We’ve written extensively about the lengths to which Arnaud Zannier goes to ensure that places like Omaanda and Phum Baitang are not just flawless small-scale luxury hotels but fully immersive experiences, and venues for creating the kinds of unforgettable memories that travel, at its best, is all about. Zannier Hotels Bãi San Hô is another extraordinary addition to the family, set on 240 acres alongside a powder-white beach on a secluded peninsula in Vietnam’s seaside province of Phu Yen.
It would be misleading to claim that Omaanda, with its privileged access to Namibia’s N/a’an Ku Sê wildlife sanctuary, is more luxurious than its sister hotel, Sonop, in the Namib Desert. Both scale such dizzying heights that the experience is impossible to quantify. What’s fair to say, though, is that Omaanda’s huts are a bit more substantial than Sonop’s canvas tents — and that if it’s a classic high-end safari experience you’re after, Omaanda is the place.
Once upon a time, Siem Reap was a village. A village strategically positioned as the gateway to Angkor Wat, the largest religious monument in the world, mind you, but a village nonetheless, a far cry from the bustling resort destination it is today. So it makes sense that one new hotel, the 45-villa Phum Baitang, would aim to recreate the simple charm of village life, set just outside of town, slightly apart from Siem Reap’s many, many hotels, espresso bars, and fusion restaurants.
Checking into Zannier Hotels Le Chalet feels like a special occasion. It’s not just that this exclusive hotel, located in the French Alps, just outside the village of Megève, is a paragon of modern elegance and first-class service. It’s also that, with just twelve rooms, it’s a scarce resource — Zannier Hotels Le Chalet is often booked in its entirety by families or groups, so you’ll have to plan ahead.
There are deserts, and there are deserts — and the Namib, if you follow our meaning, is the latter. This landscape is like nothing else on the planet, and Sonop Lodge places as little as possible between you and that picturesque desert — as well as the leopards, hyenas, jackals, and foxes that you’ll be sharing it with.