.

Most of the light-filled rooms look straight onto the Seine, but the main highlights are the winter gardens at the larger suites. The food here is absolutely phenomenal, whether you choose the famous Milanese seafood restaurant Langosteria or the Plénitude venue by chef Arnaud Donckele, which additionally boasts three Michelin stars. 💡 Tip: Enjoy total freedom thanks to the “carte blanche” service, which lets you order absolutely anything to your room at any hour of the day or night. (Paris, France • 72 rooms • From $3,000 / approx. €2,760) check prices and availability

22. Bulgari Hotel Roma

In the heart of Rome, directly opposite the Mausoleum of Augustus, architects breathed life into a rationalist palace from the 1930s. The interiors of all 106 rooms work with hand-cut marble mosaics and original Murano glass, while a genuine marble statue of Emperor Augustus presides over the entrance hall.

The rooms are divided into four colour moods, and the bathrooms are adorned with rare marble that nods to the Bulgari brand’s jewellery history. The culinary experience is looked after by Il Ristorante under Niko Romito, who gives classic Italian recipes like vitello tonnato an utterly modern, clean twist. 💡 Tip: Skip the standard breakfast and stop by the hotel’s Il Caffè for traditional maritozzi (light, fluffy buns filled with cream). (Rome, Italy • 106 rooms • From $1,600 / approx. €1,470) check prices and availability

23. Hôtel de Crillon

Right on the famous Place de la Concorde stands a building from 1758 that was originally the private residence of the Count de Crillon and, after a four-year renovation, transformed into one of the most beautiful hotels in the world. It hides 124 rooms that masterfully blend antiques with contemporary art and neutral earthy tones.

An absolute one-off here is the rooftop suite Les Grands Appartements, personally designed by fashion god Karl Lagerfeld and furnished with opulent chandeliers and carved doors. Down in the basement hides a photogenic pool clad in golden fluted tiles, and the L’Écrin restaurant offers innovative tasting menus paired with top wines. 💡 Tip: In the evening, be sure to drop into the Les Ambassadeurs bar, where, beneath a historic painted ceiling, you’ll enjoy the most cutting-edge cocktail creations in Paris. (Paris, France • 124 rooms • From $3,000 / approx. €2,760) check prices and availability

25. Aman Tokyo

This heavenly retreat occupies the top six floors of a 38-storey skyscraper in Tokyo’s Otemachi financial district and is the perfect contrast to the noisy metropolis below. The airy entrance hall on the 33rd floor, with its ceiling of white washi paper and water features with flowers, feels like a serene Zen sanctuary.

Thanks to huge windows and a thoughtful layout, each of the 84 rooms feels more like a luxurious private residence than a classic hotel. The spa, spread across two floors, draws on Japanese healing traditions, including Shinto purification rituals, and there’s also a stunning 30-metre pool. 💡 Tip: Definitely make time for a soak in the deep stone tub, positioned right by the window with an unrepeatable view over nighttime Tokyo. (Tokyo, Japan • 84 rooms • From $1,800 / approx. €1,660) check prices and availability

26. Hotel Il Pellicano

This Tuscan gem on the cliffs of Monte Argentario was born in 1965 out of the love of a British aviator and an American socialite, originally as a private club. Today, under the leadership of visionary Marie-Louise Sciò, guests are greeted by 47 gorgeous rooms scattered across terracotta villas among olive trees and flowering bougainvillea.

The magic of the place lies in its perfect preservation of Italian “dolce vita,” where, at the heated seawater pool, figures like Charlie Chaplin and the Agnelli family historically rubbed shoulders. Food made from local ingredients is served at Ristorante Il Pellicano, while the beach club with its signature yellow-and-white stripes is the ideal spot for an afternoon aperitivo. 💡 Tip: If an overnight stay is too pricey for you, the cheapest ticket into the grounds is a lunch reservation, during which you’ll soak up the very same atmosphere. (Porto Ercole, Tuscany, Italy • 47 rooms • From $1,000 / approx. €920) check prices and availability

28. Soneva Fushi

On a remote Maldivian atoll, there’s only one rule: no news, no shoes. As soon as you step off the seaplane, the staff whisk away your footwear, and you move around all 72 villas, scattered through dense jungle, only barefoot or on assigned bicycles. Each villa comes with a personal assistant, the so-called Barefoot Guardian, available 24 hours a day.

This resort popularised the concept of open-air bathrooms, where you shower among rocks and trees, and the villas feature retractable roofs for sleeping under the stars. The resort also grows its own fruit, herbs and vegetables in huge organic gardens, so the venues serve completely fresh, and often meat-free, dishes. 💡 Tip: If you love Asian food, book a spot at So Hands On, an exclusive sushi counter for just six guests. (Maldives • 72 rooms • From $2,800 / approx. €2,580) check prices and availability

29. The Connaught

This prestigious hotel in London’s Mayfair was built way back in 1897 and to this day maintains the atmosphere of an old British club, but with utterly modern service — one of the finest luxury hotels in London. The interiors of its 115 rooms, designed by Guy Oliver, combine traditional elements with art by such greats as Damien Hirst and Barbara Hepworth.

The culinary experience here is looked after by genuine superstars, because the three-Michelin-starred restaurant is run by the fabulous Hélène Darroze, while two other venues are managed by Jean-Georges Vongerichten. The hotel is renowned for its impeccable service, which keeps Hollywood actors and fashion designers coming back time and again. 💡 Tip: A mandatory stop should be the famous Connaught Bar, where they mix the iconic martini cocktail right at your table from a legendary rolling trolley. (London, England • 115 rooms • From $1,250 / approx. €1,150) check prices and availability

30. La Mamounia

This Moroccan palace from 1923 underwent a huge renovation that further emphasised its majestic Moorish architecture full of rich colours and mosaics. Its 209 rooms and villas are watched over by staff based in gardens of olive and palm trees that originally belonged to an 18th-century sultan’s son.

The hotel has left an enormous mark on history — Winston Churchill spent his winters here, Alfred Hitchcock filmed here, and Paul McCartney wrote the song “Mamunia” here. Today you’ll find an Asian restaurant and an Italian trattoria by Jean-Georges Vongerichten, as well as famous pastries by Parisian confectioner Pierre Hermé. 💡 Tip: In the evening, discover the new underground wine bar or lose yourself in the stunning dark spa, whose photos have gone all over Instagram. (Marrakesh, Morocco • 209 rooms • From $900 / approx. €830) check prices and availability

36. Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo

Since 1864, this architectural gem has been the absolute ruler of Monaco’s casino square, and its steps remember celebrities from Nelson Mandela to Lady Gaga. After a recent renovation, it offers 208 rooms fitted with light wood and marble, and even the smallest of them boasts its own balcony overlooking the Mediterranean.

The gastronomic pride here is the restaurant Le Louis XV under Alain Ducasse, which was the very first hotel venue in the world to earn three Michelin stars. Also popular is the rooftop Le Grill, with its sliding roof, from where there’s a breathtaking view over three different countries at once. 💡 Tip: The hotel boasts the largest hotel wine cellar in the world, where around 6,000 varieties await, including extremely rare bottles, so a tasting here is an absolute must. (Monaco • 208 rooms • From $800 / approx. €740) check prices and availability

38. The Taj Mahal Palace

This palace opened in 1903 as the very first luxury hotel in Indian ownership, and its iconic red dome still dominates Mumbai’s harbour to this day. With 285 rooms in the historic Heritage wing, it offers an opulent display of hand-knotted carpets, silk drapes and carved furniture inspired by the Rajput rulers.

