There’s something inherently relaxing about sitting in a treehouse. Maybe it triggers subconscious memories of climbing trees as a child, escaping to a place where adults couldn’t find you.
Or maybe it’s something deeper, an instinct inherited from early humans that means we feel safer up in the trees.
Either way, kicking back in a treehouse with the leaves rustling peacefully around you is one of the best ways to unwind. Which is probably why people have built so many incredible hotels in treetops around the world…
1) 7th Heaven, Domaine des Ormes, France
Perched an incredible 19 metres (63 feet) above the ground, the 7th heaven treehouse is the ultimate treetop getaway.
Located just north of Rennes in Brittany, the tiny lodge is one of a series of epic treehouses run by the French company La Cabane en l’Air.
It’s small size means it’s only really suitable for couples (or very, very close friends) and you’ll have to be relatively active too – access is by ladder only.
There’s no water either although there is a toilet, but the owners have built a separate viewing terrace even higher than the house itself – an incredible 22 metres above the ground – which offers incredible views of the surrounding countryside.
Oh and best of all, they can arrange to winch your breakfast croissants up to you every morning.
Visit lacabaneenlair.com for prices and booking info.
2) Sanya Nanshan Treehouse Resort, Hainan, China
Located on the southern side of the tropical island of Hainan, the Sanya Nanshan Treehouse Resort boasts is made up of a network of incredible-looking treehouses suspended in the native Tamarin trees.
The structures were actually built by an American firm, the Hawaiian Treehouse Company, but inside the features and furnishings are all Chinese, with bamboo screens and oriental layouts to each of the rooms.
The main lodge can sleep up to 20 people over three floors and is a short walk from both the beach and a 5,000 acre “Buddhist and ecological theme park”, so you can soak up some culture as well as basking in some rays.
Visit quirkyaccom.com for prices and booking info.
3) Ariau Amazon Towers Hotel, Manaus, Brazil
Situated at the confluence of the Anavilhanas Archipelago and the Rio Negro, one of the tributaries of the mighty Amazon, the Ariau Amazon Towers hotel is one of the most unique and impressive looking in Brazil – or anywhere in the world for that matter.
Guests get from their secluded rooms to the central restaurant and bar area on six miles of walkways, some of which are 70 feet above the forest floor below, watching sloths, monkeys and macaws playing in the canopy as they go.
The first towers of the hotel were built in the late 80s, and in the two decades since, the hotel has welcomed such illustrious guests as Bill Gates and Prince Charles.
Visit ariauamazontowers.com for prices and booking info
4) Treehouse Lodge, Limon, Costa Rica
Founded in 1998 with a commitment to operating as sustainably as possible, the Costa Rica Treehouse Lodge is tucked away in a secluded bay on the country’s Caribbean coast.
The lodge has close links with the nearby Iguana Verde conservation project and offers visitors the chance to take an “Iguana Tour” while they’re there.
As well as the titular treehouse, guests can choose to stay in one of four other areas – the Beach Suite, the Garden House, the Beach House or the new Crystal House, which is made from more than 5,000 recycled glass bottles.
Visit costaricatreehouse.com for prices and booking info.
5) Chalkley Treehouse, Sabi Sands, South Africa
Sabi Sands in South Africa is the ultimate private game reserve. Located on the edge of the mighty Kruger National Park, the open fences mean that the animals can move freely between the two.
Dedicated teams of rangers track animals when they’re in Sabi’s territory, giving guests possibly the best chance they will ever have of seeing the Big 5. But while the nature watching is incredible, the coolest thing about the resort is the Chalkley Treehouse.
Named after the reserve’s founder, Guy Aubrey Chalkley, who famously slept in this same Leadwood Tree to avoid the attentions of predators, the treehouse is “the ultimate bush bedroom”.
It’s open to the elements, with no roof and walls meaning that guests can fall asleep looking at the stars with the sounds of the bush around them, and then wake up with the animals at sunrise. Of course, this being Sabi, it’s still luxuriously appointed – just don’t expect WiFi!
Visit lionsands.com for prices and booking info.
6) Soneva Kiri Resort, Koh Kood, Thailand
Not so much a treehouse as a forest resort, the Soneva Kiri Hotel still has enough elevated structures to earn a place on this list – and where else can you have a waiter bringing you cocktails by zip-wire?
The resort sits on the remote Thai Island of Koh Kood (or Koh Kut, depending on your spelling) and offers a whole range of luxury accommodation and adventure activities like scuba diving.
Best of all though is the ‘Den’ a raised treehouse designed specially for kids. Just check out the interiors!
Visit soneva.com for prices and booking info.
7) Chole Mjini Treehouse Resort, Mafia, Tanzania
The excellently-named island of Mafia, a short way down the Tanzanian coast from Zanzibar, is the home of the Chole Mjini Treehouse Lodge.
Many of the Lodge’s seven huts, nestled amongst the Baobab trees, afford incredible views of the Indian Ocean, and the acres of long, empty beaches that flank it.
Apparently despite its natural beauty, the island is still relatively untouched. As the official Mafia website says (insert your own gag about the Mafia having an official website here), “while Zanzibar has become a popular tourist resort, Mafia Island lying only 160 km south, remains virtually unknown”.
Visit cholemjini.com for prices and booking info.
8) Kulturinsel Baumhaus Hotel, Einsiedel, Germany
Not all the crazy treehouses here are hotel rooms – rather they’re part of a larger Adventure Park complex of which the Baumhaus Hotel (meaning treehouse hotel) forms a part.
The whole crazy theme park has a sort of Hansel and Gretel-like fairytale vibe, with massive mushrooms and weird, off-kilter buildings everywhere.
All of which makes it look like an awesome place to spend the night – just make sure you don’t munch on any of those mushrooms or stuff could get really weird.
Visit kulturinsel.com for prices and booking info.
9) Phantom Forest, Knysna, South Africa
Tucked away in the lush, green forests around Knysna, the Phantom Forest Lodge boasts a whole host of different treehouse rooms, all offering views either over the tree tops or the gorgeous Knysna lagoon.
Like many of the lodges on this list, the resort is very eco-conscious and run in such a way as to make as little impact on the surrounding environment as possible.
You’re as likely to encounter friendly monkeys gambolling on the walkways between cabins as you are fellow guests, and if you’re lucky you’ll catch sight of the Phantom Moth – a creature which lives nowhere else on earth.
Visit phantomforest.com for prices and booking info
10) Out n’ About Treehouse, Oregon, USA
Out n’ About is a collection of incredible treehouse rooms nestled in Oregon’s Siskiyou National Forest.
There are options for everyone, from the Majestree Room 47 feet up in an enormous Douglas Fir that sleeps six, to the awesome looking Family Robinson suite – two treehouses connected by a swinging rope bridge.
With ziplines, horseback riding and river rafting all available as activities, you can live our a proper Tarzan-inspired adventure. Just make sure no-one in your group smokes…
Visit treehouses.com for prices and booking info.
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