Skip to content

Top Navigation

Travel + Leisure Travel + Leisure Travel + Leisure Travel + Leisure
  • Trip Inspiration
  • Plan Your Trip
  • World's Best
  • Destination of the Year
  • A-List Travel Advisors
  • Cruises
  • Travel Tips
  • News
  • Food + Drink
  • Travel Accessories
  • Check-In

Profile Menu

Your Profile

Your Profile

  • Join Now
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • Help
  • Logout
Login
Subscribe
Pin FB

Explore Travel + Leisure

Travel + Leisure Travel + Leisure Travel + Leisure Travel + Leisure
  • Explore

    Explore

    • World's Best

      The greatest islands, cities, hotels, cruise lines, airports, and more — as voted by you. Read More Next
    • The 50 Best Places to Travel in 2020

      Whether you're traveling solo or planning a family vacation, here are the 50 best places to visit in 2020. Read More Next
    • Let's Go Together Podcast

      Start listening to T+L's brand new podcast, Let's Go Together! Hosted by Kellee Edwards. Read More Next
  • Trip Inspiration

    Trip Inspiration

    • Trip Ideas
    • Weekend Getaways
    • Spring Travel
    • Summer Travel
    • Fall Travel
    • Winter Travel
    • Solo Travel
    • Romantic Getaways
    • Luxury Travel
    • Beach Vacations
    • Adventure Travel
    • Road Trips
    • Family Travel
    • National Parks
    • Holiday Travel
    • Travel Photography
    • Photo of the Day
    • Culture and Design
  • Plan Your Trip

    Plan Your Trip

    • Travel Guides
    • Flight Deals
    • Travel Deals
    • Ways to Save
    • Hotels + Resorts
    • Attractions
    • Amusement Parks
    • Disney Vacations
    • Festivals + Events
    • Airlines + Airports
    • Buses + Trains
    • Ground Transportation
  • World's Best

    World's Best

    • Top Hotels
    • Top Cities
    • Top Islands
    • Domestic Airlines
    • International Airlines
    • Tours
    • Safaris
    • All World's Best
  • Destination of the Year
  • A-List Travel Advisors
  • Cruises

    Cruises

    • Find A Cruise
    • Caribbean Cruises
    • River Cruises
    • European Cruises
    • All-Inclusive Cruises
    • Family Cruises
    • Alaskan Cruises
    • Disney Cruises
    • See All Cruise Vacations
  • Travel Tips

    Travel Tips

    • Travel Trends
    • Packing Tips
    • Points + Miles
    • Budgeting + Currency
    • Customs + Immigration
    • Responsible Travel
    • Travel Etiquette
    • Travel Warnings
    • Weather
    • Mobile Apps
    • See All Travel Tips
  • News

    News

    • Wellness
    • Celebrity Travel
    • Animals
    • Jobs
    • Offbeat
    • See All News
  • Food + Drink

    Food + Drink

    • Restaurants
    • Wine
    • Beer
    • Cocktails + Spirits
    • Bars + Clubs
    • Celebrity Chefs
    • Cooking + Entertaining
    • Food Fairs + Festivals
    • World's Best Restaurants
    • See All Food + Drink
  • Travel Accessories

    Travel Accessories

    • Travel Bags
    • Shoes
    • Travel Tech
    • Shopping
    • Style
    • Gift Guides
    • See All Travel Accessories
  • Check-In

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Profile

Your Profile

  • Join Now
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • Help
  • Logout
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow us

  1. Home
  2. Travel Tips
  3. Offbeat
  4. Amazing Arrivals

Amazing Arrivals

By David Kaufman
June 10, 2010
Skip gallery slides
Save Pin

1 of 11

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Six SensesZighy Bay, Oman

Credit: Courtesy of Kiattipong Panchee

There are three choices for arrival at this resort in the Sultanate of Oman (opening in early 2008), set between the jagged Hajar Mountains and a secluded mile-long slice of the Persian Gulf. If the 10-minute boat ride or the overland jeep adventure through mountainous desert terrain doesn't jazz you, though, you can make a more dramatic entrance—by literally falling from the sky. Strapped tight into a tandem harness with a Six Senses pro, you'll descend some 2,000 feet on a paraglider—a visually dazzling 10-minute journey that does no harm to the environment. Once you land and check into one of 82 spacious pool villas, suites, and duplexes, hit the on-site spa to calm any post-glide nerves.

