Design With a Sense of Humor

The Character-Filled Homes Worldwide Redefining Luxury Travel | ThirdHome

As travelers trade polished minimalism for spaces with character, ThirdHome offers access to private residences where personality, storytelling, and unexpected design details take center stage. From a Joshua Tree villa with a butterfly roof that seems to hover over the desert to a Costa Rican beachfront estate built around sugar cane farm tours and indigenous village visits, these homes make luxury feel less like checking into a polished backdrop and more like stepping into the character of the destination itself.

The Hotel That Feels Like Home | Cape Town

Set within the former Cape Edwardian residence of Sir John Ellerman, located on the slopes of Bantry Bay in Cape Town, Ellerman House maintains the character of a private home. With just 13 rooms and suites and two private villas, shared sitting rooms opening onto shaded verandas and Atlantic-facing lawns, a library centered around a cozy fireplace, and a complimentary 24-hour pantry stocked with late-night treats, the house has a warm, residential feel. One of South Africa’s most significant private art collections is woven throughout the hotel, with more than 1,000 works turning its hallways, sitting rooms, and shared spaces into a personal introduction to South African art.

A Dorset Farm Mismatched by Design | Louma Country Hotel

At Louma Country Hotel, no two rooms play by the same rules. Dusty-rose farmhouse suites sit alongside butter-yellow shepherd’s huts with wood-burning stoves, while converted stables lean earthy and warm, with wood-paneled walls, lofty ceilings, and a private wood-fired hot tub. Set across a sprawling Dorset farmland, the estate treats every building singularly, showcasing that design-forward doesn’t always mean minimalist.

Where Swiss Design Meets Lakeside Luxury | Hotel Eden Roc

Carlo Rampazzi, the leading creative force behind the interior design of The Tschuggen Collection, redefined Hotel Eden Roc‘s identity through a series of renovations completed just last year. Set along the shores of Lake Maggiore in Ascona, Switzerland, the hotel was infused with a new sense of lightness and zest, where colorful furnishings, airy fabrics, and natural materials complement the hotel’s Mediterranean flair. Extensive glasswork opens the interiors to sweeping natural light, while vibrant palettes and elegant architecture bring renewed character to the lobby, rooms, and suites.

Hotel Indigo Bali Seminyak Beach | Design & Personality

As guests enter the lobby at Hotel Indigo Bali Seminyak Beach they will find a deliberate mismatch of colorful chairs, a nod to Banjar village gatherings where neighbors would bring their own chairs to meet one another. The properties design concept throughout is infused with local stories including The Tree Bar, which wraps around a sacred Pohon Pole tree sourced from Sanur, and guest bathrooms feature golden basins inspired by purification rituals from the ancient Camplung Tanduk Temple. Every unconventional detail traces back to something real, which turns a stay here into living inside centuries of culture.

A Coastal Retreat Inspired by the Sea | W Algarve

Perched atop southern Portugal’s golden cliffs in the coastal town of Albufeira, W Algarve’s architecture and interiors draw on its seaside surroundings. The building itself nods to the ocean, with its form echoing the open mouth of a whale, and upon entering, guests feel like they have entered the famed Benagil caves through a narrowing pathway that mimics the their shape. Across the property, thoughtful details like seashell-inspired seating, holographic fish scales and sardine-shaped pillows, create a sense of immersion beneath the waves.

Design Rooted in Place | Violino d’Oro

Every corner of Violino d’Oro tells the story of an Italian maker. Rubelli handcrafts the fabrics, Venini creates the Murano glass chandeliers, generations of the Asin family craft the original Venetian seminato floors, and furniture, glass, and tableware are crafted between Venice and Tuscany. Together, these details give the hotel its distinct personality while celebrating the people and craftsmanship that define Italy.

Permission to Play

Playful Luxury in the Alps | Burg Hotel Lech

Perched in Oberlech above the ski resort village of Lech, Austria, for three generations, the Burg Hotel emphasizes the joy of celebration as part of its DNA. Think mountain-hut dinners lit by campfire, a “party hard” ethos within its house culture, and an events calendar encouraging guests to dance like nobody’s watching and breakaway from their everyday lives. Its five-star luxury comes wrapped in playfulness, from old-school butler service to a forest wrapped swimming pool straight out of a childhood fantasy. The Burg offers alpine luxury that remembers what it felt like to have fun on vacation, not just relax on one.

Grown-Up Recess on Grace Bay | The Reserve at Grace Bay by Beach Enclave

At The Reserve, a day can be spent moving from one game to the next with on-site resort amenities. Guests can play tennis, paddle, pickleball, and beach volleyball, or putt around the property’s golf green before heading back to a private villa pool. Set across five acres of Grace Bay beachfront, The Reserve is proof that even the most exclusive stays leave room for play.

Sleeping Under Canvas in the Serengeti | Singita Explore, Grumeti, Tanzania

Deep in the wilderness of Singita Grumeti, Singita Explore is a private, stripped-back tented camp guided by the landscape and the simple rhythms of the Serengeti. Custom canvas tents, bucket showers, and evenings lit by lanterns bring a nostalgic sense of adventure to the safari experience, with game drives following the movement of the herds and a private chef and dedicated team looking after guests throughout their stay.

Rediscovering the Magic of a Night Outdoors in Zambia | Time and Tide
Long before screens and schedules, adventure meant sleeping beneath a sky full of stars. Time + Tide Safaris’ Sleepout Under the Stars rediscovers this longing of being truly immersed in nature with a private overnight experience set in a secluded dry riverbed in South Luangwa National Park or high on the escarpment in the Lower Zambezi. Evenings unfold with sunset drinks by the fire, stories shared with your guide, and a chef-prepared three-course dinner before a night beneath the African sky.

