Dezeen Magazine

Ten remote hotels to switch off in

If you're looking to take a holiday off the beaten track, Dezeen has picked 10 remote hotels – including a secluded guest lodge in the sands of the Sharjah desert and a three-room Greek retreat that overlooks the Mediterranean Sea.


Best remote hotels: Tainaron Blue Retreat

Tainaron Blue Retreat, Greece, by Kostas Zouvelos and Kassiani Theodorakakou

A 19th-century defence tower is host to this three-room hotel on Cape Tainaron – the southernmost point of mainland Greece.

Looking out over the Mediterranean Sea, the thick stone building has been carefully restored so that it appears to "emerge from the rock upon which it was founded".


Best remote hotels: Shipwreck Lodge by Nina Maritx Architects

Shipwreck Lodge, Namibia, by Nina Maritz Architects

The hundreds of eerie shipwrecks scattered along Namibia's Skeleton Coast informed the design of this group of guest cabins.

Each of the 10 bedrooms feature a large horizontal window where guests can look out across the surrounding sand dunes and spot wildlife including brown hyenas and desert lions.


Best remote hotels: Barefoot Luxury hotel in Cape Verde by Polo Architects and Going East

Barefoot Luxury, Cape Verde, by Polo Architects and Going East

Barefoot Luxury's 12 stone-clad villas are meant to blend into the "strange moon landscape" of Cape Verde's Baia de João d'Evora.

Interiors throughout the hotel have aptly been completed in neutral tones and dressed with furnishings sourced from local markets. Floor-to-ceiling windows provide views across the Atlantic Ocean.


Best remote hotels: Alila Yangshuo

Alila Yangshuo, China, by Vector Architects

Nestled between two jagged mountains in China's Guangxi region, Alila Yangshuo occupies a disused sugar mill that was constructed back in the 1960s.

While guest rooms are set within gabled masonry buildings, the hotel's pool lies at the centre of a former loading bay that juts out towards a river.


Best remote hotels: Punta Caliza hotel

Punta Caliza, Mexico, by Studio Macías Peredo

Travellers can only arrive by boat to boutique hotel Punta Caliza, which is situated on Isla Holbox – a car-free fishing village north of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula.

Its 12 whitewashed guest suites each boast their own plunge pool and have thatched roofs intended to mimic traditional Mayan structures.


Best remote hotels: Kumaon hotel by Zowa Architects

The Kumoan, India, by Zowa Architects

Bamboo canes partially cover the glazed facade of this Indian hotel, which sits 1,600 metres above sea level on a ridge of Nanda Devi mountain.

Interiors have been designed to evoke "rustic simplicity", keeping guests' attention on the dramatic views of surrounding Himalayas.


Best remote hotels: Al Faya Lodge

Al Faya Lodge, UAE, by Anarchitect

Weathered-steel detailing on Al Faya Lodge's stone facade complement the surrounding red sands of the Sharjah desert.

The hotel is meant to be booked out in its entirety so that groups of guests can enjoy the open-air pool and spa in complete privacy – each room also has its own skylight for star-gazing.


Best remote hotels: Antarctica Glamping Pods by White Desert

White Desert, Antarctica, by Patrick and Robyn Woodhead

A series of igloo-like fibreglass pods make up White Desert, a luxury campsite set at 71 degrees latitude in the Antarctic.

When guests aren't reclining in the cosy guest rooms – which are decked out with timber furnishings and fur pelts – they're invited to participate in activities like skiing, trekking through ice tunnels and visiting penguin colonies.


Best remote hotels: Domes Charlevoix by Bourgeois Lechasseur

Domes Charlevoix, Canada, by Bourgeois/Lechasseur

Designed to have minimal impact on the environment, this trio of eco domes peek just above the treetops of Quebec's forested hillsides.

Under their insulated, tent-like roofs are contemporary kitchenettes, wood-burning stoves and bedrooms perched up on mezzanines.


Best remote hotels: The Pumphouse

The Pumphouse, Australia, by Cumulus Studio

A 250-metre-long concrete pier leads up to this Tasmanian hotel, which originally served as a store for water turbines during the 1940s.

Communal areas like the lounge and restaurant are located in another building onshore, complete with floor-to-ceiling windows so that guests can overlook the lake.