Stays · Virtuoso benefits, booked privately
Hotels and lodges we would send a friend to, at the edge of the places worth the journey. Book through us and the room costs what it costs on the hotel's own flexible rate, with breakfast, a credit and a person on your side added.
Bio Habitat, Quindío, Colombia
What booking through us adds
Hotels in the Virtuoso program pay us a commission and recognise our clients on arrival. You keep your own loyalty points and status. There is no markup on the room and no fee from us.
Typically breakfast for two each morning, a US$100 credit to spend at the hotel, an upgrade on arrival when one is available, and early check-in or late check-out when the rooms allow. Each hotel sets its own, so we confirm the exact list with your rates.
The rate we book is the one the hotel publishes as its best flexible rate, with its normal cancellation terms. You are not paying for the benefits. The hotel is paying for the introduction.
Late flight, wrong room, a closed road to the lodge. You write to your advisor, not a call centre, and we already know the property, the general manager's office and what you asked for.
"Where we have stayed there ourselves, we say so. Where we have not, we say that too, and we tell you what we know."
Cards marked We stayed are places we have slept in ourselves. The rest are on our desk shortlist, chosen for where they sit and how they run, and reviewed with the people who have been.
The collection
Search by place, or choose a region. Dates and guests carry into your request, so we can check live rates the same day.
No prices are shown here. Rates are live and change daily, so we send them with your benefits confirmed.
Torres del Paine, Chile
On Lake Pehoé inside the national park, with guided hikes and rides leaving from the door each morning.
Included when you book with us
Breakfast for two, a US$100 hotel credit, and an upgrade and early or late check-out when available.
Typical Virtuoso benefits; exact amenities confirmed per hotel.
Near Torres del Paine, Chile
Private villas outside the park gates, each with its own guide and vehicle, so the day runs at your pace.
Included when you book with us
Breakfast for two, a US$100 hotel credit, and an upgrade and early or late check-out when available.
Typical Virtuoso benefits; exact amenities confirmed per hotel.
Lake Sarmiento, Chile
Long, low and built into the steppe, with the Paine massif across the water from every room.
Included when you book with us
Breakfast for two, a US$100 hotel credit, and an upgrade and early or late check-out when available.
Typical Virtuoso benefits; exact amenities confirmed per hotel.
Machu Picchu, Peru
The only hotel inside the archaeological park. Everyone else arrives by bus; you are already there for the sunrise.
Included when you book with us
Breakfast for two, a US$100 hotel credit, and an upgrade and early or late check-out when available.
Typical Virtuoso benefits; exact amenities confirmed per hotel.
Near Yanque, Colca Valley, Peru
The right base for doing the Colca slowly: canyon walls all round, gardens of high-altitude plants, condors in the morning.
Included when you book with us
Breakfast for two, a US$100 hotel credit, and an upgrade and early or late check-out when available.
Typical Virtuoso benefits; exact amenities confirmed per hotel.
Aguas Calientes, Peru
Cloud forest grounds at the foot of the citadel, with orchid and birding walks before the first train arrives.
Included when you book with us
Breakfast for two, a US$100 hotel credit, and an upgrade and early or late check-out when available.
Typical Virtuoso benefits; exact amenities confirmed per hotel.
Yoho National Park, British Columbia
On the lakeshore, one valley over from the crowds. Base here and drive to Lake Louise, not the other way round.
Included when you book with us
Breakfast for two, a US$100 hotel credit, and an upgrade and early or late check-out when available.
Typical Virtuoso benefits; exact amenities confirmed per hotel.
Lake Louise, Banff National Park
For travellers who want the lake itself at first light, before the day visitors, with the Plain of Six Glaciers trail from the shore.
Included when you book with us
Breakfast for two, a US$100 hotel credit, and an upgrade and early or late check-out when available.
Typical Virtuoso benefits; exact amenities confirmed per hotel.
Western Serengeti, Tanzania
A private concession on the migration's western corridor, with few vehicles at each sighting and walking safaris.
Included when you book with us
Breakfast for two, a US$100 hotel credit, and an upgrade and early or late check-out when available.
Typical Virtuoso benefits; exact amenities confirmed per hotel.
Maasai Mara, Kenya
On the rim of the Great Rift Valley, looking straight down onto the Mara Triangle.
Not in the Virtuoso program
We ask the hotel directly for whatever it offers an advisor's guests.
Bantry Bay, Cape Town, South Africa
A small house hotel above the Atlantic, a sensible first and last night either side of the bush.
Included when you book with us
Breakfast for two, a US$100 hotel credit, and an upgrade and early or late check-out when available.
Typical Virtuoso benefits; exact amenities confirmed per hotel.
Kruger National Park, South Africa
Glass-fronted suites above the N'wanetsi River, in a private concession on the park's eastern edge.
Included when you book with us
Breakfast for two, a US$100 hotel credit, and an upgrade and early or late check-out when available.
Typical Virtuoso benefits; exact amenities confirmed per hotel.
Riviera Maya, Mexico
Every villa has its own pool, and the lagoons do the work of a wall. A good week after the cenotes and ruins.
Included when you book with us
Breakfast for two, a US$100 hotel credit, and an upgrade and early or late check-out when available.
Typical Virtuoso benefits; exact amenities confirmed per hotel.
Riviera Maya, Mexico
Suites set on the lagoons and the beach, a calm base for Chichen Itza, the cenotes and the coast to the south.
Included when you book with us
Breakfast for two, a US$100 hotel credit, and an upgrade and early or late check-out when available.
