Go beyond the norm
Each person’s reason for travel varies. The Eat, Pray Lover’s, the backpackers, the Instagram tourers, the list goes on. This list can be narrowed down to two main categories: the kinds of people who travel for the tag of travel – the airplane experience, the all-inclusive resort, the fancy dinners, the digital footprint. The other kind are the kind who have decided that 2026 is the year we leave behind boring holidays and find experiences that allow us to fully disconnect, reconnect and immerse.
Experiential stays are fast gaining popularity in this part of the world, with travellers looking for hotels and properties with meaningful connections and real memories to take home with. An experiential stay is so much more than just a hotel room and a dinner – it’s a different world you can slip into and if you’re looking for a unique bucket list of hotel experiences, then this is the list for you.
Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort, Finland
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There’s something quietly emotional about lying in bed, wrapped in warmth, while the Arctic sky dances in iridescent technicolor overhead. At Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort, glass-roofed igloos place you directly beneath the Northern Lights, turning a natural phenomenon into an intimate experience. Outside, the world is hushed by snow and darkness. Inside, time feels infinite. It’s not about seeing the aurora; it’s about surrendering to stillness in one of the most remote corners of the world.
Argos, Cappadocia
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Everybody knows Cappadocia as ‘that place with the hot air balloons’, but the history and culture of Turkey run deep in its roots. Argos in Cappadocia feels quietly monumental. Built from a series of restored caves, monasteries, and underground tunnels in the fully functioning village of Uçhisar, the hotel is woven into the landscape instead of being placed on top of it. Rooms are carved deep into volcanic rock, some with ancient stone fireplaces. Others open onto terraces overlooking Pigeon Valley. Mornings begin with hot-air balloons drifting past at eye level; evenings settle into near-total silence, broken only by the wind moving through the valley. It’s a stay that feels grounded, contemplative, and deeply connected to the region’s layered, gorgeous history.
Sujan, India
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Sujan, a property of Relais & Châteaux, has a beautiful story of origin, dating back more than 40 years and centered around a unifying love for the big cat – the tiger – and it’s home, Ranthambore. A long history of family entrepreneurship and a love affair with the great outdoors birthed the Sujan chain of hotels in 2000, and they’ve been showcasing the best of Indian safari life since. Sujan Sher Bagh was the first, and features 12 beautiful tents, designed to evoke the feeling of a life on safari.
The Serai will take you into the heart of the Indian desert, on a 100-acre expanse of indigenous desert scrub. This is where you’ll find peace, quiet, an expected oasis, and it’s a true taste of desert life. There is also the Jawai, set in a spectacular, sprawling dramatic wilderness and fusing luxury with the great outdoors.
Nayara Tented Camp, Costa Rica
Raised above the jungle floor on stilts, the tented suites feel cocooned within the canopy, where mist drifts through the trees and wildlife sets the pace of the day. Mornings begin with the low hum of insects and the calls of toucans overhead; afternoons slip by in volcanic hot springs hidden among dense greenery; evenings arrive with sudden tropical rain, loud and cleansing, drumming against canvas roofs. Despite the sense of immersion, nothing here feels rugged. Interiors are thoughtfully layered with warm woods, soft linens and outdoor soaking tubs that blur the line between inside and out. This is Nayara Tented Camp in Costa Rica.
Glenapp Castle, Scotland
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Reject Modernity and embrace tradition by staying in an actual castle. Turrets rise above manicured gardens and wild coastline, interiors glow with fireplaces and soft lamplight, and every corridor hints at another era. It’s romantic without being theatrical. Glenapp Castle, a Relais & Châteaux hotel, is one for the history buffs, dating back to 1870, the castle offers falconry sessions on the lawns, private boat trips to remote islands, and long walks through mist-covered glades. Live your best Outlander life at the Glenapp Castle, with the benefits of running water, electricity and Wi-Fi.
Lion’s Sands Treehouse, South Africa
The Lion Sands Treehouse strips hospitality back to its most elemental form. You’re dropped off at sunset and left alone until morning, yet again you find yourself in the trees, above the bush in glass-walled seclusion. There are no fences, no staff, only the knowledge that you are sharing space with some of Africa’s most powerful wildlife. We are no longer the apex predators – As the sun sets, the roar of the lion, the neigh of zebras, and trump of elephants fill the air – experience the Big Five like never before… In their territory.
Fogo Island Inn, Canada
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Perched dramatically above the North Atlantic, Fogo Island Inn, a Relais & Châteaux hotel, is exposed to everything – wind, weather, and isolation. Its stark modern form stands in contrast to the raw landscape, yet feels inseparable from it. Inside, local craftsmanship and contemporary art sit side by side, quietly reinforcing a sense of place. This is a hotel that encourages conversation and contemplation. Meals are communal, storytelling is central, and the environment demands attention.
Najd Al Meqsar, United Arab Emirates
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Sitting high above a mountain wadi in Sharjah, Najd Al Meqsar’s restored stone houses are linked by lantern-lit paths. Once abandoned, the village has been carefully revived into a glorious adults only hotel. Najd Al Meqsar preserves traditional architecture and offers a rare glimpse into life before modernity reshaped the region. A reminder that cultural immersion doesn’t require scale or extravagance, only respect for what came before.
Longitude 131, Australia
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Set on ochre-red desert plains with uninterrupted views of Uluru, Longitude 131° places guests directly beside one of the world’s most spiritually significant landscapes. Luxury tented pavilions face the monolith head-on, framing it like a living artwork as its colours shift from rust to deep purple throughout the day. There’s a sense of reverence here – the land feels watched over. Days are guided by Indigenous storytelling, desert walks and quiet observation; nights unfold under vast, star-filled skies, where the silence feels almost sacred. Interiors are refined but restrained, allowing the landscape to remain the focus.
St. Regis Red Sea Resort, Saudi Arabia
Scattered across a private archipelago in the Red Sea, The St. Regis Red Sea Resort feels both futuristic and deeply serene. Overwater villas arc across crystalline lagoons, their clean lines hovering above coral reefs that remain largely untouched. The water here is impossibly clear – the kind of blue that feels almost unreal – and the sense of arrival is immediate: remote, hushed, and utterly transportive. Merging the ocean with futuristic modernity, it’s a stay that captures a rare moment in time, the Red Sea on the cusp of becoming iconic and thrillingly wild.
Image credit: @thesujanlife on Instagram
Never afraid of an em-dash or trying new places across the world. Shelby thrives on sharing her favourite restaurants, cafes and hole in the walls. If she’s not eating out she’s at home trialing new recipes in her kitchen while binging series.