It combines Indian, Moorish and Renaissance influences, so you’ll stroll along onyx columns and marble corridors that partly serve as a museum. On the roof of the more modern Tower wing, Mediterranean cuisine is served, and by the pool surrounded by rattan furniture, gentle sitar music plays. 💡 Tip: In the evening, be sure to head to the legendary Harbour Bar, Mumbai’s first licensed tavern, where the hotel’s own founder Jamsetji Tata also spent his evenings. (Mumbai, India • 285 rooms • From $250 / approx. €230) check prices and availability

40. Singita — Kruger National Park

The Singita brand follows the philosophy of “touching the earth lightly,” and its two lodges, Lebombo and Sweni, represent the absolute pinnacle of African ecotourism. With just 22 suites perched high above the Sweni River on a huge private concession inside Kruger National Park, guests here experience safari in absolute privacy and without crowds of tourists.

All the suites are glazed from floor to ceiling and feature indoor and outdoor showers, or private wooden decks with daybeds for watching the wildlife. The price of your stay includes not only luxurious breakfasts and lunches, but above all morning and evening game drives in special Land Rovers with the most experienced guides in the country. 💡 Tip: Don’t miss the traditional African boma dinners, served in the open air lit only by stars and lanterns in the canopies of giant trees. (South Africa • 22 rooms • From $1,900 / approx. €1,750) check prices and availability

43. The Mark

This boutique hotel occupies a historic 1920s building on prestigious Madison Avenue and counts as one of the most stylish retreats on New York’s Upper East Side. Designer Jacques Grange kitted out its 153 rooms with a combination of monochrome stripes, earthy tones and striking modern art that gives the hotel an unmistakable avant-garde character.

It’s a favourite haunt of the fashion set, and this is exactly where, before the annual March Met Gala, celebrities including the famous Anna Wintour get ready. The gastronomy is in the hands of star chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, and there’s even a branch of Paris’s Caviar Kaspia with their acclaimed double-baked potato. 💡 Tip: During the summer months, try the luxury street food that Jean-Georges sells right in front of the hotel from a specially converted hot dog cart. (New York, USA • 153 rooms • From $800 / approx. €740) check prices and availability

48. Grand Park Hotel Rovinj

This architectural jewel with 209 rooms sits in gorgeous Croatian Istria, cascading down a wooded slope directly opposite the historic town of Rovinj. The project by Croatian studio 3LHD and Milanese designer Piero Lissoni masterfully weaves warm tones of wood and stone together with the surrounding century-old pines and green roofs.

Its greatest pride is a huge wellness centre with several saunas and a 50-metre outdoor infinity pool, from which there’s a view straight onto the island of St. Catherine. The hotel also pushes the boundaries of Croatian gastronomy thanks to Agli Amici Rovinj, the first restaurant in the country to earn two Michelin stars. 💡 Tip: Beyond the fine dining, you’ll also find great relaxed bars right by the pool, serving fantastic Istrian specialities with no need for formal dress. (Rovinj, Istria, Croatia • 209 rooms • From $300 / approx. €280) check prices and availability

49. Hotel Sacher Wien

This Viennese gem lies just a short hop from central Europe and has been writing its history since 1876, when it was founded by the son of the creator of the famous Sachertorte. Today you’ll find 152 elegant rooms, whose interiors were designed by Pierre-Yves Rochon and fitted out with velvet, parquet floors and dazzling crystal chandeliers.

The hotel, standing directly opposite the State Opera, has welcomed names like Queen Elizabeth II and J.F. Kennedy, and it’s also famous for the moment when John Lennon and Yoko Ono held their peace press conference in bed here. The dining is split by colour into the Red, Green and Blue bars, and the staff maintain a reputation for absolute Viennese perfection and courtesy to this day. 💡 Tip: If you don’t want to stay over, at least drop into the famous Sacher Café, where, at a table with velvet seats and to the sound of a piano, you’ll enjoy an original slice of the cake. (Vienna, Austria • 152 rooms • From $750 / approx. €690)

The Most Expensive Suites in the World

When we explore the most luxurious addresses, we also have to mention the absolute most expensive suites on the planet. The absolute Guinness record for the most expensive hotel room is held by the luxurious The Mark Penthouse in New York’s The Mark hotel. For a single night here you’ll pay an astronomical $114,767, with taxes and breakfast included. In return you get five bedrooms, six bathrooms, a living room with an almost eight-metre ceiling, a private gym, a library and a breathtaking rooftop terrace.

Also in the very top tier is The Empathy Suite at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, whose price is quoted at around $100,000 a night, with the design here handled by famous artist Damien Hirst. The same price tag reportedly belongs to the monstrous Royal Mansion Penthouse in Dubai’s Atlantis The Royal complex. The long-time record holder was the Royal Penthouse Suite at Geneva’s Hotel President Wilson, where a night comes to around $80,000.

How Much Luxury Really Costs and Where You Can Save

💡 If the one hotel in the whole ranking that tempts you most is the Grand Park Hotel Rovinj, because it’s realistically reachable by car from much of Europe, compare the whole accommodation offer in Rovinj here — off-season, the price difference between a top-50 hotel and a regular four-star is surprisingly small.

This exclusive world may seem out of reach, but even here there are clear rules for how to enjoy the best service for more reasonable money. The starting rate listed in the ranking doesn’t represent the amount you’ll necessarily pay, because it applies to the lowest room type and strictly outside high season. During peak times, rates can be several times higher.

Seasonality plays a far bigger role than the number of stars. For example, Croatia’s Grand Park Rovinj has its main rush from June to September, while Greece’s Four Seasons Astir Palace from May to September. Outside these busy windows, prices drop rapidly, so in spring or autumn you can get the same luxury for a fraction of the original amount.

Bear in mind, too, that the very cheapest room is usually without a prestigious view. A great example is the iconic Copacabana Palace in Rio, where the standard rooms face straight into the city. They’re thus noticeably cheaper than the famous suites with a direct view of the beach and ocean.

If you want to experience historic opulence, a great strategy is to book a single night. At palaces like Vienna’s Hotel Sacher, Monaco’s Hôtel de Paris or Grand Park Rovinj, it makes huge sense to take one night as a pure experience. You can then spend the rest of your holiday in much more affordable accommodation nearby.

The very cheapest way to visit these institutions is through their on-site restaurants and iconic bars. You can pop in for the famous Singapore Sling at the Long Bar in Raffles, savour the original cake at Sacher Café, or admire the views from the Cloud 22 bar at Dubai’s Atlantis The Royal, without ever having to stay there.

Sometimes just a lunch is the cheapest ticket into the closed world of luxury. That’s exactly the case at Italian gems like Passalacqua on Lake Como or Hotel Il Pellicano in Tuscany. For the price of a single meal you get exactly the same experience of the place and the impeccable service as guests paying thousands of dollars a night.

Where to Next

Fancy visiting the cities where these iconic hotels stand? I’ve put together practical guides full of tips on what to see, what to do and how to plan your trip perfectly.

If Europe has charmed you, be sure to read what to see in Paris, or get inspired by our pick of places to see in Vienna. For Italy lovers, we have a detailed article on what to see in Rome, along with accommodation tips in the article on where to stay in Rome. Also worth a mention are picturesque Florence and gorgeous Croatian Rovinj.