Typical Virtuoso benefits; exact amenities confirmed per hotel.
Fiesole, above Florence, Italy
Fifteen acres above the city, a facade attributed to Michelangelo, and a pool that looks down on the whole of Florence.
Included when you book with us
Breakfast for two, a US$100 hotel credit, and an upgrade and early or late check-out when available.
Typical Virtuoso benefits; exact amenities confirmed per hotel.
Ravello, Amalfi Coast, Italy
A former palace on the cliff at Ravello, with the Path of the Gods and the coast walks within reach.
Included when you book with us
Breakfast for two, a US$100 hotel credit, and an upgrade and early or late check-out when available.
Typical Virtuoso benefits; exact amenities confirmed per hotel.
Montalcino, Tuscany, Italy
A restored estate in the Val d'Orcia, with vineyard walks and cycling routes from the door.
Included when you book with us
Breakfast for two, a US$100 hotel credit, and an upgrade and early or late check-out when available.
Typical Virtuoso benefits; exact amenities confirmed per hotel.
Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Tented suites in the rainforest above the Wos River, a soft landing before or after a Raja Ampat sailing.
Included when you book with us
Breakfast for two, a US$100 hotel credit, and an upgrade and early or late check-out when available.
Typical Virtuoso benefits; exact amenities confirmed per hotel.
Ayung River valley, Bali, Indonesia
Set down in the Ayung River valley near Ubud, with rice terraces and river walks rather than beach.
Included when you book with us
Breakfast for two, a US$100 hotel credit, and an upgrade and early or late check-out when available.
Typical Virtuoso benefits; exact amenities confirmed per hotel.
Grindavík, Iceland
Suites cut into the lava field with private lagoon access, close to the airport for the first or last night.
Not in the Virtuoso program
We ask the hotel directly for whatever it offers an advisor's guests.
Nesjavellir, near Thingvellir, Iceland
Out on the lava plain near Thingvellir, with northern lights watched from the bar on winter nights.
Not in the Virtuoso program
We ask the hotel directly for whatever it offers an advisor's guests.
Kamogawa River, Kyoto, Japan
On the river, a walk from Gion and the old city, with early temple visits arranged before the crowds.
Included when you book with us
Breakfast for two, a US$100 hotel credit, and an upgrade and early or late check-out when available.
Typical Virtuoso benefits; exact amenities confirmed per hotel.
Marunouchi, Tokyo, Japan
Opposite the Imperial Palace gardens and above Tokyo Station, an easy first night before the rail journey north.
Included when you book with us
Breakfast for two, a US$100 hotel credit, and an upgrade and early or late check-out when available.
Typical Virtuoso benefits; exact amenities confirmed per hotel.
Coffee country, Quindío, Colombia
Built into the slope above the coffee farms. One of the few hotels where the photographs undersell it.
Included when you book with us
Breakfast for two, a US$100 hotel credit, and an upgrade and early or late check-out when available.
Typical Virtuoso benefits; exact amenities confirmed per hotel.
Not on the list? The collection is a shortlist, not the whole program. Name any hotel, in the Virtuoso program or outside it, and we will check your dates and the benefits on that stay. The hotel takes payment at your stay, and a reply comes within one business day.
A stay we loved · Bio Habitat Hotel, Colombia
We stayed at Bio Habitat in Quindío and wrote it up in the journal. Every photograph in this section is our own.
The building is arranged around the view. Open the glass and the room stops having a fourth wall, and the pool holds the whole sunset with the plantation rows going dark underneath.
In the hills above Filandia, close enough to the Cocora valley and its wax palms to make it an easy day. Walking, birdwatching and riding are arranged from the property.
A suite with the balcony facing the plantation, and be on the property for sunset on your first night. Do less than you planned; it rewards sitting still.
Rooms, terraces, pools
All our own photographs, from places we have stayed. Hotels are named only where we are certain which one it is.
How Check dates works
Dates or a rough window, who is coming, and anything the room should get right. Two minutes.
We check availability and the hotel's flexible rate, and confirm which benefits apply to your stay.
Within one business day: room options, the rate, the benefits and the cancellation terms, in plain words.
Say yes and we book it. You pay the hotel directly, on its own terms. Nothing is charged on this site.
A stay inside a bigger trip
A proper bed in Cusco before the trail. Two nights in Cape Town between the long flight and the bush. A villa above Florence after a week of walking. We pick hotels for how they fit the journey around them: the transfer time, the altitude, the breakfast hour on a day that starts at five.
If the stay is part of a longer route, start with a journey and we will place the hotels inside it. Custom multi-stop journeys carry a CA$400 design fee, credited to the trip when you book. A single hotel stay never carries a fee.
No. We book the hotel's own best flexible rate, the same one you would see on its website for the same room and dates. The benefits come on top, and the hotel pays us a commission for the booking. We add no fee and no markup to hotel stays.
If you find a prepaid or member-only rate elsewhere, tell us. Sometimes it is the better deal, and we will say so.
The hotel. Most charge your card at check-out; some take a deposit on their own terms when the booking is made. Your card goes to the hotel, never to us, and this site never asks for it.
The hotel's flexible-rate cancellation terms apply, and we send them with your rates so there are no surprises. If you need to move dates, change rooms or cancel, write to us and we handle it with the hotel. If something goes wrong while you are there, the same applies.
Breakfast and the hotel credit are confirmed with your booking. Upgrades and early or late check-in depend on what is free on the day, which is how every hotel program words them. We ask for them by name before you arrive.
Somewhere not on the list
One hotel or a whole route. We reply within one business day.