Who would have thought a cruise line would be the one to launch the world’s southernmost hotel? Debuting later this year in Puerto Williams in the sub-Antarctic zone of Chile, overlooking the snow-capped Patagonian mountains, Silversea’s as-yet-unnamed 150-key hotel will be enveloped by supreme natural beauty and offer utter tranquility, but this sailing company’s unexpected land-based venture isn’t as incongruous as it first seems.
Silversea homeports from Puerto Williams for the Antarctic cruise season; the extreme hotel, which sits by the Beagle Channel, will primarily function as a refined pit stop for customers about to commence voyages to the White Continent.
[See more: Adventure at Sea: Three Cruises for Thrill Seekers]
Surprising though that hotel opening is, it isn’t the only property of late to emerge in an isolated, extreme and occasionally icy location. A cluster of just seven mirrored houses designed to merge with the landscape, Iceland’s ÖÖD Hekla Horizon sits near Mount Hekla volcano.
It’s a primordial setting known as the Gateway to Hell in medieval times, but don’t let that put you off; guests here can ramble along mossy lava fields, journey to thundering waterfalls or relax and ruminate during leisurely fly-fishing excursions. This is prime Northern Lights territory too, and while bedrooms’ floor-to-ceiling windows allow for unimpeded views outwards on frigid winter nights, those ethereal vistas are perhaps best enjoyed from one of the resort’s steaming hot tubs.
Some 5,085-ft up, in the foothills of Austria’s Wetterstein Mountains, the nine-bedroom, timber-framed Eriro is similarly intimate and elemental (and you might recognize it from the Winter issue of Elite Traveler). Accessible primarily by cable car, it feels gloriously removed from the regular world— a fantasy its local owners have enshrined with thoughtfully curated experiences and amenities. TVs don’t feature here and Wi-Fi is limited to bedrooms, while the hyperlocal, zero-waste Tyrolean restaurant and the expansive spa draw creatively from the region’s natural bounty.
At the former, everything possible is foraged or locally grown — so olive oil, OJ and avocados are out but, depending on the season, juicy plums, freshly pressed apple juice and pine sorbet are in. At the latter, freshly picked mountain arnica, St John’s wort and stinging nettle are used in treatments, while guests can flit between various pools and saunas or recline in a relaxation room lined with fragrant hay bales. Earthy, invigorating outdoor activities abound too, with hikes, skiing and wild swimming in glass-still, emerald-green Alpine lakes on offer alongside crafts sessions, yodeling and stargazing.
Eriro
A paean to the country’s indomitable landscapes and supreme natural beauty, One&Only’s first resort to open on American soil sits on an 8,100-acre landscape in Big Sky, Montana that is itself bordered by the protected lands of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. When the first guests check in to One&Only Moonlight Basin this summer, they’ll be left in no doubt that nature reigns supreme here — nearby lands provide habitats for grizzly bears, alongside moose, deer, elk and eagles, and as their stay approaches, new arrivals are briefed on how to live amicably with their ‘neighbors.’
With excursions led by local experts, exploring the surrounding scenery is nonetheless easy as can be. The nation’s first national park, nearby Yellowstone, beckons with its fabled Old Faithful geyser and the iridescent, geothermal Grand Prismatic Spring.
In summer, there’s the promise of wholesome days spent whitewater rafting, golfing and horseback riding. Come winter, Big Sky offers thousands of acres of pristine powder for skiing and snowboarding, as well as dog sledding, ice fishing and fat tire biking.
Back on-property, the six restaurants and bars will include the timber-framed Wildwood restaurant and the Prohibition-inspired whiskey bar Moon Shack; the spa will offer temperature therapy with its hot and cold plunge pools, as well as seven treatment rooms, a gym and tennis courts.
One&Only Moonlight Basin Resort
One&Only’s first resort to open on American soil sits on an 8,100-acre landscape in Big Sky, Montana that is itself bordered by the protected lands of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. When the first guests check in to One&Only Moonlight Basin this summer, they’ll be left in no doubt that nature reigns supreme here — nearby lands provide habitats for grizzly bears, alongside moose, deer, elk and eagles, and as their stay approaches, new arrivals are briefed on how to live amicably with their ‘neighbors.’
One&Only’s first resort to open on American soil sits on an 8,100-acre landscape in Big Sky, Montana that is itself bordered by the protected lands of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. When the first guests check in to One&Only Moonlight Basin this summer, they’ll be left in no doubt that nature reigns supreme here — nearby lands provide habitats for grizzly bears, alongside moose, deer, elk and eagles, and as their stay approaches, new arrivals are briefed on how to live amicably with their ‘neighbors.’
One&Only’s first resort to open on American soil sits on an 8,100-acre landscape in Big Sky, Montana that is itself bordered by the protected lands of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. When the first guests check in to One&Only Moonlight Basin this summer, they’ll be left in no doubt that nature reigns supreme here — nearby lands provide habitats for grizzly bears, alongside moose, deer, elk and eagles, and as their stay approaches, new arrivals are briefed on how to live amicably with their ‘neighbors.’
One&Only’s first resort to open on American soil sits on an 8,100-acre landscape in Big Sky, Montana that is itself bordered by the protected lands of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. When the first guests check in to One&Only Moonlight Basin this summer, they’ll be left in no doubt that nature reigns supreme here — nearby lands provide habitats for grizzly bears, alongside moose, deer, elk and eagles, and as their stay approaches, new arrivals are briefed on how to live amicably with their ‘neighbors.’
But, in so many ways, the most unexpected forthcoming resort experiences await in Saudi Arabia. Of the country’s 14 giga projects, The Red Sea and Amaala are nearing completion, and will together cover a previously inaccessible 10,810-square-mile site on the country’s western coast and interior — an area about the size of Maryland — incorporating 50 ultra-high-end hotels, including the Desert Rock resort where villas are carved into towering rock formations that soar within a volcanic valley. It’s a remarkable fusion of artfully conceived architecture and age-old natural wonders.
silversea.com / oodhotels.com / eriro.com / oneadnonlyresorts.com