If you’re drawn more to Asia and the exotic, check out our guides to bustling Tokyo, modern Singapore or plan what your Bangkok holiday could look like. You can also read how to tackle a Dubai holiday or a luxurious trip to the Maldives.

And for those of you drawn to Africa or the American buzz, there’s our huge list of 50 tips on what to see in New York. Wonderful inspiration for Morocco can be found in the guide on what to see in Marrakesh and the detailed article on where to stay in Marrakesh.

Frequently Asked Questions

Most lists of the world’s craziest hotels are really just pretty Pinterest slideshows you daydream over for a minute. This article digs a lot deeper, straight into real reviews, and shows you the unique accommodations that actually wowed guests, what genuinely annoyed them, and what the whole thing really costs. Because that gorgeous ice room is in reality minus five degrees, and the luxury underwater suite might not even open in bad weather.

I want to show you places you’ll remember for the rest of your life, but at the same time I want to be honest with you about their downsides. Not every night under the stars means a guaranteed shot at the northern lights, and not every design gem sparkles like new, even when you pay serious money for it.

And the main reason you should read all the way to the end? The last section is dedicated to glamping you could realistically book for next weekend. I’ll show you amazing spots in Central Europe and Slovenia you can easily reach by car, so your dream travel bucket list doesn’t necessarily have to begin with an expensive flight to the other side of the world.

TL;DR

• Best rated: Panorama Glass Lodge in Iceland and Jurty Beskydy in Czechia, both with an almost perfect score.
• Most expensive: The Muraka in the Maldives, where the official rack rate climbs into astronomical territory.
• Easiest for a short European road trip: Tiché místo Glamping at Slapy, practically just around the corner from major Central European hubs.
• Hardest to book: Giraffe Manor in Kenya, where the most sought-after dates vanish a year in advance.
• Strangest: Null Stern Hotel in Switzerland, which offers you a bed in the Alps with no walls and no roof.
• Coldest: ICEHOTEL in Sweden and the underground Sala Silvermine, where temperatures stay well below freezing.
• Most accessible for a first try: GLAMPINO near Český Krumlov, ideal for your very first glamping experience.

1) Ice hotels and rooms made of snow

If you’re craving a frosty adventure, be prepared for the fact that ice rooms are commonly kept at minus five to minus eight degrees Celsius. You sleep in a special thermal sleeping bag on a layer of reindeer hides, while the bathrooms and toilets are always in a separate heated building. Almost nobody sleeps here two nights in a row, because the standard is to spend one night in the ice and the second in the warmth.

What’s more, these hotels are rebuilt from scratch every winter and simply melt away in spring, so every season is a complete one-off. It takes enormous dedication and hundreds of hours of work by artists who turn blocks of ice into fleeting architectural masterpieces.

1. ICEHOTEL, Jukkasjärvi, Sweden

This famous complex boasts a rating of 4.6 from more than five thousand reviews and is an absolute legend of the entire north. It’s the oldest ice hotel in the world and the only one with a year-round section called Icehotel 365, cleverly cooled by solar energy through the short Nordic summer. The winter rooms are carved every season by sculptors and artists from around the world, so the design never repeats and a brand-new work of art always awaits you. Beyond the overnight stay itself, the hotel also has its famous ice bar, and you can even try fun ice-carving courses right in the ice.

Many reviews make it crystal clear that guests rave about the generous breakfast and the very helpful staff. The most common disappointment ironically comes down to the weather, which nobody can control. Overcast skies are fairly common here in the winter months, and no one can promise you the northern lights in advance, which frustrates plenty of travelers after they’ve paid a hefty sum.

💡 Tip: If you want to save money while still enjoying a bit of comfort, book the warm rooms, which work out significantly cheaper. While a basic ice room runs from around €300, the luxury Art Suite starts at €700 and the Deluxe versions climb toward €1,000 for a single night. A warm room, by contrast, can be had in deals from around €90. check prices and availability

2. Hôtel de Glace, Valcartier near Québec, Canada

This Canadian architectural wonder has a great rating of 4.6 from nearly four thousand reviews and is the only ice hotel in all of North America. Just like its famous Swedish counterpart, it’s rebuilt with great fanfare every winter and usually opens from January to March, when frosty Québec has the right climate. Inside you’ll find a stunning ice chapel where romantic weddings are held regularly, and for a bit of fun there’s even a giant slide carved entirely from ice.

It’s a breathtaking piece of work that radiates magical winter atmosphere at every turn and fascinates with its precise details. The whole complex is designed to captivate even people who don’t plan to sleep here at all, which makes it a huge draw for the entire region. You can stroll through long illuminated corridors and admire sculptures that will vanish forever in spring.

💡 Tip: This place works beautifully as a day visit without an overnight stay. It’s a far cheaper option, and it’s what the vast majority of ordinary visitors ultimately choose, wanting to take home beautiful photos but not brave enough for a frosty night in a sleeping bag. check prices and availability

3. Sorrisniva Igloo Hotel, Alta, Norway

This Norwegian ice palace reached a fantastic 4.7 stars from just under a thousand reviews, making it the best-rated ice hotel in our entire selection. It sits in the scenic Finnmark region right on the banks of the Alta River, deep above the Arctic Circle in genuinely wild, untamed nature. The whole concept smartly combines a gorgeous ice hotel with a cozy year-round wooden lodge.

That means you can effortlessly alternate a frosty ice night with a stay in perfect warmth, which is exactly what your body will need after a night in sub-zero temperatures. It all happens within one integrated complex, so there’s no complicated lugging of suitcases between hotels. The surrounding Norwegian scenery is also incredibly photogenic and offers plenty of ways to spend the short winter days.

💡 Tip: Set aside enough time for the surrounding outdoor activities. Local operators right by the hotel offer dog-sledding rides and long snowmobile trips, taking your Nordic experience up another level. check prices and availability

4. Snow Resort Kirkenes, Kirkenes, Norway

This all-round Nordic gem has long held an excellent rating of 4.6 from more than fifteen hundred reviews. It’s the northernmost spot of this whole quartet, sitting just a short distance from the Russian border. Alongside classic ice rooms, its huge grounds also hold beautiful glass igloos and cozy wooden cabins, making it incredibly versatile.

Thanks to this huge variety, you can combine an adrenaline night in the ice with a comfortable view of the night sky from a heated bed, all within a single resort. It’s a huge advantage for travelers who want to experience all the classic Nordic styles of staying during one holiday and don’t want to waste precious time driving around. The resort also runs completely professionally, and the staff are used to fulfilling even the most demanding wishes.

💡 Tip: A big and much sought-after specialty of this area is the local king crab safari on the frozen fjord, which you reach by snowmobile. Just nearby, the famous Hurtigruten coastal express ships dock in the port.

2) Glass igloos and sleeping under the stars

The appeal of this category is obvious: you lie in a heated bed with the entire night sky arching above you. The reality tends to be a bit more complicated, though, and it’s worth approaching with sensible expectations so you’re not disappointed.

Remember above all that nobody ever guarantees you the northern lights, and in December or January it’s dark almost all day above the Arctic Circle. On a truly clear night the outside temperature drops so low that the huge glass surfaces of the igloos have to be constantly electrically heated to stay transparent and not frost over. Your best shot at the colorful sky show is usually from late September through the end of March. check prices and availability

5. Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort, Saariselkä, Finland

This huge Finnish complex hides the most famous glass igloos in the world and holds a rating of 4.1 from nearly fifteen hundred reviews. It was a single viral photo from here that kicked off this whole global travel trend years ago. The resort is split into an East and a West village, and besides the igloos it offers massive Kelo log cabins, traditional saunas and popular husky safaris or snowmobile rides. Newer igloo models thankfully now even have their own bathroom and private sauna.