More information: Six Senses Hideaway at Zighy Bay

World’s Coolest Hotel Transfers

1 of 11

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 11

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Dhoni Island,Maldives

Credit: © Picture Contact / Alamy

No Maldivian resort has captured the majesty of water travel quite like Dhoni Mighili. Set on its own private island, the six-suite resort is just a 30-minute seaplane flight from the capital, Malé—but the lazy, five-hour sail via dhoni, or traditional handcrafted wooden Maldivian sailboat, is much more indulgent. The resort's fleet of elegant, 65-foot cruisers is fabulously fitted with everything from seven-foot beds, Frette linens, and Bose stereo systems to Philippe Starck-designed baths, Taittinger-stocked fridges, and thakarus (personal butlers). Even after you've checked into one of the resort's six villas (four of which have plunge pools and private courtyards), the dhoni and thakaru remain on call until checkout.

More information: Dhoni Mighili

World’s Coolest Hotel Transfers

2 of 11

3 of 11

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Peninsula HongKong

Credit: Courtesy of Peninsula Hong Kong

Even though the hotel boasts a fleet of custom-designed Rolls-Royce Phantoms, the most jaw-dropping way to approach this venerable Peninsula is by air. The hotel is the only one in the city with a private helicopter pad, and guests with a bird's-eye bent can make the 22-mile jaunt from Hong Kong International Airport in a sleek Aerospatiale AS355N Twin Squirrel craft (roomy enough to seat five). After the eight-minute flight, you'll arrive on the rooftop—right next to Felix, the hotel's posh penthouse restaurant designed by Philippe Starck. If you like the ride, copter tours throughout the city can be arranged via the concierge.

More information: Peninsula Hong Kong

World’s Coolest Hotel Transfers

3 of 11

Advertisement

4 of 11

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Burgh Island Hotel, Bigbury-on-Sea, England

Credit: Courtesy of Burgh Island

Forget the helipad: the way to arrive at this pricey hotel, located on a private island off the coast of South Devon, is via the world's only hydraulic Sea Tractor—an unusual contraption that rises above the lapping waters of the tidal causeway. Designed in 1969, the unique conveyance makes the 700-foot-long crossing in just minutes at high tide (the hotel has a fleet of Land Rovers for low tide), ending at a 24-room Art Deco property that dates to 1929 and has hosted the likes of Agatha Christie and Noel Coward. —Farhad Heydari

More information: Burgh Island Hotel

World’s Coolest Hotel Transfers

4 of 11

5 of 11

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

MontpelierPlantation, Nevis, West Indies

Credit: Courtesy of Montpelier Plantation Inn

With its jagged peaks, lush forests, volcanic hot springs, and abundant wildlife, the tiny island of Nevis is one of the Caribbean's most exotic places. And the staff of the Montpelier Plantation—a 17-room former sugar plantation perched on a hillside overlooking the coral-reef-studded sea—makes sure your passage here is super-smooth. Once you've flown into the sister island of St. Kitts, you're transferred to a private speedboat, which crosses the cerulean Narrows separating the two islands and gets you to Nevis in less than half an hour. As soon as you land, a taxi arrives to drive you up the hill to the resort, where you'll be treated to views of the entire island and much of the Leeward chain.

