EXPERIENTIAL TRAVEL is on the rise. The luxury hospitality market has risen 4% this year to €242 billion, according to Bain & Company, with wellness-driven retreats and safari resorts being extremely popular. While UHNIs with more than $30 million in assets prefer quiet luxury with personalised services, targeting remote, private destinations, those with up to $30 million in assets will want local ambience and tranquility, says a survey by McKinsey & Co. A look at some of the resorts that best epitomise luxury travel in 2025 and beyond.

ARTISTIC VILLAS@THE SEYCHELLES

In the heart of the Indian Ocean, The Seychelles casts its own spell with vibrant jungles, pristine white-sand beaches, and crystal-clear waters. And offering the perfect French joie de vivre is the Maison Cheval Blanc Seychelles (the brand’s first in Africa, the newest property in LVMH Hotel Management’s portfolio), which opened in December. No wonder, it’s hosted the likes of Britain’s Prince William and Princess Kate, and tennis legend Roger Federer.

The 52 villas that curl around the Anse Intendance beach on Mahé Island, designed by architect Jean-Michel Gathy, are spacious, modern and follow the geometric lines of local Creole architecture, offering uninterrupted views of the ocean. Each villa is adorned by a textile artwork by Malagasy artist Joël Andrianomearisoa.

Dining options are aplenty — from vibrant Italian Vivamento to Sula, for Creole specialities to the Japanese Mizumi, to French gastronomic haven Le 1947 (named after the most precious vintage of Chateau Cheval Blanc).

The spa, with its six treatment rooms is in collaboration with Guerlain, offers tailor-made treatments after a special skin diagnosis. Signature treatments include a 90-minute face and body massage using warm shells and a 120-minute sound-bath infused drainage massage.

Price: From $2,000 (approx. for the Jungle Villa) to $20,000 (approx. for a week at the Hill Villa).

SECLUSION IN THE SOUTH OF FRANCE

The Cap d’Antibes, once the playing grounds for the likes of Pablo Picasso and F. Scott Fitzgerald, is the ultimate symbol of French Riviera decadence. It’s the perfect setting for the Provençal-style Villa La Guettière, built in the 1970s, and close to the picturesque Port de l’Olivette, that offers privacy — from discreet butlers to high security — facing the azure Mediterranean sea.

The residence is split between a two-level six-bedroom main house and a three-bedroom guest house, totalling 6,500 sq. m on a private estate. Interiors sport modern, warm touches in wood and rattan, and linen in beige and sage green with pops of colour.

Creature comforts entice — from a heated infinity pool, a gym, spa with hammam, a shaded outdoor terrace on which to sip a rare wine (from the villa’s private cellar, natch), to a 12-seat private cinema, and a private chef. From pizzas (in an outdoor oven) to barbecue, to fine dining, chefs can prepare the cuisine of choice, on demand, using local produce. Hold a dinner party for 20 guests, or a cocktail for 50!

Price: €64,000 per night.

LUXURY AMIDST THE AUSTRIAN ALPS

When design-conscious couple Maria and Tom Heidenreich relocated to the placid calm of Mühlbach am Hochkönig village, in Austria, they wanted to build something of their own, shaped by a sensibility for design, atmosphere, and thoughtful hospitality. Six years of hard work paid off — this June they opened the doors to their six-suite boutique property, Stieg’nhaus, that radiates an understated elegance, with high-quality materials, personalised service, and a sense of intimacy and privacy.

“Stieg’nhaus was shaped by the idea of presence and purpose. We wanted to create a place that feels calm, intentional, and inspiring — for ourselves and for others,” say Maria and Tom. Named after the original stiege (spiral staircase) in the original house from the 1990s, wood, stone, linen, oak floors, and luxury bed linen thrive.

Each suite has a freestanding soaking tub, Gessi fittings, Copenhagen-based skincare, and Dyson styling tools. From an à la carte restaurant, to Feuerring (cooking over an open fire), to cold plunge and sauna and a spa with Omorovicza products, it’s the perfect de-stress, with hiking, biking, and skiing, all nearby.

Price: €900 (approx.) per night.

Exploring the Zambezi River

Named after famous explorer Sir David Livingstone, The Royal Livingstone Victoria Falls Zambia Hotel by Anantara immerses guests with its raw African beauty, perched on a forest bank along the Zambezi river, overlooking the majestic Victoria Falls.

An hour-and-forty minute flight from Johannesburg to the Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula International Aiport in Zambia, and a 25-minute drive transports you to the Royal Livingstone Victoria Hotel, with its 169 luxury guest rooms and four 63 sq. m expansive suites. Their interiors merge colonial furnishings with African tribal warmth, and the 88 sq. m Presidential suite, with its stunning verandah, has been home to royals, and heads of state.