And yet this iconic resort has the lowest rating in our entire section. While the enthusiastic reviews talk about a once-in-a-lifetime experience, the critical ones make it pretty clear that for that astronomical price guests simply expected far more, and the overall upkeep lags behind. The rooms often don’t match the price tag you pay for them.

💡 Tip: Just accept that you’re paying for a famous legend, not for the best value for money. If it’s your lifelong dream, absolutely go, but keep very realistic expectations about the luxury and flawless service. check prices and availability

6. Levin Iglut, Levi, Finland

Another beautiful Finnish jewel, rated 4.3 from hundreds of reviews, offers stunning glass igloos built right on a steep slope with a breathtaking view over a deep valley, rather than tucked away somewhere flat in the forest. Thanks to this fantastic strategic location, both the dramatic sunset and any northern lights photograph incredibly well, with no trees getting in the way of the shot.

Part of this popular seasonal resort is the excellent Utsu restaurant, which has long earned huge praise for its local gastronomy. Overall it’s a slightly more intimate and quieter experience than the giant commercial resorts, where hundreds of tourists roam every day. Operations here are strictly seasonal, though, so you need to keep a close eye on your dates.

💡 Tip: Your best chance of seeing the northern lights is generally from late September to the end of March. Outside this main winter season the whole resort often isn’t in full operation, so check availability well in advance. check prices and availability

7. Arctic TreeHouse Hotel, Rovaniemi, Finland

This Nordic design gem has a nice rating of 4.4 and offers luxury wooden cabins perched on pillars among the treetops with a huge glass front wall. It sits very strategically right next to the renowned Santa Park in Rovaniemi and perfectly combines a stunning view of the night sky with all the comfort of a top-tier modern hotel. The complex is rounded out by the very popular Rakas restaurant using local ingredients.

But if you dig a little deeper into the Google reviews, you’ll hit one surprising snag. Among the ratings there’s some fairly harsh, recurring criticism of hygiene and cleaning, so not everything here works as flawlessly as the pretty Instagram photos might suggest at first glance. At premium prices, it’s good to factor in this possible shortcoming ahead of time.

💡 Tip: This stay is absolutely ideal for families with kids who want to visit the nearby famous Santa Claus village but also appreciate clean, modern Nordic design and don’t want to stay in a run-of-the-mill hotel. check prices and availability

8. Panorama Glass Lodge, Hella, Iceland

This fantastic lodge is by far the best-rated accommodation in the whole article, boasting an incredible score of 4.9 from more than five hundred reviews. These are stand-alone, largely glass-walled cabins scattered across the rugged landscape of southern Iceland, offering complete, undisturbed privacy.

Each individual cabin comes with its own outdoor hot tub under the open sky, which takes the experience of an evening soak under the stars to a whole other level. The entire concept is polished to the very last detail, and guests’ enthusiastic reviews from around the world constantly confirm it. It’s a place where you’ll truly rest and merge with the breathtaking Nordic nature.

💡 Tip: The cabins lie very close to the famous Golden Circle, so they pair perfectly with the classic Icelandic sightseeing route without any big detours. They make an ideal base for exploring the southern part of the island. check prices and availability

9. Attrap’Rêves, Allauch near Marseille, France

This intriguing project, rated 4.7, offers completely transparent inflatable bubbles tucked away in a scenic Provençal forest. It nicely proves that luxury sleeping under the stars is by no means the sole domain of frosty Nordic countries, and you don’t have to freeze for it. This is a warm, fragrant and pleasant alternative surrounded by French nature.

A big plus is that this place is reachable in a single day’s drive for anyone road-tripping through Europe. All the bubbles are also cleverly spaced across the terrain so that guests can’t see into each other’s beds and have plenty of privacy. It’s a great compromise for everyone who loves nature but needs warmth.

💡 Tip: If you genuinely can’t stand the cold and packing down jackets, but still want to sleep surrounded by trees with a view of the night sky, this is your very best European choice, and one I definitely recommend trying.

3) Sleeping among the animals

For true lovers of the wilderness, there are places where no thick glass or security fence separates you from the animals at all. These are profound experiences that will be etched into your memory forever, but they require a truly enormous amount of logistical planning.

Getting into these exclusive resorts often means booking a specific date many months in advance and accepting that you’ll find yourself in the middle of absolutely nowhere, wholly and unconditionally reliant on the services and prices of one single operator. check prices and availability

10. Giraffe Manor, Nairobi, Kenya

This historic manor house from the 1930s is probably the most photographed hotel in all of Africa and holds a rating of 4.6. It’s famous above all for the endangered Rothschild’s giraffes from the adjacent sanctuary that regularly and happily poke their heads through the large windows of its breakfast room, letting guests feed them special pellets right from the table.

As for prices, brace yourself for huge sums starting from $1,413 per person per night on an all-inclusive basis. Children pay just under a thousand and solo travelers even around $2,218. Surprisingly, though, the main problem here isn’t the high price but the availability itself. The twelve unique rooms sell out reliably a whole year ahead, and the best ones in the original building are preferentially held for guests who also book a safari camp run by the same operator.

💡 Tip: Reservations officially open twelve months in advance and the best dates vanish within a few days. If you’re not that quick, it pays to keep a close eye on freed-up rooms roughly four weeks before your dream date, when some guests unexpectedly cancel their plans. check prices and availability

11. Chalkley Treehouse, Lion Sands, Sabi Sand, South Africa

This utterly unique project with a perfect five-star rating isn’t really a classic hotel at all, but a single enormous wooden platform. Here you’ll find a luxurious, comfortable bed set high in the branches of a majestic 500-year-old fig tree, completely without walls or windows, right in the middle of an African reserve bordering the famous Kruger National Park.

It works roughly like this: the staff cheerfully drive you here for a wonderful candlelit dinner, set everything up, then drive away, and you’re left completely alone in the middle of the wild African bush. You’re protected only by a thin mosquito net and, for emergencies, equipped with a safety radio. It’s pure adrenaline and romance in one package.

💡 Tip: This wild African adventure is booked exclusively as a great add-on to your standard stay at the main Lion Sands lodge, never as stand-alone accommodation for a whole holiday.

4) Below the surface

Sleeping deep underwater is an enormous architectural miracle that demands extreme engineering solutions and a matching budget. These fascinating projects balance right on the edge of what’s technically possible and of nature’s raw power.

At the same time, you always have to reckon with the fact that the sea is incredibly unpredictable. Even if you pay an astronomical sum in advance, strong waves and bad weather can shut down the underwater part at any moment for strict safety reasons. check prices and availability

12. The Muraka, Conrad Maldives Rangali Island, Maldives

This fascinating, breathtaking residence represents the absolute pinnacle of world luxury (the whole resort is rated 4.8). It’s the world’s first glass underwater suite, ceremonially opened in 2018. Its stunning main bedroom sits a full five meters below the surface of the Indian Ocean in a massive acrylic tunnel, from which you watch sharks and rays gliding by.

