Some hotels are remembered for their service (and many will re-book a hotel for the service alone). These five, however, are remembered for their architecture and the journeys it takes to reach them. Each treats design as the main attraction, from a resort that borrows its shape from a desert canyon to a villa that has stood on Lake Como since the 1780s. For these extraordinary places, getting there via private jet, seaplane or yacht is a part of the experience.
Amangiri, Utah: Architecture That Belongs to the Desert
Amangiri opened in 2009 at Canyon Point, near the Utah and Arizona border. Its 34 suites are the work of Marwan Al-Sayed and Rick Joy, together with Wendell Burnette. The low pavilions are poured from concrete mixed with local sand, which helps them match the surrounding rock, and the swimming pool wraps around a towering stone formation instead of clearing it away. Years of weathering have strengthened the effect, and the buildings now read as part of the eroded mesas.
Remoteness is part of the appeal here, and it changes how guests arrive. The nearest town, Page, Arizona, is about 25 minutes away by road, while Phoenix, the closest major city, is roughly four and a half hours away by car. Fortunately, a private jet company can arrange a flight straight into Page Municipal Airport so the final stretch becomes a short drive rather than a half-day road trip.
Once there, the desert opens up beautifully. Private boat charters on nearby Lake Powell explore side canyons and sandy beaches, a striking counterpoint to the surroundings.
Post Ranch Inn, Big Sur: Design That Steps Aside
Post Ranch Inn sits 1,200 feet above the Pacific on the Big Sur cliffs, and its architect, Mickey Muennig, had never designed a hotel when he was hired. He spent weeks surveying the land and even climbed trees to find the best views, then drew tree houses on slender stilts alongside rooms sunk into the hillside under grass and wildflowers. There are no right angles on the property, a choice the owner had to defend to skeptical investors.
Muennig’s rule was that the architecture should never compete with the landscape. More than three decades on, the inn remains a Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star hotel where the buildings still defer to the coast.
Getting there is half the pleasure. Monterey Regional Airport, which handles private flights, is about 45 minutes away by car. Although the trip down along the coastline is a relatively short transfer, it’s still breathtaking.
Faena Miami Beach: Design as Theater
Faena Miami Beach reimagines the 1947 Saxony Hotel, once nicknamed the Queen of Collins Avenue, and the filmmaker Baz Luhrmann and the costume designer Catherine Martin shaped its look. Red velvet and Art Deco drama run through the rooms, and developer Alan Faena has said he builds stages for guests to step into rather than simply places to sleep.
The centerpiece is Damien Hirst’s gilded woolly mammoth skeleton, nearly ten feet tall and sealed in glass facing the Atlantic. In the same district, the 43,000-square-foot Faena Forum, designed by Rem Koolhaas’s firm OMA, gives the neighborhood an architectural counterweight to all that velvet and gold leaf.
Arriving is relatively simple. Private and commercial flights land at Miami International and Miami-Opa Locka Executive, both about half an hour away.
Passalacqua, Lake Como: An Old Villa Given a Second Life
Count Andrea Lucini-Passalacqua had the villa built around 1787, and the composer Vincenzo Bellini later stayed there. It opened as a hotel only in 2022, with 24 rooms spread across several buildings, including former stables whose original beams are still exposed. Murano chandeliers and original frescoes survive inside, and the gardens fall in terraces toward the water.
The World’s 50 Best Hotels named Passalacqua the best hotel in the world in 2023 and ranked it fifth in 2026, an unusual run for a property that small. The setting stays quiet and compact, with Como about 15 minutes away by car and Milan roughly an hour.
Soneva Jani, Maldives: Design That Opens to the Sky
Soneva Jani sits in a lagoon in the Noonu Atoll, and its overwater villas are built around the idea that a bedroom should not have a lid. In many of them the roof above the master bedroom retracts at the touch of a button, so guests can fall asleep under the stars, and it closes automatically if rain arrives. Several villas also have a slide running from the upper deck straight into the lagoon.
The resort also has an overwater observatory with a resident astronomer. Even the arrival is part of the experience: the final leg is a seaplane flight of around 40 minutes from Malé, which gives guests their first look at the lagoon from above.
Guests who want to see more of the Maldives can stay on the water. Soneva in Aqua, the brand’s private yacht, sails from Soneva Jani on day and overnight charters. For those who love the water, this can be an exciting way to explore the area.
Choosing Where Design Comes First
These properties are small, so rooms disappear early. Passalacqua has only 24 rooms in total and Amangiri has 34 suites, which makes booking ahead a practical necessity. Popular dates elsewhere fill quickly too, so it’s best to book in advance.
It also helps to choose the property based on the kind of design that appeals to you. An architecture lover will find more to study at Amangiri and Post Ranch Inn, while a guest who wants every evening to feel like a film will choose Faena.
Several of these spaces sit well away from the usual routes, so plan the journey as carefully as the stay. A private flight into Page or Monterey, a seaplane out of Malé or a boat across Lake Cuomo all add to the sense of arrival, adding a little more magic to each experience.