Food as Joy

Boscia’s Subterranean Dining Journey Beneath the Kalahari Sands | Kalahari, South Africa | Tswalu
Opening in mid-August 2026 at Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, Boscia turns dinner into a hidden-world experience, inviting guests to descend beneath the Kalahari sands through a helical staircase before emerging in an underground dining room carved into the landscape. Chef Luke Dale Roberts pairs the theatrical descent with a four-course regionally sourced menu, sensory hand-washing ritual, and tableware handcrafted by Southern African artisans, creating a transportive journey that feels part dinner, part discovery and entirely of the Kalahari.

Picnic Your Way Through the Cape Winelands | Spier Hotel and Wine Farm, Stellenbosch, South Africa

At Spier Wine Farm’s newly redesigned Picnickery, guests can pre-book a curated picnic or build their own from a deli counter filled with farm cheeses, charcuterie, house-made dips, slow-fermented breads, and something sweet, while roosterbrood cooks over an open fire. Once the basket is packed, guests can grab a bottle of Spier wine and head beneath the ancient oaks of the Werf or down to the grassy banks of the Eerste River for a playful take on eating your way through the Cape Winelands.

Flavors Rooted in Place: Krabi Thailand | Phulay Bay

Chef Laongdao “Aong” Tohkhot has spent more than 20 years at Phulay Bay, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve. This summer, she opened up her own footsteps for guests to follow. A local guide leads the way through a single day in her world: sourcing ingredients at a market, grinding chili paste by hand alongside Khun Matee, 70, then landing seaside to prepare Hor Mok, a steamed fish curry wrapped in banana leaves, straight off the coals.

Romance & Whimsy

Baros, Maldives | Romance & Whimsy

Baros has been named the World’s Most Romantic Resort for ten years running, and it shows in the little details that turn romance into a fairytale. Couples sail into the sunset aboard the traditional Nooma Love Boat, share a candlelit dinner under a blanket of stars, then say their vows all over again on a private sandbank in the middle of the ocean.

Quiet Joy & Slow Luxury

Simple Pleasures on Lake Garda | Italy

As “whimsy” shifts luxury away from perfection and toward feel-good experiences, Cape of Senses continues to embrace the beauty of simple pleasures. New experiences like the Golden Hour Picnic encourage guests to follow the light instead of a schedule, creating unhurried moments that celebrate seasonal flavors, scenic landscapes, and the simple joy of slowing down.

A Quiet Kind of Presence | Thailand | Chiva-Som Hua Hin

Phones stay out of communal spaces entirely, and most guests naturally stop reaching for theirs after a day or two. What replaces the habit is small at first: a lemongrass tea on arrival, a walk beneath the resort’s banyan tree, then something larger. Attention returns, especially for travelers arriving depleted by burnout and screen fatigue, looking less for a detox rule than a way back to their own presence.

Cinematic Escapism

Where the Hills are Alive with the Sound of a Medical Spa | Oberau, Austria

Not far from Salzburg, in the same Austrian Alps that framed The Sound of Music, Mount Med Resort occupies an 850-year-old former monastic tithe barn, now reborn as a medical retreat in a quiet alpine village. Programs are built around personal data and guided by doctors, with spa facilities on hand for the hours in between. Guests trade choir practice for a different kind of discipline: breathwork sessions built around nasal breathing, forest bathing walks through the surrounding Alps, and a curriculum built for clarity instead of a chorus.

An Eat, Pray, Love Experience in the heart of Ubud | Mandapa, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve

Individuals seeking a first-hand Eat, Pray, Love experience amongst a backdrop of rice terraces will find Mandapa, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Ubud, Bali, to be an ideal sanctuary. Set where the lush jungle meets the Ayung River, guests can immerse in the surrounding nature, wander Ubud’s local markets that inspired the inclusion of Bali in Eat, Pray, Love, visit the Tirta Empul Temple Holy Spring, and continue their journey through the resort’s exclusive Disconnect to Reconnect Journey, featuring energy alignment, blind healers, vibrational sound therapy, and other holistic practices for finding inner peace.

Storybook Stays

A Storybook Safari Above the Wild | Botswana

At Natural Selection’s Tuludi, travelers can step into a storybook-inspired safari escape set among Botswana’s wild landscapes. The camp’s seven suites sit beneath towering leadwood trees, while the treetop library offers a playful retreat above the wilderness, complete with a slide connecting the elevated space to the deck below. This unexpected touch of play brings a sense of childhood wonder to a sophisticated safari escape.

An Island Built for Storytelling | Fregate Island

Spanning 200 hectares, Fregate Island feels less like a resort and more like the setting of a storybook. Guests can spend their days discovering seven secluded beaches, wandering beneath banyan forests, and meeting the island’s resident characters – over 3,000 Aldabra giant tortoises. Unexpected experiences, from treasure hunts and treehouse dinners to a private art gallery and museum create a stay that unfolds like its own adventure.

Extraordinary Escapes Curated by Untamed Travelling

As a luxury travel company that curates tailor-made journeys across the globe, Untamed Travelling works with local experts in each destination with access to some of the world’s most surreal accommodations and experiences. Among its dreamlike escapes is the Pristine Salinas Grandes Luxury Camp in Argentina, where guests sleep in geodesic domes rise from the vast salt flats, with sweeping views of Lake Argentino, the steppe plains, and the Patagonian Andes. In northern Sweden, the iconic Treehotel invites travelers to spend the night in imaginative treehouses, like a real UFO, a giant bird’s nest, or a mirrored cube that seemingly disappears into the forest.