This exclusive two-story residence comfortably sleeps up to nine people and, of course, comes with its own personal butler to fulfill every wish. The official list price, the so-called rack rate, comes to an utterly unbelievable $50,000 for a single night. In reality, though, package deals go from around $10,000 a night upward, and you’ll commonly come across offers between nineteen and forty-two thousand. On top of all that, the resort strictly requires a minimum stay of four full nights, so it’s definitely not a long-weekend trip.

💡 Tip: If you’d rather not shell out a fortune to sleep underwater, you can at least visit the famous underwater restaurant Ithaa in the same resort, which offers a very similar visual experience of the seabed for a mere fraction of the suite’s price. check prices and availability

13. The Manta Resort, Pemba, Zanzibar, Tanzania

This Zanzibar resort, rated 4.6, offers a slightly different but no less amazing concept. It’s a floating underwater room that anchors fairly safely on the open sea a way off the African mainland. Up top you’ll find a sunny rooftop terrace perfect for stargazing, in the middle there’s a spacious living area, and down below a bedroom awaits you with large windows looking straight into the colorful coral reef.

Overall it’s a far more affordable underwater option than the pricey Maldives, and the resort also runs on a very practical all-inclusive basis. Even so, there’s one fairly big risk here. Among the findable reviews there’s a very sharp complaint from a guest who, after paying a huge deposit up front, ultimately wasn’t given the underwater room for operational reasons. The ocean simply dictates the rules.

💡 Tip: If you’re coming here with this big dream, always have the underwater room assignment strictly confirmed in writing in advance, and reckon with a big risk that in strong wind and big waves the bedroom may not be accessible for safety reasons.

5) Up in the treetops

Treehouse hotels no longer look like the rickety, creaky sheds we cobbled together as kids. These days they’re often top-tier, award-winning works of design that blend very sensitively into forest ecosystems and offer completely unexpected comfort.

Despite the luxury fittings and high prices, though, you’re still up high in nature. In some places the wind really howls, elsewhere the branches sway, and occasionally you’ll run into fairly major logistical compromises, such as shared showers and bathrooms safely anchored down on the ground. check prices and availability

14. Treehotel, Harads, Sweden

This famous Swedish project, rated 4.6, is a genuine architectural icon offering seven utterly unique and visually stunning rooms scattered through the forest by the Lule River. Among the most famous are the mirrored Mirrorcube, which is almost invisible thanks to the perfect reflections of the surrounding forest, the huge Bird’s Nest and the completely unexpected silver UFO that looks like something out of a B-movie. Also striking is the Biosphere room wrapped in hundreds of real bird boxes, or the 7th Room with a taut net terrace stretched high above the pine tops.

15. Free Spirit Spheres, Qualicum Beach, Vancouver Island, Canada

This wild Canadian project with a fantastic rating of 4.9 looks like it’s from another world entirely. They’re wonderful wooden and fiberglass spheres suspended in the crowns of huge trees by a clever system of sturdy ropes, so they sway ever so gently with your every movement or gust of wind. This is one of the standout unique accommodations on Vancouver Island.

There are three of these magical spheres in the forest, bearing the women’s names Eve, Eryn and Melody. It’s an incredibly romantic and quiet place meant strictly for two adults. You have to accept in advance, though, that all the facilities and the warm bathroom are shared and located down on solid ground, which you have to climb down to via steps.

💡 Tip: This particular stay is definitely not meant for noisy families with children, and for safety reasons they aren’t allowed here anyway. It’s a peaceful retreat just for adults looking for rest in the middle of the wild forest. check prices and availability

16. Montaña Mágica Lodge, Neltume, Chile

This stunning South American structure, rated 4.5, looks like it was cut straight out of Lord of the Rings. It’s a large, rugged lodge built in the shape of a giant volcano in the middle of dense rainforest in the protected Huilo Huilo reserve. From its very peak, water even continuously trickles down the stone facade overgrown with moss and ferns.

You approach it very stylishly across a long, swaying suspension bridge, which only heightens the sense of adventure. Although it’s a visual masterpiece par excellence, the reviews are fairly unforgiving in revealing the downsides of this project too. Guests very often and repeatedly mention a significant language barrier with the restaurant staff and very confusing signage on the surrounding hiking trails.

💡 Tip: Approach this place more as an enormous rainforest adventure than a flawless premium hotel with perfect five-star service, and you won’t be disappointed by the minor shortcomings.

6) Views you can’t buy anywhere else

Sometimes you’re not really paying for the luxury room itself, but for what you gaze at from it when you wake up. There are places where you just lazily draw back the curtains and a scene lies before you that other tourists jostle for in long queues.

For such an enormous privilege you’ll pay handsomely at the checkout, of course. These famous hotels know full well how priceless their location is, and rooms with a view often make up a completely different, far more expensive category than those facing a dull inner courtyard. check prices and availability

17. Shangri-La Paris, Paris, France

This extremely luxurious palace, rated 4.7, sits in the stunning building of the former private residence of Prince Roland Bonaparte. It’s easily the most famous address in Paris for a room with an iconic view of the Eiffel Tower.

Some of the rooms and lavish suites have the huge iron tower right in the window at your fingertips, and in a few special types you can even gaze at it straight from a bathtub full of fragrant foam. It’s simply the absolute pinnacle of Parisian romance, but you have to be very careful right when booking online.

💡 Tip: Rooms facing the tower always cost significantly more than those looking onto an ordinary courtyard. So watch the exact room category name carefully when booking, so you’re not bitterly disappointed at check-in. check prices and availability

🔗 Where next: If you’re planning a trip to France, read our article on what to see in Paris.

18. Armani Hotel Dubai, Burj Khalifa, UAE

This prestigious Dubai hotel, rated 4.6, offers an entirely different kind of city experience. It’s a design hotel located right inside the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, and all its dark, strictly minimalist interiors were designed by the famous Giorgio Armani himself.

While millions of sweaty tourists cram into the square outside to photograph the giant skyscraper from the very base, you actually live inside it in peace and enjoy the breathtaking views of pulsing downtown Dubai right from your suite window. It’s the definition of modern urban luxury.

💡 Tip: Make use of your exclusive hotel access and arrange a visit to the upper observation decks in the early morning hours, to avoid the very biggest and worst crowds of tourists.

🔗 Where next: Find out more about what a holiday in Dubai is like. check prices and availability

19. Hotel Everest View, Khumjung, Nepal

This utterly unique mountain project, rated 4.4, holds an amazing record as one of the highest-altitude hotels in the world, standing at an incredible 3,880 meters above sea level. Its main and really only asset is the crystal-clear panorama of Mount Everest, which opens up in all its glory right from the spacious stone terrace.

Although it sounds tempting for mountain lovers, one crucial health warning comes up again and again in the reviews. At this extreme altitude the thinner air means you sleep very poorly and restlessly, and staying here more than one night is definitely not for every ordinary tourist. Headaches are no exception here.

💡 Tip: Most sensible people come here as part of their acclimatization hike from nearby Namche Bazaar just for an afternoon tea and a photo with the view. It’s a perfectly legitimate and far healthier option than sleeping here. check prices and availability

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Where to Stay in the World

6 accommodations — resorts, hotels and other lodging options

⭐ TOP CHOICE 🏨 Hotel

ICEHOTEL

The world’s oldest ice hotel in Jukkasjärvi, rebuilt every winter with artistic rooms made of ice.

★★★★★ from 300 EUR/night

Check availability 🏨 Hotel

Hôtel de Glace

The only ice hotel in North America with an ice chapel and ice toboggan slide.

