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Dreamy desert hotels

By Globalista

There’s nothing more magical, more otherworldly than the desert. Whether you choose Oman, the Middle East destination du jour or Utah in the US, the vast expanse of sands you’ll find are the perfect places to escape. You can be adventurous with activities like sand boarding or quad biking, visit temples and canyons or simply relax by the pool. Here, we round up some of the finest desert hotels.

Isrotel Beresheet Hotel, Israel

If you’re planning a trip to the desert, it might be worth considering the Isrotel Beresheet Hotel. We’ve heard back from our trusty travel source and the word is that this place is out-of-this world - if for nothing else, than its spectacular setting on the edge of the Ramon Crater in Israel. A one hour flight from Tel Aviv (you can choose to arrive at the hotel by helicopter if you wish) or a two hour drive through scenic desert, the crater is the largest of three Negev craters which has unique geological formations.

Apparently locals were worried that the hotel, which opened earlier this year and is in the area’s only town, Mitzpe Ramon, would ruin the landscape but by all accounts the architects have done a good job. Influenced by the local Bedouins, walls are a sandy colour, floors are marble and furniture is rustic, incorporating bamboo, rattan and wood. Patio doors open onto terraces right on the edge of the desert, with a private pool that doubles up as a jacuzzi. Glass walls in the restaurant mean that you can also enjoy the panorama while you’re tucking into Arabian inspired dishes at dinner. Expect the typical desert activities and adventures: jeep tours, camel rides, hiking, hot-air balloons and much more.

Read the Globalista Tel Aviv mini-guide here

www.isrotelexclusivecollection.co.uk

Desert Nights Camp, Wahiba Sands, Oman

Only a two hour drive from Muscat, the Desert Nights Camp in Wahiba Sands offers 30 Bedouin-style tents with en-suite bathrooms spread across 10 acres of sands in the middle of the desert. On arrival, you can relax in Omani styled majlis and drink refreshing ‘khawa,’ the traditional Arabic coffee. There are sunset camel rides, exhilarating dune bashing, sand boarding quad biking and visits to local forts and other sights on offer. After a day of activities, return to camp where you can dine inside or outside under the stars or around a camp fire. If you’re feeling adventurous, try ‘Shuwa’ meat which is a delicacy, or a traditional Omani lamb barbecue.

Read the Globalista Oman report here

www.omanhotels.com/desertnightscamp

Amangiri hotel, Utah, US

Built from sand-colour concrete, the Amangiri complex of low buildings are so aesthetically fine-tuned to their surroundings they look as though they’ve been carved from the rock themselves. The main hub of the hotel is a huge room incorporating a reception, an open plan kitchen and restaurant, a library, numerous log-fires and squashy leather sofas in which to enjoy them. Even as you’re being checked in, it’s hard not to marvel at the view. A glass wall looks out to the jagged line of Canyon Point while opposite, doors open onto a pool built around a rock that looks like the head of a dinosaur dipping for a drink. In the summer, this terrace offers a reprieve from the blistering sun.

Built into every suite are private courtyards with ‘fire-pits’ where you can eat, or just lie back and watch the sky with its superb sunsets. Bathrooms are open-plan with oversize tubs set beneath rarefied views. The spa’s high smooth concrete walls and sage burning fires all induce a feeling of lazy calm. Utah appears to have an unfair monopoly on North America’s parks, canyons and national monuments. You can take one hour hikes with a local geologist or full day trips to the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park. There’s also rock climbing and tours through the private slot canyons of Navajo land, where prehistoric sea animals are fossilised into the narrow walls and lit by shafts of refracted light. Or just relax by the pool. The really exciting thing about Amangiri is that it offers everything.

Read a full review of the Amangiri and a detailed guide to the National Parks here
For a fascinating history of the creation of the hotel, read Bella Pollen's article here

www.amanresorts.com/amangiri

Adrere Amellal, Siwa in Egypt

This desert eco lodge is 16km outside the town of Siwa, which is on the edge of the Great Sand Sea in Egypt. Made from mud bricks, built into the side of a sandstone mountain with windows opening onto a shimmering lake, there’s no electricity, no TV and no sockets to charge phones: this is a place of wild beauty to really get away from it all. Each of the 40 rooms is unique and lit by candles at night. There’s a pool in the palm groves for relaxing and a resident masseuse.

Daily excursions could include a trip into Siwa to the local markets and take in the Shali, the ruined citadel, the Tenple of the Oracle or Gebal al-Mawta, the Mountain of the Dead.  You can also see vast sand dunes and go horse riding. Food is mainly organic, either grown in the hotel grounds or sourced locally. Every evening dinner is served somewhere different but equally gorgeous, from a roof terrace to a grotto studded with salt crystals and candles. Then, make your way back to your rooms by hundred of lanterns which line the paths, twinkling into the night.

www.adrereamallal.net