Six superb treehouse hotels

published 11 November 2016

819-Nihiwatu-634 — Nihiwatu resort: luxury on stilts, with an ocean view

Indonesia

Nihiwatu is the best hotel in the world, according to Travel + Leisure. And there's no other place tipped in the magazine's awards that is quite so decadent as this sprawling resort on the beautiful Indonesian island of Sumba, says Jamie Feldman in The Huffington Post. And best of all is what the hotel calls its "three-villa treehouse", which sits on a cliff overlooking the Indian ocean.

Each of the three villas has its own living and bedroom area and the whole structure is connected by a bamboo bridge and adorned in "traditional Sumbanese carvings and decorations". At $6,000 a night it doesn't come cheap, but for that you get all your meals, a minibar and yoga and meditation classes.

See Nihiwatu.com

Subscribe to MoneyWeek

Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Get 6 issues free

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/mw70aro6gl1676370748.jpg

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Mexico

"Your childhood dreams have been answered," says Natalie Babic in the Daily Star. The Playa Viva treehouse hotel, on the beach at Juluchuca on Mexico's Pacific coast, is "awe-inspiring".

It is set amid swaying palms and has the ocean on its doorstep, and its lounge area has an "in-floor hammock" "you'll feel like you'rein heaven as you look out and take in the gorgeous views". The hotel has its own turtle sanctuary, where you can help out, and the surrounding area is known for its nature walks. "So, lace up your shoes and go for a stroll."

From £356 a night three nights minimum see PlayaViva.com

West Dorset

Technically, the Woodman's Treehouse isn't a treehouse, because it's built on stilts, but it is "the most luxurious wooden cabin imaginable", says Miranda Larbi in Metro. Tucked away in a forest, the ecofriendly cabin has a sauna and a pizza oven on the balcony. "It's even got an open air shower and hot tub, which look like they should be in the middle of the Amazon, not southern England." Open since August, the Woodman's Treehouse is so popular that owner and woodworker Guy Mallinson is considering building another one.

Around £840 for two nights in April Mallinson.co.uk

Finland

The Arctic TreeHouse Hotel in Lapland's Finnish capital, Rovaniemi, is new this winter and has 32 treehouse suites housed in cleverly designed wooden units, says Tim Bird in The Daily Telegraph. The rooms rest on short stilts and overlook a shallow valley with a clear view of the Northern Lights through their "panorama windows", which are a "stroke of design genius". The on-site restaurant, Rakas, is "very good". If you fancy a little pampering, the "secluded" lakeside Metskyly Arctic Forest Spa is 20 minutes away.

Double rooms from £410 in high season ArcticTreeHouseHotel.com

Germany

Germany has a surprisingly large number of baumhaushotels, as treehouse hotels are called here, says The Guardian. The Baumhaus Robins Nest in Witzenhausen, in the central west region, "is one of the more eye-catching", comprising three wooden treetop houses, a stilted cabin and a "geometrically pleasing tree ball' a triangular-panelled sphere suspended from the canopy". You can sleep four in the larger houses, while the cabin takes eight. It may in the grounds of a 15th-century castle, but the hanging rope bridges "give the place a feel of the Ewok forest from Star Wars".

From €150 for a two-person "tree ball", Robins-Nest.de

Dominica

Two "sprawling" villas atop the forest canopy on this small "unadulterated" Caribbean island became available to rent just last month, says Nikki Ekstein in Bloomberg Pursuits. Located at the "sumptuous" Secret Bay, the treehouses come with a "hammock sofa" on the deck and a fully equipped kitchen. You can arange for a chef to "whip up lobster thermidor on demand" or even for a one-man jazz band to perform on your patio.

From $1,040 a night SecretBay.dm

Five-star luxury at the South Pole

And the grub's top notch too, prepared by Justine Linday, who during the F1 season is to be found cooking for Lewis Hamilton. A day-trip by plane to the South Pole is included in the "room rate", and you can call in the emperor penguins. That's depending on the weather, of course. Blizzards can last for three days.

See white-desert.com

Chris Carter spent three glorious years reading English literature on the beautiful Welsh coast at Aberystwyth University. Graduating in 2005, he left for the University of York to specialise in Renaissance literature for his MA, before returning to his native Twickenham, in southwest London. He joined a Richmond-based recruitment company, where he worked with several clients, including the Queen’s bank, Coutts, as well as the super luxury, Dorchester-owned Coworth Park country house hotel, near Ascot in Berkshire.

Then, in 2011, Chris joined MoneyWeek. Initially working as part of the website production team, Chris soon rose to the lofty heights of wealth editor, overseeing MoneyWeek’s Spending It lifestyle section. Chris travels the globe in pursuit of his work, soaking up the local culture and sampling the very finest in cuisine, hotels and resorts for the magazine’s discerning readership. He also enjoys writing his fortnightly page on collectables, delving into the fascinating world of auctions and art, classic cars, coins, watches, wine and whisky investing.

You can follow Chris on Instagram.