★★★★ Check prices

Check availability 🏨 Hotel

Sorrisniva Igloo Hotel

The best-rated ice hotel above the Arctic Circle with a combination of ice and wooden accommodations.

★★★★★ Check prices

Check availability 🌲 Resort

Snow Resort Kirkenes

The northernmost resort with ice rooms, glass igloos and wooden cabins near the Russian border.

★★★★ Check prices

Check availability 🌲 Resort

Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort

The world’s most famous glass igloos in Saariselkä, a viral glamping icon under the northern lights.

★★★★ Check prices

Check availability 🏨 Hotel

Levin Iglut

Glass igloos on a steep slope with breathtaking valley views and an excellent restaurant.

★★★★ Check prices

Check availability

20. Museum Hotel, Uçhisar, Cappadocia, Turkey

This magical Turkish hotel, rated 4.5, is a gorgeous cave complex intricately carved right into the soft tuff. It has a beautiful heated outdoor pool perched high above the valley, from which guests watch dozens of hot-air balloons drifting up at dawn.

Besides the incredible view that circled all of Instagram, the interior itself is striking. The whole complex includes an extensive collection of valuable historic antiquities, which is how this unusual hotel got its name. You literally stay in the middle of a museum.

💡 Tip: If you want the best photos, get up really early. The pool shots with balloons in the background are amazing, but that ideal magical light lasts only a very short while just after sunrise and then it’s gone. check prices and availability

21. Longitude 131°, Yulara, Uluru, Australia

This Australian desert resort with a superb rating of 4.8 takes the notion of luxury in the harsh wilderness to a whole other level. It offers beautiful, spacious tented pavilions built with a direct, unobstructed view of sacred Uluru.

There are just sixteen exclusive tents here in total, and each has a huge bed strategically turned to face the giant red monolith. So you can comfortably watch from your fragrant duvet as the rock in the distance magically changes color during sunrise and sunset. It’s an intensely intimate and visually powerful experience.

💡 Tip: This is a very hot desert region, so the best time to visit is clearly during the Australian winter (from May to September), when daytime temperatures are bearable and you can actually breathe.

7) “Are they serious?”

In this crazy category you’ll find places that gleefully demolish every received idea of what a hotel is even supposed to look like. Often they’re mad architectural experiments or extreme ideas that, surprisingly, caught on and are thriving.

Be prepared, though, that these bizarre experiences often demand a huge step out of your personal comfort zone, whether it’s the total absence of walls, the physical effort required just to get there, or simply the lack of the basic amenities you’re used to. check prices and availability

22. Skylodge Adventure Suites, Sacred Valley, Peru

This purely adrenaline-fueled project, rated 4.8, consists of completely transparent polycarbonate capsules stuck high on a sheer cliff face. They’re accessible only via a secured via ferrata or a fast zipline. First you have to climb 400 meters up bare rock under your own steam, then you sleep suspended above the abyss of the Sacred Valley, and in the morning you slide back down on a rope. Surprisingly, the price of this madness even includes a gourmet dinner and a generous breakfast.

One reassuring thing is clear from many reviews, though. Guests manage the rock climb comfortably even with teenage kids, but the single scariest and worst part of the whole trip for most of them is the swaying rope bridge you have to cross along the way. It’s an experience for people who aren’t afraid of heights.

💡 Tip: You don’t need to fear cruel cold or awkward morning hygiene at all — each suspended capsule has its own little toilet and it’s surprisingly pleasantly warm inside. check prices and availability

23. Null Stern Hotel, Switzerland (changes location)

The concept of the so-called “zero-star hotel” pushes artistic minimalism to the absolute extreme. This project is really just a plain double bed, two nightstands and two glowing lamps set up in the middle of the Alpine landscape, completely without walls and with no roof overhead. For around €350 a night you get beautifully made-up bedding, good food, a welcome drink and even a personal butler in white gloves to look after you.

You’d hunt in vain for a bathroom or toilet out on the meadow, though. It’s always tucked away in the nearest mountain hut, which usually means a few minutes’ brisk walk across the grass. The whole thing works as an enormous art installation that you can actually move into for one night and become a part of.

💡 Tip: Watch out for one absolutely crucial thing — this project’s location changes every season and bookings only open for the summer part of the year. Always carefully verify the current exact spot on their official website, so you’re not hunting for a bed on last year’s meadow. check prices and availability

24. Sala Silvermine, Sala, Sweden

This Swedish underground complex, rated 4.5, offers a very dark experience for those who definitely don’t suffer from claustrophobia. Hidden here is a unique suite built a full 155 meters underground in an old, decommissioned silver mine. You descend in the original mine elevator, and the trip down takes a while.

Down below, absolute, impenetrable silence reigns, the constant ambient temperature holds at just two degrees Celsius, and of course there’s absolutely no phone signal. While the mine’s ordinary tourist tours only go down to 60 meters, this single suite lies far deeper inside the rock, and you’ll be completely alone.

💡 Tip: The surrounding mine corridors really are freezing cold, but the suite itself is cleverly heated to a pleasant 18 degrees and the large bed also comes with extra-thick duvets, so you won’t freeze. check prices and availability

25. Kolarbyn Eco Lodge, Skinnskatteberg, Sweden

If you’re after an absolute, uncompromising escape from civilization, this Swedish camp, rated 4.6, rightly calls itself “Sweden’s wildest hotel.” It’s a cluster of twelve small huts built of earth and turf that have no electricity or running water at all. Inside you’ll find only a little wood stove and hard beds covered with sheepskins.

You have to fetch your own water for cooking and drinking from a nearby forest spring, and the morning bath happens fairly harshly straight in the lake or in a wood-fired heated tub that you have to fire up yourself. In the surrounding deep forests you can also head out on an organized expedition to spot wild wolves and moose, which only heightens the wilderness experience.

💡 Tip: This rugged stay is easily managed even by older children, for whom the evening wood-chopping, fire-lighting and lighting the way with plain candles is an absolutely huge adventure. check prices and availability

26. Faralda Crane Hotel, Amsterdam, Netherlands

This wild city project, rated 4.3, consists of just three luxurious design suites built into a real giant harbor crane. You’ll find it in Amsterdam’s creative, heavily industrial NDSM district, right in the middle of the old shipyards, where history is in the air.

It’s probably the smallest hotel in our entire hefty article. At the very top of this tall crane there’s also an exclusive outdoor hot tub with a fantastic, unobstructed view over the whole city. The architects did an incredible job turning a piece of old iron into a premium hotel.

💡 Tip: In terms of quick reach for European travelers, it’s probably the best ratio of bizarreness to distance, because Amsterdam is a short flight away and you don’t need a whole week of holiday. check prices and availability

27. Hotel Costa Verde, Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica

This famous Costa Rican hotel, rated 4.6, became renowned for its unique suite built right inside the fuselage of a decommissioned Boeing 727, firmly mounted on tall pillars above lush rainforest. This particular rescued aircraft flew for years for South African Airways and Avianca before it found its new home in the jungle.

Today it holds two very comfortable bedrooms and a spacious wooden terrace built incredibly right on the wing, around which wild monkeys and curious iguanas commonly wander. Even though the reviews hugely praise the view and the lovely service, some guests warn of noticeably worn interiors, where the passage of time and the humid climate are starting to show.