More information: Montpelier Plantation

World’s Coolest Hotel Transfers

5 of 11

6 of 11

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Jumeirah BurjAl Arab, Dubai

Credit: Courtesy of Burj Al-Arab

Visitors to the world's first self-described "seven-star" hotel, which sits on a private island in the Persian Gulf, can choose to be transported by any of several different luxury sedans (some like the sporty BMW 7 Series; others prefer one of the 10 chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce Phantoms), which shimmy across the hotel's slim causeway linking it to the sandy mainland. Those who want to arrive in even higher style can opt for pickup by the Burj's private luxury Augusta 109 Executive helicopter—although a cool drive along the city's shimmering Persian Gulf-front is the best way to beat Dubai's notorious desert heat. Once there, check into $1,000-a-night starter suites to enjoy the sky-high spa (with infinity pool seemingly floating into the sea) and a team of butlers on each floor of this 1,000-foot-high ultra-haute hotel.

More information: Burj al Arab

World’s Coolest Hotel Transfers

6 of 11

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 11

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Sivory PuntaCana Boutique Hotel, Punta Cana

Credit: Courtesy of Sivory

When it opened in late 2005, this east coast resort jump-started a new era of boutique glamour for the Dominican Republic. With its 55 beachfront suites, lush gardens, spa, a trio of haute eateries, a cigar lounge, and the island's largest wine cellar (with more than 8,000 bottles), Sivory Punta Cana set the standard for other small luxury hotels on the island. And since it's only fitting that guests should arrive in style, many trade the hour-long drive from Punta Cana Airport for a stealth-copter ride straight to Sivory's silky beach. Guests are greeted with cold towels, chilled bubbly, and fast-track check-in right on the sand. En route, they can scope out their favorite hole at Punta Cana's P.B. Dye-designed waterfront golf course.

More information: Sivory Punta Cana

World’s Coolest Hotel Transfers

7 of 11

8 of 11

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Khwai RiverLodge, Botswana

Credit: Courtesy of Khwai River Lodge

The Khwai River floodplain, set in the heart of Botswana's Moremi Wildlife Reserve, teems with creatures ranging from lions and leopards to elephants and hyenas. You can spot them all en route to the lodge—which you'll reach via private, single-engine Cessna after pick-up in the nearby town of Maun. Flying low to the ground, the plane skims over arid bushveld and grazing herds of impala and springbok before arriving at the lodge, where local tribespeople welcome guests with traditional Setswana songs and trays of fruity cocktails. Sip one in style at the lodge's new ultra-private suite, with its own splash pool, observation deck, and alfresco shower.

More information: Khwai River Lodge

World’s Coolest Hotel Transfers

8 of 11

9 of 11

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

InterContinentalBora Bora Resort and Thalasso Spa, Bora-Bora

Credit: Courtesy of Duncan Rowlinson/ thelastminuteblog.com

French Polynesia has been a luxurious hideaway for decades (everyone from Gauguin to Brando has called the islands home), but a new clutch of ultra-deluxe resorts has raised the decadence bar even higher. At the InterContinental Bora Bora Resort and Thalasso Spa, the sybaritic service begins as soon as guests arrive at Bora Bora Airport—they're immediately whisked onto a private shuttle motorboat, which takes them on a 10-minute ride across the actual Blue Lagoon (made famous in the movie!). On arrival, they're greeted by staffers wearing traditional sarongs and headdresses, and bearing cold drinks. Then, they can settle into one of the resort's 80 sumptuous overwater bungalows—each at least 1,000 square feet and set on stilts right over the turquoise ocean.

More information: Intercontinental Bora Bora

World’s Coolest Hotel Transfers

9 of 11

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

10 of 11

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Phantom Ranch,Grand Canyon

Credit: Courtesy of Phantom Ranch

The only hotel located below the rim of the Grand Canyon isn't exactly easy to get to. Some folks take the 10-mile hike; others white-water raft along the churning Colorado River from the historic Grand Canyon Village. But for the truly intrepid, the only way to arrive at this 11-cabin retreat is by mule. The roughly five-hour trip, organized by the ranch, leads along jagged cliffs and plummeting gorges, and finally across the mighty Colorado via suspension bridge before arriving at the lodge—which is crafted from native wood and stone and uses eco-friendly evaporation cooling during the summer months. A hot shower and a steak dinner will never seem more delicious.

