Places to stay Explore our selections for desert.
K5
HotelAsia, Japan
From $457
K5 is a 20-room hotel in Nihonbashi Kabutocho, Tokyo’s original financial district, set in a 1923 neoclassical building that once served as an annex to Japan’s first bank. Stockholm-based Claesson Koivisto Rune led the conversion, leaving the concrete structure exposed and pairing it with parquet floors, washi lamps, Kvadrat textiles and furniture designed specifically for the hotel. Most rooms measure around 40 square meters, with high ceilings, large windows and a central column veiled in indigo fabric. Downstairs, Caveman serves Nordic-Japanese cooking from the team behind Kabi, Switch Coffee doubles as a plant shop, Ao mixes tea-based cocktails in a red library, and the basement holds Brooklyn Brewery’s first beer hall outside New York.
The Ritz-Carlton Rancho Mirage
HotelNorth America, United States
From $698
The Ritz-Carlton, Rancho Mirage sits on a cliff above the Coachella Valley in southern California, a short drive from Palm Springs, with wide views across the desert floor. Its 244 rooms start at 450 square feet, and several suites include a full kitchen. The resort has two outdoor pools with cabanas and poolside bars, a sauna and a 24-hour gym. The Ritz-Carlton Spa has 15 treatment rooms, including suites for couples and outdoor treatment areas. Restaurants focus on California cuisine, and complimentary bicycles and fitness classes are available for guests. Palm Springs International Airport is about eight kilometres away, which makes the resort an easy weekend escape from Los Angeles.
Shipwreck Lodge
VillaAfrica
From $1,850
Shipwreck Lodge is the only lodge inside Namibia's Skeleton Coast National Park, the least visited of the country's parks, set among the dunes between the Hoanib and Hoarusib river mouths. Its ten cabins were designed by architect Nina Maritz to look like the wrecked ships scattered along this coastline, and they run on solar power. The coast is cool and often foggy, shaped by the cold Benguela current of the Atlantic. Days include drives along the shore to the wrecks of the Suiderkus and Karimona, game drives into the dry riverbeds to track desert-adapted elephants, and walks and sundowners on the beach. Despite the harsh landscape, the area is home to oryx, springbok, giraffe, Cape fur seals and, occasionally, lions.
Aluna Dakhla
HotelAfrica, Morocco
From $260
Aluna Dakhla is a 24-room beachfront hotel on the Dakhla peninsula, in Morocco's far south, where the desert meets a long, shallow lagoon about 30 kilometres from town. The lagoon's steady wind and flat water have made it one of the best-known kitesurfing spots in the world, and the hotel sits right on the shore. Days revolve around the water, with kitesurfing, windsurfing, sailing and water skiing, followed by spa treatments and long dinners on the terrace. Breakfast is cooked to order each morning, and the restaurant focuses on fresh seafood from the coast. In the evenings, the sun sets directly over the lagoon, and the nights turn cool enough for a fire.
Al Moudira
HotelAfrica, Egypt
From $330
Al Moudira is a 54-room hotel on the west bank of the Nile in Luxor, set between desert and farmland, about four kilometres from the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens and the Temple of Hatshepsut. Although it was built in 2001, it looks centuries old, with Moorish arches, domes and courtyards decorated with arabesque details. Each room is individually designed, with stone, tile, gold leaf and antique furniture. Life revolves around the central courtyard and the palm-filled gardens, with a pool, Turkish baths and four restaurants. The hotel holds two Michelin Keys. Its seclusion is part of the appeal, and the east bank of Luxor is reached by car or by the ferries that cross the Nile throughout the day.
Our Habitas AlUla
HotelAsia, Saudi Arabia
From $470
Our Habitas AlUla feels almost unreal, spread through the monumental sandstone canyons of Ashar Valley with 96 low-slung villas that seem to disappear into the desert. The cliffs rise around the resort like natural walls, catching the light differently from morning to sunset, while the infinity pool sits directly beneath them in one of the most dramatic hotel settings in Saudi Arabia. Days unfold between cycling through the valley, yoga, stargazing, Desert X installations and excursions to Hegra, before returning for dinner at Tama under the sky.
Desert Rock
HotelAsia, Saudi Arabia
From $2,400
Desert Rock is built directly into the ancient granite formations of Saudi Arabia’s Hejaz Mountains, turning the landscape itself into part of the architecture. Its 64 keys — 54 villas and 10 suites — range from valley retreats to cliff-hanging villas and cave suites carved into the rock, all with private pools and wide desert views. The resort sits around 20 minutes from Red Sea International Airport and balances the drama of its setting with a spa, several restaurants and guided mountain experiences such as hiking and via ferrata.
Adrère Amellal
HotelAfrica, Egypt
From $490
Adrère Amellal rises from the edge of Siwa like part of the desert itself, built almost entirely from kershef — the local mixture of salt, clay and straw — beneath the White Mountain and overlooking the oasis and salt lake. Its 40 hand-built rooms are deliberately elemental, with palm-trunk ceilings, Siwan rugs, salt beds and tiny shuttered windows, and there is famously no conventional electric lighting: after dark, beeswax candles and lanterns take over. Meals use produce from the lodge’s organic gardens and are served in different corners of the property each day, while a natural spring feeds the palm-shaded swimming pool and excursions head into the Great Sand Sea, ancient temples and Siwa’s springs.
Longitute 131°
HotelOceania, Australia
From $2,200
Longitude 131° sits among the red dunes facing Uluru, with a collection of luxury tented pavilions positioned so the monolith is visible directly from the bed. Floor-to-ceiling glass keeps the desert constantly in frame, while First Nations art and guided experiences introduce the cultural significance of Uluru-Kata Tjuta beyond its visual impact. Few hotels have a setting this recognisable, and fewer still allow you to wake up with one of Australia’s great natural landmarks directly outside the window.
