Remote Hotels for When You Need to Disappear
By The Tranquil Traveller · Updated 3 September 2026
Places built where there is nothing else: a valley lodge in northern Iceland, a concrete house in the Utah desert, a canyon camp in Arabia, a boat-only bay in Vietnam, ten tents in the Namib. Chosen for how little you can hear.
5. Zannier Sonop
Namib Desert, Namibia
Sonop is ten canvas tents on stilts, built into a pile of granite boulders in the southern Namib with open desert running to the horizon in every direction. There is no light and no sound for miles, which makes the night sky extraordinary. Reaching it takes a five to six-hour drive from Windhoek or an 80-minute flight by chartered light aircraft. The tents are linked by raised walkways and set apart along the rocks for privacy, each fitted out in warm 1920s explorer style with hundreds of sourced antiques. The rate is all-inclusive, covering meals, drinks and daily guided outings by vehicle, on foot, on horseback or by camel, and the infinity pool looks straight out over the plain. Desert temperatures swing hard between day and night, and Sossusvlei and the other sights are a drive away.
Best for
A remote, romantic desert stay with dune drives, walking, horse or camel rides, stargazing and long afternoons by the pool. Suited to couples and small groups who want isolation and a strong sense of place.
- Location
- Namib Desert, Namibia
- Tranquility Index
- 92 / 100
Gallery
4. Six Senses Ninh Van Bay
Ninh Van Bay, Vietnam
Ninh Van Bay has no road into it. You reach the resort by a 20-minute speedboat from Nha Trang, and once you land the peninsula is yours: a crescent of golden sand, jungle hillside behind, and big rock formations along the shore. The 60 or so timber villas are spaced well apart among the trees and boulders, each with its own pool, built in a deliberately rustic style of timber and thatch. Because there is no town and no way out except the boat, the days close in around the beach, the pool, the spa above the water and the sea. Diving, kayaking and sailing are on offer from the arrival jetty for anyone who wants them. Bad weather can disrupt the transfers, some villas are reached by steep paths or buggy, and the wettest months run roughly October to December.
Best for
A secluded beach and nature stay with swimming, kayaking, diving, spa treatments and very little structure. Suited to couples and families who want to arrive and not move again for several days.
- Location
- Ninh Van Bay, Vietnam
- Tranquility Index
- 93 / 100
Gallery
3. Our Habitas AlUla
AlUla, Saudi Arabia
Our Habitas AlUla is set at the base of a box canyon in the Ashar Valley, its villas spread low along the sandstone and screened by walls that rise straight up behind them. Beyond the camp is open desert and palm groves, with no through traffic and some of the darkest skies you will find near a hotel. Getting there means a domestic flight to AlUla and a transfer. It is more of an experiential base than a do-nothing retreat, and fairly large for a tented camp at around 100 villas. Days run on guided hikes, cycling trails, yoga on the deck and celestial viewing with a local expert, with the Thuraya wellness centre and a pool for the hours in between. The Nabataean tombs of Hegra are a short drive away. AlUla, like the rest of Saudi Arabia, is alcohol-free, and summers are extreme.
Best for
Travellers using AlUla as a base for Hegra, the old town and the canyon landscape, who want striking design, guided hikes, yoga and stargazing rather than a hotel they never leave. Good for couples and small groups.
- Location
- AlUla, Saudi Arabia
- Tranquility Index
- 88 / 100
Gallery
2. Amangiri
Utah, United States
Amangiri is a low grey building in a protected valley at Canyon Point, southern Utah, its concrete dyed to match the sandstone so it barely reads against the cliffs. There are only 34 suites, no other development in the valley, and little to hear but wind. The nearest airport is Page, Arizona, about 25 minutes away; the nearest city is hours. The central pool curves around a natural rock escarpment, and the Aman Spa has water pavilions, a floatation pool and an open-air hot tub for stargazing. Rates include daily guided hikes straight into the desert, and the surrounding Grand Circle of national parks and slot canyons is yours to drive to. It is among the most expensive resorts in the country and books out months ahead.
Best for
A quiet, design-led desert escape with hiking, stargazing and long spa afternoons, and a base for the surrounding national parks and slot canyons. Suited to couples and families who want seclusion and space and are comfortable with a remote location.
- Location
- Utah, United States
- Tranquility Index
- 93 / 100
Gallery
1. Eleven Deplar Farm
Skagafjörður, Iceland
Deplar Farm sits alone on the floor of the Fljot Valley on Iceland's Troll Peninsula, a former sheep farm rebuilt with turf roofs and full-height glass. Mountains rise straight from the fields on either side, the sea closes off one end, and there is no other building in sight and no town within reach. You arrive by a domestic flight to Akureyri and a drive of around 90 minutes, or by charter. The quiet is the point, but it is an active place: heli-skiing and ski touring in spring, fly fishing, hiking, riding and sea kayaking in summer, all guided and included. The still centre is a 5,000-square-foot spa with a geothermal pool that runs from indoors out under the open sky, two floatation tanks, sauna and steam, and rituals of heat and Arctic plunges. In winter the northern lights do the rest.
Best for
Active trips where the reward is deep quiet at the end of the day: heli-skiing, ski touring, fly fishing, hiking, riding and sea kayaking, all guided and included. Well suited to couples, families and groups taking the whole lodge, who want adventure and a serious spa in one remote place.
- Location
- Skagafjörður, Iceland
- Tranquility Index
- 96 / 100
Gallery
How we choose
We looked for genuine remoteness rather than the feeling of it: no passing traffic, no neighbouring development, no town within easy reach, and a journey that takes real effort. We favoured small properties, or larger ones with enough land to absorb their guests, and places where the landscape does the work, from lava fields to canyon walls. Every hotel here is researched in depth from published reviews and the property's own material, and none has paid to appear.
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