More information: Phantom Ranch

World’s Coolest Hotel Transfers

10 of 11

11 of 11

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

VigiliusMountain Resort, Merano, Italy

Credit: © CuboImages srl / Alamy

Set alongside a dramatic tree-covered couloir at a rarefied altitude of 4,921 feet in the heart of the South Tyrolean Dolomites, this minimalist, eco-friendly hideaway is accessible only by cable car—in this case, Europe's oldest, the Vigiljoch. Guests board the vintage 1912 cable car on the outskirts of Merano for a nearly vertical eight-minute ascent away from the vineyard-covered valley floor to Vigiljoch. There, they discover an outdoor paradise and a low-slung, carbon-neutral enclave with 41 TV-free rooms, two restaurants, and a spa, all designed from larch and slate sourced from the nearby hillsides. —Farhad Heydari

More information: Vigilius Mountain Resort

World’s Coolest Hotel Transfers

11 of 11

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By David Kaufman

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook
Trending Videos
Advertisement
Skip slide summaries

Everything in This Slideshow

Advertisement

View All

1 of 11 Six SensesZighy Bay, Oman
2 of 11 Dhoni Island,Maldives
3 of 11 Peninsula HongKong
4 of 11 Burgh Island Hotel, Bigbury-on-Sea, England
5 of 11 MontpelierPlantation, Nevis, West Indies
6 of 11 Jumeirah BurjAl Arab, Dubai
7 of 11 Sivory PuntaCana Boutique Hotel, Punta Cana
8 of 11 Khwai RiverLodge, Botswana
9 of 11 InterContinentalBora Bora Resort and Thalasso Spa, Bora-Bora
10 of 11 Phantom Ranch,Grand Canyon
11 of 11 VigiliusMountain Resort, Merano, Italy

Share options

Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message
Travel + Leisure Travel + Leisure

Magazines & More

Learn More

  • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
  • Sitemap
  • Travel Guide Sitemap

Connect

Follow Us
Subscribe to Our Newsletters
Other Meredith Sites

Other Meredith Sites

  • 4 Your Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Allrecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • All People Quilt this link opens in a new tab
  • Better Homes & Gardens this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Insights this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Surveys this link opens in a new tab
  • Cooking Light this link opens in a new tab
  • Daily Paws this link opens in a new tab
  • EatingWell this link opens in a new tab
  • Eat This, Not That this link opens in a new tab
  • Entertainment Weekly this link opens in a new tab
  • Food & Wine this link opens in a new tab
  • Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Hello Giggles this link opens in a new tab
  • Instyle this link opens in a new tab
  • Martha Stewart this link opens in a new tab
  • Midwest Living this link opens in a new tab
  • More this link opens in a new tab
  • MyRecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • MyWedding this link opens in a new tab
  • My Food and Family this link opens in a new tab
  • MyLife this link opens in a new tab
  • Parenting this link opens in a new tab
  • Parents this link opens in a new tab
  • People this link opens in a new tab
  • People en EspaƱol this link opens in a new tab
  • Rachael Ray Magazine this link opens in a new tab
  • Real Simple this link opens in a new tab
  • Ser Padres this link opens in a new tab
  • Shape this link opens in a new tab
  • Siempre Mujer this link opens in a new tab
  • Southern Living this link opens in a new tab
  • SwearBy this link opens in a new tab
Travel + Leisure is part of the Travel + Leisure Group. Copyright 2021 Meredith Corporation. Travel + Leisure is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation Travel + Leisure Group All Rights Reserved, registered in the United States and other countries. Travel + Leisure may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
© Copyright . All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.travelandleisure.com

View image

Amazing Arrivals
this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.