Maybe it was Disney World that once sparked the ultimate in childlike wonder, that feeling of “I can’t believe this place is real.” And who says you can’t have that feeling as a grown-up too? Only this time around, skip the lines and the junk food and instead experience it all with the comforts and perks of a luxury retreat.
At the Anantara resort in Thailand’s remote Golden Triangle region, guests can choose to stay in the wildly surreal Jungle Bubbles complex. Each room is enclosed by a transparent dome and built upon a wooden deck that looks out over thick green foliage and visiting elephants. Just outside of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, on the slope of an ancient inactive volcano, the walls of the modernist Casa Etérea, made entirely of mirrored glass, both blend in with and reflect its natural desert landscape. It’s a place to disconnect, take long baths in the massive copper tub handmade by artisans in Michoacán, and contemplate the stars.
Old-fashioned sleeper trains often loom large in the imagination of children’s fantasy trips (like a ride on the Hogwarts Express). Belmond’s legendary Venice Simplon-Orient-Express is decidedly the opulent adult version. The restored midnight-blue 1920s and ’30s carriages traverse the snowcapped Alps from Amsterdam to Innsbruck, Austria. For those who want that old-world train experience without chugging along, book one of the ornate Bill Bensley–designed upcycled carriage suites at the InterContinental Khao Yai Resort, located near the UNESCO World Heritage–listed Khao Yai National Park in Thailand.
There is nothing quite like approaching a far-flung port by ship to fuel the anticipation of discovery. Silversea Cruises runs a program called S.A.L.T., which stands for Sea and Land Taste, an ever-evolving program of culinary adventures. It snagged the award-winning food writer Adam Sachs to come up with the most extraordinary experiences, from an excursion with a master forager in the Puglia region of Italy to a meal cooked over fire by risingstar chef Rawlston Williams at a stone sugar mill on the island of Bequia in the Grenadines.
You can’t get more dreamy than a night spent perched up in the trees. It seems that even the most glamorous resorts (Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur was a pioneering example) have added a luxury treehouse suite or two. Treehotel in Swedish Lapland, which currently has eight “tree rooms,” is one of the most exceptional examples. The latest to open, designed by the celebrity architect Bjarke Ingels of BIG, is adorned with 350 birdhouses. Not quite as Seussian but every bit as romantic are the tree houses nestled in the palms at the bohemian Acre Resort in San José del Cabo, Mexico.
This article was originally featured in the February 2023 Issue of Harper’s Bazaar
