A once-in-a-lifetime nature experience doesn’t have to mean roughing it in a tent or sacrificing a decent night’s sleep. Some of the world’s best (and most remote) luxury resorts were designed to incorporate their wilderness surroundings, so even when you’re taking a break from the day’s adventures, you’re not missing a thing.
Whether you’re curled up in bed watching the Northern Lights or spotting a pride of lions from your private viewing deck, the landscape remains front and center at these remote luxury resorts that place you in the heart of the wild without sacrificing creature comforts.
Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort
Lapland, Finland
The best time to spot the aurora borealis is usually around midnight, so where better to hunt for the Northern Lights than from the comfort of your bed? At Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort, you can do just that. The resort’s signature glass igloos let you stay warm and comfortable while watching the night sky come alive overhead. Each igloo includes an en-suite bathroom, along with an attached private shower and sauna.
If you prefer more traditional accommodation, the Kelo-Glass Igloo offers the best of both worlds: a private log cabin connected to a glass-roofed igloo. Set in Finland’s Lapland region, Kakslauttanen is one of the best places on Earth to witness the lights, thanks to its long season from late August through April, minimal light pollution, and wide-open skies unobstructed by trees.
Four Seasons Resort Hualalai
Kona, Hawai’i
Hualālai is the third-youngest and third-most historically active volcano on the island of Hawaii, and there’s no better way to experience it up close than by staying at the Four Seasons Resort Hualālai. The luxe hotel offers an exclusive Hualālai Embark crater hiking experience, a four-mile guided trek through a native cloud forest that brings you deep into the volcanic landscape.
Along the way, you’ll stand at the edge of multiple craters and admire views of the Kona coastline framed by rugged lava fields below. It’s an unforgettable way to see Hawaii’s raw geology in action. And, if you’re wondering about safety, don’t worry too much—the volcano’s last eruption was in 1801.
Hotel Rangá
Hella, Iceland
With a volcano rising behind it and the Atlantic stretching in front, Hotel Rangá boasts one of the most dramatic settings in a country known for its otherworldly scenery. This luxury log-cabin-style retreat sits in a remote corner of Iceland’s southern coast, far from urban light pollution and firmly within prime Northern Lights territory.
You can watch the aurora borealis from the comfort of your room or from one of the hotel’s geothermally heated outdoor hot tubs for an especially memorable experience. The hotel’s aurora wake-up service ensures you’ll get a call the moment the lights appear in the sky, so you won’t have to worry about missing the show.
Hotel Rangá aims to make your Northern Lights experience as comfortable as possible. There’s an on-site observatory equipped with high-quality telescopes, handmade reclining wooden benches designed for stargazing, loaner tripods for long-exposure photos, a bar serving hot chocolate and hot toddies 24/7, and warm snowsuits you can borrow for the night.
Lion Sands River Lodge
Mpumalanga, South Africa
Imagine waking up to the sight of elephants strolling past your room’s private viewing deck. That’s just an ordinary day at Lion Sands River Lodge inside South Afraica’s Sabi Sands Game Reserve, a private reserve bordering Kruger National Park, which is one of the best places in the country to see the Big Five: lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos, and Cape Buffalo.
You’ll be in prime position to find them in one of the resort’s 20 luxury suites overlooking the Sabie River, where animals often come to drink or bathe. And if the action outside your room isn’t enough, the lodge offers twice-daily game drives to spot wildlife. You can also join guided bush walks, stargazing sessions, river and hippo tours, and wildlife lectures that deepen your understanding of the surrounding ecosystem.
Ice Hotel
Jukkasjärv, Sweden
Why try to escape the cold on your winter trip to Sweden when you can fully embrace it with a stay at the Ice Hotel instead? The world’s first (and largest) hotel entirely made of ice is rebuilt every year from the nearby Torne River’s frozen waters. Even the beds are carved from ice and topped with a thick mattress, reindeer hides, and a sleeping bag to ensure a cozy night’s sleep.
Choose from a classic ice room with decorations carved into the walls or an art suite that individually designed and hand-carved by artists all over the world. Jukkasjärv is one of the best areas in the world to see the Northern Lights, and there are plenty of ways to experience them up close at the Ice Hotel—from a snowmobile Northern Lights safari to a private dining adventure in a secluded wilderness camp. Beyond the aurora, you can join dog sledding expeditions, meet reindeer, or even embark on a moose safari.
