Grand Designs: Europe & Africa

There doesn’t exist a hotel on earth that can match the majesty of a Yellowstone or Banff or Kruger or Komodo. Or does there?

This is part 2 of 4 in our Grand Designs series, featuring hotels in Europe and Africa. See the whole series: Part 1: Asia and Oceania // Part 2: Europe and Africa // Part 3: USA and Canada // Part 4: Latin America.

Believe it or not, there are perfectly reasonable people who find a good piece of architecture and design to be as impressive as any earthly scenery — if not more so. You might be reading one of them right now. Nothing shameful about it. We’re not defensive. We’re special. A club of special people for whom a tasteful touch of humanity amid the randomness of nature helps us appreciate both even more.

The hotels listed below are located in or near some incredible national parks. They were chosen because they are monumental works of art and hospitality that club members have deemed aesthetically equal to the spectacular landscapes and cultural treasures that surround them. Read on to see if you’re one of us.
 

Gidleigh Park

Chagford, England, UK

Gidleigh Park is a little different from the typical English country house hotel. Not many houses can boast of a location in the heart of Devon’s Dartmoor National Park. Even the style is a departure — the exterior is Tudor, the interior Arts and Crafts, and so carefully has the building been restored that it’s nearly impossible to tell where the original house ends and where the contemporary addition begins.

Grand Forest Metsovo

Metsovo, Greece

The Pindus Mountains of the Greek mainland are far less heavily traveled than the islands and the coast, but a hotel like Grand Forest Metsovo makes a strong case for a landlocked itinerary. It’s family-owned and operated, though more substantial than that might imply. And it’s plenty luxurious as well, the better to contrast with the rugged pleasures of the mountains.

Bellevue Hotel & Spa

Cogne, Italy

Bellevue Hotel & Spa is family-owned, in business for almost a century — just after the nearby Gran Paradiso National Park, Italy’s oldest, was founded. In 1926, the year after the hotel was built, Italy passed a law preventing further construction in the area. So the Bellevue stands virtually alone on the gloriously verdant meadows of Sant’Orso, facing spectacular views of the Gran Paradiso Glacier.

Emily Moon River Lodge

Plettenberg Bay, South Africa

Just up the waterway from Plettenburg Bay — and down the road from South Africa’s Garden Route National Park — is a perfectly tranquil rural escape that overlooks the winding Bitou River: Emily Moon River Lodge’s suites are filled with eclectic treasures from Africa, Asia and Polynesia, and come standard with plenty of space, wooden viewing decks, outdoor showers, and all the luxe necessities.

Charming Lonno Lodge

Watamu, Kenya

An Italian couple built the beach getaway of their dreams on a gorgeous stretch of coastline near the fishing village of Watamu, Kenya. Today, it’s the Charming Lonno Lodge, an eight-suite boutique hotel personally presided over by the owners. You’re splendidly isolated here, but the staff is eager to help plan your excursions into the nearby Watamu Marine National Park and Reserve.

EN Hotel

Zakopane, Poland

The mountain town of Zakopane is one of Poland’s gems, but the EN Hotel goes a bit further. It’s set actually within the Tatra National Park, and occupies a repurposed historical structure in a no-development zone — you’ll leave your car in Zakopane, in fact, and be picked up by the hotel’s driver. Once you’ve arrived, you’re treated to an extraordinary measure of seclusion, and an impressive boutique hotel.

Royal Zambezi Lodge

Lower Zambezi River, Zambia

Royal Zambezi Lodge is situated on nearly 500 acres in the pristine Chiawa Game Management Area, directly across the river from Mana Pools National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and just minutes from the Lower Zambezi National Park. Its fifteen airy suites take full advantage of its unforgettable location, with views from every angle along with expansive decks, patios, and plunge pools.

Aristi Mountain Resort

Zagori, Greece

In the northwest of Greece is the region of Zagori. It’s a landscape of rocky cliffs, verdant slopes and tiny, ancient villages clinging to the hillsides. And among the many lost-in-time-looking villages, one of the most picturesque of all is Aristi — a smattering of traditional stone homes at the edge of a Vikos National Park, and home to the eighteen-room Aristi Mountain Resort.

The Victoria

Killarney, Ireland

Ireland’s Killarney National Park is home to some of the country’s most inspiring landscapes, and also the remains of structures that are over a thousand years old. It is, in some ways, a trip back in time — which makes it all the more surprising that just outside the town of Killarney is a totally contemporary boutique hotel: The Victoria, a classic country-house hotel, full of details that recall, perhaps not coincidentally, the Victorian era.

The Hearts Hotel

Braunlage, Germany

Hearts Hotel’s name is a pun on its location, in the mountain town of Braunlage, surrounded on three sides by Saxony’s Harz National Park. It’s not the first place you would expect to find a playfully stylish, decidedly modern boutique hotel, but that’s exactly what it is. The rooms come with a bit of rustic roughness, but for the most part, they’re minimalist-inspired and rather urban in their refinement.

Les Roches Blanches

Cassis, France

Les Roches Blanches is perched on the white limestone rocks that give it its name, with impressive views out to sea. And though it dates back in one form or another to the 19th century, its most recent renovation is focused on the Art Deco inspiration of the Twenties, one of the golden ages of French hospitality. You’re right near the city of Marseille, and even closer to the seaside Calanques National Park.

Honeyguide Tented Safari Camps

Hoedspruit, South Africa

Bordering on South Africa’s famed Kruger National Park is the Manyeleti Game Reserve, encompassing nearly a hundred square miles of wild bush, populated by all manner of game. It’s home to some humans as well, namely the Mnisi tribe, who own and manage the lands. And now it’s open to guests of the Honeyguide Tented Safari Camps, which are more or less exactly what the name would have you believe.

 
 
This is part 2 of 4 in our Grand Designs series, featuring hotels in Europe and Africa. See the whole series: Part 1: Asia and Oceania // Part 2: Europe and Africa // Part 3: USA and Canada // Part 4: Latin America.