💡 Tip: Just accept the fact that you’re paying for a huge, unusual experience in an airplane, not for a brand-new luxury build with the latest flawless fittings. check prices and availability

28. Hotel Palacio de Sal, Uyuni, Bolivia

This Bolivian one-off, rated 4.5, is a fascinating building constructed entirely from salt bricks at the edge of the world’s largest salt flat. The walls, floor, much of the furniture and the beautiful decorative sculptures in the lobby are all made of salt. Although it sounds pretty funny, the strict ban on licking the walls is meant absolutely seriously, because salt simply dissolves quickly and the building wouldn’t last long.

If you ever head here, watch out for one unpleasant detail. In the reviews there are constant, repeated complaints that the room category assigned on arrival often didn’t match what people had actually booked and paid for. Organizational chaos is unfortunately fairly common here.

💡 Tip: To be completely safe, always print out your booking confirmation with the room type clearly stated, and don’t hesitate to speak up at reception if they try to put you in a cheaper option.

8) Glamping — a bucket list you can tick off in a weekend

💡 Glamping is the only category on this list you can realistically book for next weekend. If the Central European tips sell out, compare accommodation options in Bled — Slovenia is the nearest country where glamping has a real tradition.

Now we come to the most important part of all. Glamping simply means luxury camping, where you have a huge, soft bed, electricity, your own warm bathroom, and often even a private sauna or a hot soaking tub. And yet you still sleep under the canvas of a big tent or in a small wooden cabin in the middle of beautiful nature.

It’s also the one and only category in our whole article that in many cases you can have within a two-hour drive of home. What’s more, the average ratings of these glamping spots in real reviews are often far better than those of some famous, overpriced world icons we wrote about above. You don’t have to fly across an ocean to experience something exceptional. check prices and availability

29. Whitepod, Les Cerniers, Switzerland

This famous Swiss project, rated 4.4, has long been considered an absolute icon and pioneer of European glamping. It’s made up of wonderful geodesic domes scattered right across a steep Alpine slope, which in winter even have their own smaller lifts and fantastic private ski runs with no crowds of skiers. It looks like an absolutely perfect winter fairy tale straight out of a catalog.

But when you dig into the ratings, the reviews point to one very important, recurring fact. Guests often complain that the domes tend to be noticeably chilly despite the constantly burning stoves, especially in deep winter when temperatures outside plunge well below freezing. Tending the stove also demands your active attention.

💡 Tip: Don’t forget that it’s still just a tent, however incredibly luxurious and expensive, and pack plenty of warm clothes accordingly for both sleeping and evenings outside. check prices and availability

30. Garden Village Bled, Bled, Slovenia

This gorgeous Slovenian eco resort with a high rating of 4.7 offers magical wooden treehouses, large family glamping tents, and very popular small tents pitched right over a babbling stream. It lies just a short distance from the famous Lake Bled and is a beautiful, green oasis of calm. It’s one of the closest genuine, large European-level glamping resorts for travelers in Central Europe.

It’s an absolutely ideal choice when you want to try this format of stay with the family for the first time and don’t feel like flying somewhere far away. The grounds are laced with wooden walkways, water flows everywhere, and the restaurant cooks with produce from its own garden. It’s a wonderfully executed concept that you and your kids will fall in love with.

💡 Tip: This spacious resort is very welcoming to children and offers great, safe nature activities, which is by no means a given at many design glampings that focus solely on couples. check prices and availability

31. Colony Glamping, Hutě pod Třemšínem, Brdy

This amazing local project, rated 4.8, is currently the best-rated larger glamping site in all of Czechia. Here you’ll find beautiful, spacious luxury tents set at the edge of the protected Brdy landscape area, surrounded by deep forests. Beyond the beautiful, comfortable sleeping under canvas, guests also have access to a forest sauna, a hot soaking tub and a carefully prepared fire pit for evening grilling and romance under the stars.

The whole site is designed with an enormous eye for detail and respect for the surrounding nature. It’s a textbook example that even in Central Europe we can create accommodation that easily rivals the best resorts in the world, and it’s just a short drive from major regional hubs too.

💡 Tip: Brdy is renowned far and wide for its deep forests and endless cycle trails, so definitely don’t forget to pack a bike or good trekking shoes, so you can explore the surroundings properly. check prices and availability

32. Jurty Beskydy, Ropice near Třinec

The absolute local top of this category boasts an utterly perfect score of five point zero from more than a hundred and thirty reviews. It’s two traditional-looking yurts that are cleverly fitted inside with electricity, modern air conditioning and their own luxury bathroom, so you won’t lack for anything out here in nature. This project wonderfully combines a nomadic style of living with the comfort of a five-star hotel.

On top of all that, there’s also a beautiful private wellness zone with a Finnish sauna and a heated soaking tub that’s all yours. Reaching a clean five stars from that many ratings is an exceptional achievement, testament to the incredible care of the owners. Every detail here is thought through to the last dot, so guests can rest to the max and not have to worry about a thing.

💡 Tip: This place is made for a romantic weekend for two, where you want complete, undisturbed privacy and premium service with a light touch of Asian exotica, without ever having to board a plane. check prices and availability

33. Tiché místo Glamping, Slapy

Another five-star jewel on the Czech map consists of two beautiful, spacious tents just a two-minute walk from the Slapy reservoir. Each tent comes with a luxury private outdoor hot tub where you can relax undisturbed with a bottle of wine, and guests can also use a great shared outdoor sauna. It’s an absolutely perfect blend of camping in nature with elements of a premium wellness stay.

Logistically it’s easily the closest glamping retreat for anyone driving out from major Central European cities, so you can comfortably make it here without any stress even on a Friday evening after a demanding day’s work. You don’t have to spend long hours in the car — just a short drive and suddenly you’re in a completely different world, far from the city bustle and endless traffic jams.

💡 Tip: Although the spot is fairly close to civilization and the popular reservoir, the very clever placement of the tents amid dense greenery means it offers a huge sense of complete calm and the isolation you crave. You get the best of both worlds. check prices and availability

34. GLAMPINO, Český Krumlov

This very popular South Bohemian project, rated a superb 4.9, sits literally within sight of the historic center of Český Krumlov. So the beautiful, luxuriously furnished tents with their large wooden terraces pair absolutely perfectly with an afternoon visit to the castle complex and exploring the local cafés. It offers a wonderful contrast between a morning wake-up on the meadow and an evening stroll through the ancient lanes inscribed on the World Heritage list.

It’s an exceptionally good choice for your very first glamping ever, especially if you’re not yet a hundred percent sure whether sleeping under a tent is your thing. You don’t have to worry at all about getting stranded somewhere deep in the forest, far from civilization with no way to grab a good dinner or buy a morning coffee. Everything is surprisingly close and within reach.

💡 Tip: If the weather happens to be against you over the weekend, you can simply pack up and go admire museums and the town in the dry, which just isn’t so easy to do at isolated glampings deep in the forests. check prices and availability

35. Hidden Retreat, Lipnice nad Sázavou, Vysočina

Our very last tip, with an excellent rating of 4.9, is a beautiful modern hideaway tucked away in the picturesque hills of the Vysočina region, not far from Lipnice nad Sázavou. This unique concept places absolute maximum emphasis on total guest privacy, the healing surrounding silence and perfect fusion with nature. You won’t find any distracting elements here, just beautiful Nordic design, huge comfort and an unobstructed view into greenery that instantly calms the mind.