Sip a single malt amidst books, maps, and paintings by David Livingstone, while live piano music plays. Book a ride on a refurbished vintage train that chugs along on a thrilling African safari through the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park, while you partake of a five-course gourmet meal, or swim, if you dare, in the world-famous ‘Devil’s Pool’, on the edge of a 350-ft drop into the gushing, spraying Victoria Falls.

But the most rewarding is the sighting of wild rhino, buffaloes, and elephants on safaris in 4x4 vehicles, or birds from a boat on the Zambezi, while the sportier folk go for angling tiger fish, white-water rafting, jet boating or quad-bike riding though the terrain. Or hop over to Livingstone town, and take in the local museum devoted to archaeology and natural history, and the Railway Museum for locomotive junkies.

Price: $4,000 (approx.) for the suite.

An imperial jewel in Kyoto

Opening its doors in Spring 2026, and accepting reservations this autumn, this is set to be one of Japan’s most prestigious, landmark hotels. Housed in the culturally rich Yasaka Kaikan, which dates back to 1936, this 55-room boutique hotel is built on the principles of preservation, extension, and renovation, led by Obayashi Corp., who built the original building 90 years ago.

The interiors reflect Kyoto’s traditions, such as the Mingei Folk Art movement, with Japanese marble, Oya (volcanic) stone, and Tamina-ishi (a special stone from a nearby island). What’s truly Japanese is the use of the Tatami mat on the floor, a first for Imperial hotels. New guestrooms, including the 193 sq. m Imperial Suite with its rooftop gazebo, overlook the Gion Kobu Kaburenjo theatre with original pillars of the cultural centre.

Price: To be announced.

Island escape in the lap of nature

Move over, Maldives, it’s time for complete seclusion in a villa, along one of the world’s most breathtaking coastlines — in the Turks & Caicos, southeast of the Bahamas. Looking out at the turquoise waters of the North West Marine National Park, Amanyara’s 20 villas (two to six bedrooms; it also has 36 ‘pavilions’ or rooms) offer the kind of privacy and personal service (via butlers and private chefs), that travellers seek today.

With each villa having direct ocean access, a black infinity pool and a hardwood deck, plan your day to kitesurf, paddleboard or kayak along the coast. The 580 sq. m six-bedroom Beach Sala Villas — with their high ceiling, all-wood, and a purely ‘Aman’ design, offer a private beach and outdoor showers with postcard-perfect views.

One of the highlights is a three-day detox programme by Aman wellness ambassador and tennis legend Novak Djokovic, that starts with a signature Swedish massage, followed by pilates, water shiatsu, and sunrise vinyasa yoga on day two, and sound bath on day three.

Enjoy Asian and Caribbean cuisine at your villa, after a day out kayaking at the remote Frenchman’s Creek Nature Reserve, or scuba diving. Take a fishing trip for blue marlin or tuna, or just a pleasure trip on a private yacht to discover secret beaches.

Price: $3,000 (approx.) for a villa.

Rejuvenation, jungle style

In a dense forest just a couple of hours from Nagpur, India, sits the Bamboo Forest Safari Lodge Tadoba, part of Siddhayu Wellness Ayurveda from the House of Baidyanath, generational experts in the ancient science of Ayurveda. With its stone walkways connecting individual wooden-floored cottages, and interiors replete with animal-print décor, wooden wildlife sculptures and photographs, the jungle theme resonates in every corner of this resort.

Baidyanath products, from Ashwagandha to Shilajit to special oils, and health supplement chyawanprash abound, and their Ayurvedic meridien point massage and reflexology treatments, focussed on the Vata, Pitta, and Kapha analyses of each guest’s constitution, offers the kind of deep healing, that only comes after a restful sleep. A high tea with dhokla and tea cakes, is followed by a night ritual of ‘Sankalpam’ led by Anoopama Mukherjee Lohana, wellness director of Siddhayu Wellness, where guests sit around mats in a circle, share their life stories, and partake in breathing exercises. Dinner follows an Ayurvedic menu such as lauki palak kofta, baby potatoes with salted curry leaves, and kheer in sugarcane juice.

The next day, Nitin Awasthi diagnoses health issues based on Nadi Pariksha (pulse diagnosis) and prescribes Ayurvedic medicines and exercises.

A second stay can be at the luxurious Bamboo Forest Nature Conservancy and Healing Forest, Gothangaon, that features a large wooden cottage with a four poster bed, followed by a 90-minute ayurvedic massage, and sound healing led by Anoopama. The next day, she takes guests to a ‘rock’ temple deep inside the Gothangaon forest, where guests sit around in a circle and chant a mantra of their choice, and experience true healing.

Price: ₹90,000 (Bungalows, at Tadoba); ₹45,000 (Nests, at Gothangaon), exclusive of GST.