Great Luxury Adventure Hotels

Some girls wanted Barbie’s Malibu Dream House; I wished for a tent and camel. My wanderlust was first inspired by documentaries about the nomads who traverse the Rub’ al Khali, or Empty Quarter, outside Abu Dhabi. Which is why I was especially intrigued by the opening of Asia-based hotel group Anantara’s 206-room Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort (doubles from $462), in a sheltered wadi edged by ocher dunes. Trade-route artifacts sourced from local souks—bedouin jewelry; hammered-brass vessels—help to create a place for me to live out my childhood fantasy. —Shane Mitchell

This month, there’s another reason to head to the desert: Amangiri (doubles from $805) is pioneering hotelier Adrian Zecha’s second property in the United States. On 600 acres in arid southern Utah, the 34-suite hideout epitomizes the austere-luxe trend, with polished concrete walls and timber-and-rawhide furniture that allows the mesas, limestone formations, and a monochromatic valley near Lake Powell to serve as window dressing for the less-is-more crowd. —Shane Mitchell

Then there’s Swiss hotelier Reto Gurtner. Though he may look like a mad yodeler, this snowboard aficionado has shed traditional Tyrolean gingerbread for a rough-hewn Valais quartzite façade at Rocksresort (doubles from $171), a complex of shops, restaurants, bars, and 102 condos next to the slopes in Laax, Switzerland. —Shane Mitchell

On another Aussie homestead, just beyond the Blue Mountains, is the 40-suite Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa (doubles from $1,950, including meals) owned by Emirates. There’s a 4,000-acre preserve out the back door. —Shane Mitchell

I’ve been to the Maldives several times in the past decade and seen the resort boom in this remote archipelago. Though I’m not a fan of all the overdevelopment, Addu Atoll, one of the islands south of the equator, has remained relatively pristine. On a sandy outcropping near a coral reef, Shangri-La has built Villingili Resort & Spa (doubles from $1,200), with 16 tree-house villas and 60 timber bungalows that hover over the aquamarine water. And better yet, British Airways launched nonstop service from London Gatwick to Male, which cuts the travel time in half. —Shane Mitchell

A little closer to home, in Brazil’s unspoiled Jericoacoara, Chili Beach Boutique Resort (doubles from $422, including breakfast) lures castaways to four all-white suites and two casitas steps from the surf. —Shane Mitchell

After almost 20 years, it seems that Hawaii’s Poipu Beach has finally recovered from Hurricane Iniki. At Kauai’s Koa Kea Hotel & Resort (doubles from $445), 121 turquoise-and-coral rooms have private lanais and access to one of the state’s best snorkeling coves, plus a fusion restaurant that’s overseen by chef Ronnie Sanchez, who trained at El Bulli. —Shane Mitchell

Jumping continents, andBeyond, one of South Africa’s top safari operators, just added a new lodge, Homestead at Phinda Private Game Reserve (suite from $4,795 for four people). This worth-the-splurge wilderness villa in the woodlands is accented with Zulu crafts. A guide and tracker are also available to find rhinos, cheetahs, and elephants. —Shane Mitchell

And in India, Taj continues to focus on adaptive reuse by converting a Hyderabad sovereign’s estate into its latest palace hotel. Taj Falaknuma Palace (doubles from $750), at the crossroad of Moghul and Persian cultures, is an Italianate marble confection with 60 suites, a collection of paintings by European masters, and Louis XIV furnishings. Now that’s what I call a dream house. —Shane Mitchell

Two other visionaries who favor views over lavish accoutrements are interior designer Francesca Bonato and architect Nicolas Malleville. They chose a heritage destination for Coqui Coqui Coba, Papolchac Residence & Spa (doubles from $210), in the Yucatán jungle next to a Mayan ruin. Facing a freshwater lagoon, these pyramid-style stone edifices have a wooden bridge connecting the third-floor suites. —Shane Mitchell

And Stewart Cranswick and Charles Carlow (Carlow is known for the upscale bush camp Bamurru Plains) selected southern Australia’s remote Flinders Ranges for a new outback experience, Arkaba Station (doubles from $790). This working sheep ranch includes a 19th-century residence overlooking a creek lined with red gum trees. —Shane Mitchell