It’s a retreat designed primarily for couples in love who want to genuinely switch off their phones for the weekend, throw away all their work worries and enjoy just each other in a minimalist yet very luxurious setting. In today’s hectic world, the chance to be completely off-line for a while and not hear the constant ping of notifications is a huge luxury this place can deliver a hundred percent.

💡 Tip: Don’t expect any big resort services, organized entertainment or restaurants right under your nose here. The whole enormous magic of this place lies precisely in its complete isolation and the calm that reigns here all year round.

How to choose the right stay

Deciding on one specific experience can be pretty hard given the huge choice and the high prices. That’s why I always recommend asking yourself a few basic questions before booking, which will make the choice easier and save you potential disappointment.

• Want to see the northern lights? Go from late September to March, but reckon with the fact that nobody guarantees them. Two nights in an igloo boost your chances of success far more than a single quick stop when it might just happen to be overcast.
• Want to try an ice hotel? One frosty night in the ice is plenty for a powerful experience — always book the second in the classic warmth of the adjacent heated building, just to be safe.
• Want to sleep among wild animals? Arm yourself with enormous patience and book the popular Giraffe Manor a year in advance, or look for African experiences like the Chalkley Treehouse straight as an add-on to your main safari.
• Want to head below the sea? Reckon with a minimum stay of several nights and with the fact that stormy weather can temporarily close the underwater room completely. Always have any underwater-room assignment confirmed strictly in writing.
• Terrified of heights? Then to be safe, skip the glass Skylodge capsules in Peru and the daring 7th Room at Sweden’s Treehotel, where you walk on a transparent net.
• Traveling with younger children? Sweden’s wild Kolarbyn, Slovenia’s Garden Village Bled and the Czech glampings will thrill them a hundred percent. The swaying Free Spirit Spheres, the climbing Skylodge or the Alpine Null Stern, on the other hand, aren’t suitable for them at all.
• Want a big experience within a month and without an expensive flight? You don’t have to fly across an ocean at all — pick an amazing glamping close to home or take an easy weekend road trip to Slovenia’s Bled.

What it really costs

Prices for these unique experiences naturally vary a lot depending on the specific season and current demand, but for a rough idea we can start from the official verified figures so you know roughly what to expect. Sweden’s ICEHOTEL starts from around €300 for one night in the most basic ice room. For the Swiss artistic extreme under the stars called Null Stern you’ll pay around €350 a night.

If you’re more drawn to the Swedish treetops, the renowned Treehotel will run you roughly 6,000 to 6,900 Swedish kronor, which is a hefty sum when converted. Breakfast with the giraffes at Africa’s Giraffe Manor starts from about $1,413 per person for a single all-inclusive night. And the biggest financial extreme of all? The underwater residence The Muraka in the Maldives has an official rack rate set at an incredible $50,000 for a single night, although in reality, with the mandatory four-night minimum, you can with a bit of luck snag a package from around $10,000. Luxury simply costs something.

Where next

If you’re interested in more travel inspiration and tips, we’ve prepared other articles to help you plan your next dream trips. If luxury and the exotic appeal to you, be sure to read our guide to the Maldives. For lovers of African atmosphere and beautiful riads, we’ve written up tips on what to see in Marrakech. If you’re more after European romance, check out our article on what to see in Vienna, or draw inspiration from our pick for the charming Croatian town of Rovinj. And for those heading across the ocean, we have an extensive list of 50 things to see in New York ready. check prices and availability

Frequently asked questions

What is glamping and who is it suitable for?

Glamping is short for glamorous camping. It means you sleep in the middle of wild nature in a tent, yurt, or wooden cabin, but you have an incredibly comfortable large bed, electrical outlets, and most importantly your own bathroom. It’s suitable for all travelers who want to experience true romance in the forest, but at the same time don’t want to give up standard hotel comfort, soft bedding, and a hot shower after a full day of excursions.

When is the best time to visit glass igloos?

If your main goal is to see the magical Northern Lights, you have the best chance from late September to the end of March. Keep in mind, however, that the sky must be completely clear and unfortunately no one can guarantee you’ll see the aurora 100%, it’s simply nature. During December and January, there’s also a long polar night above the Arctic Circle, so definitely be prepared for quite a long period of darkness throughout the day.

What is the actual temperature in an ice hotel?

The temperature inside ice rooms stays fairly stable between minus five and minus eight degrees Celsius, and surprisingly even when the outdoor frost drops much lower to minus thirty. This is the temperature at which ice no longer starts to melt, but at which you can still reasonably sleep. To keep warm, guests are always given special expedition sleeping bags and sleep on a thick layer of reindeer skins.

Can I manage to sleep in an ice room for multiple nights in a row?

Theoretically you can certainly manage it, but the vast majority of guests choose just a single night in the ice to be safe. It’s a huge and unforgettable experience, but your body needs to properly rest and most importantly warm up. That’s why the Nordic hotels themselves commonly recommend spending the second night in a standard heated room, which fortunately is usually part of the same accommodation complex, so you don’t have to move far away.

Are tree-house hotels suitable for young children?

This really depends a lot on the specific location, because some properties are exclusively for adults for safety reasons. For example, the swaying Free Spirit Spheres in Canada don’t accept families at all, whereas the rugged Swedish Kolarbyn or the Slovenian family glamping Garden Village Bled are absolutely fantastic for adventurous kids. So always carefully read the terms and conditions of the specific accommodation on their website in advance.

Can I book the underwater suite in the Maldives just for a weekend?

Unfortunately that’s not possible at all, since the luxury resort The Muraka strictly requires a minimum stay of four full nights. So it’s not something for a quick weekend trip from Europe, but a huge financial and time investment. Moreover, you need to plan ahead that in very bad weather the underwater bedroom may not be accessible at all for safety reasons.

How far in advance do I need to book the giraffe hotel in Kenya?

The famous African hotel Giraffe Manor is hopelessly sold out even a full year in advance, because it has only twelve beautiful rooms available. Reservations for peak season disappear literally within a few days of dates opening up. If you don’t have dates that far ahead, it’s worth carefully monitoring cancellations about four weeks before departure, when some guests cancel their dream trips at the last minute.

What happens to ice hotels during spring?

These enormous and beautiful structures simply are allowed to melt freely in spring and the water naturally flows back into the surrounding rivers. Each winter thus means a completely new construction from the very foundations, on which talented artists from around the world work throughout. The only exception is part of the Swedish ICEHOTEL 365 complex, which is specially cooled during summer using ingenious solar energy.

Tips and Tricks for Your Vacation

Don’t Overpay for Flights

Search for flights on Kayak. It’s our favorite search engine because it scans the websites of all airlines and always finds the cheapest connection.

Book Your Accommodation Smartly

The best experiences we’ve had when looking for accommodation (from Alaska to Morocco) are with Booking.com, where hotels, apartments, and entire houses are usually the cheapest and most widely available.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance

Good travel insurance will protect you against illness, accidents, theft, or flight cancellations. We’ve had a few hospital visits abroad, so we know how important it is to have proper insurance arranged.

Where we insure ourselves: SafetyWing (best for everyone) and TrueTraveller (for extra-long trips).

Why don’t we recommend any Czech insurance company? Because they have too many restrictions. They set limits on the number of days abroad, travel insurance via a credit card often requires you to pay medical expenses only with that card, and they frequently limit the number of returns to the Czech Republic.

Find the Best Experiences

Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace where you can book guided walks, trips, skip-the-line tickets, tours, and much more. We always find some extra fun there!