The World’s Best Outdoor Bathtubs
These 9 open-air tubs are worth traveling for.
Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app.
Taking a bath outside sounds dreamy, but it isn’t exactly easy. For one, it’s not like you can just plop your tub outside in your backyard, which may be why hotels and lodges that give you the option for a little alfresco soaking right in your room are becoming more and more common. Still, it takes more than a basin under the big sky to make an outdoor bath go from gimmick to glorious. How so? Check out the nine incredible outdoor tubs at these hotels and you’ll soon understand.
Goldeneye, Jamaica—The Goldeneye Hotel, Fleming Villa
No need to leave the water after a day of kayaking, paddle boarding, or snorkeling here. The green claw foot tub found in the villa’s master bathroom—itself an enclosed private patio set beneath the tropical trees, ads enough to the sex appeal that it’s easy to imagine a Bond girl slipping into the bubbles. That’s no coincidence. Ian Fleming wrote most of the James Bond novels here, when it was his personal home.
Sacred Valley, Peru—Huacahuasi Lodge
Booked only through trekking operator Mountain Lodges of Peru, Huachuasi is part of the new Lares Adventure route, an alternative to the crowded Inca Trail. The rooms at this deluxe base camp all have Jacuzzi bathtubs with striking views over the Andes—and often over the clouds, drifting below the lodge’s 12,500-foot elevation.
Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe—Ruckomechi Camp
On the edge of the Zambezi River, this Wilderness Safaris’ camp regularly has elephants strolling past its main area. The tents all overlook the river and have indoor and outdoor showers heated by solar geysers. But the best place to watch nature’s show is your outdoor tub perched off the ground, on a secluded platform.
St. Kitts, West Indies—Belle Mont Farm
Roll-top tubs take pride of place in the alfresco boudoirs of the 84 guesthouses dotted between the banana groves and tropical vegetation of this organic farm, which opened as a hotel late last year. After a day of helping yourself to the mangos that grow all over the property (rooms come with baskets for foraging), why not take a dip in water infused with lemongrass, vetiver, and other herbs grown on the farm while looking out over the Caribbean.
Botswana—Sanctuary Baines’ Camp
The smallest camp in Sanctuary Retreats’ collection, Baines’ has five suites that each have a “star bath” on a private wooden deck (star beds can be rolled out on request) high above the Boro River on a private concession bordering the Moremi Game Reserve in the Okavango Delta. Just the thing to relax after a walk with elephants.
Vietnam—Six Senses Ninh Van Bay
One of Six Senses Resorts and Spas’ hallmarks has always been the brand’s glorious open-air bathrooms (along with blissfully remote destinations). The Rock Pool Villas, a NinhVan Bay outpost on a private island near Nha Trang, is no different. Scattered among rock formations, the villas not only come with plunge pools, but also breezy open bathrooms with handcrafted tubs looking straight down on the East Vietnam Sea. The perfect perch to consider if you should spend your day taking advantage of the small resort’s diving, fishing, or sailing.
Ubud, Bali—Tirta Ening Suite, COMO Shambhala Estate
Each of the villa-style “residences” at COMO’s flagship wellness retreat in the jungle highlands outside Ubud is decorated with stunning natural elements. In the Tirta Ening master suite—the name means “clear water”—the bathroom is a Japanese water garden with a decorative waterfall, outdoor shower, and massive free-form bathtub.
Lake Victoria, Tanzania—Asilia Africa Rubondo Island Camp
In the middle of Lake Victoria, Asilia Africa’s Rubondo Island Camp reinvents the safari experience—it’s on a tropical island rather than a dry savanna—but has kept one luxury safari staple: the sleep-out. Behind the open-air bedroom, a platform contains a copper slipper tub and handheld shower, lit by lanterns or by sunlight filtering through the leaves and lianas above.
Mendoza, Argentina—The Vines Resort & Spa
Vineyards and fly-fishing reign supreme at this new resort in Mendoza. But you’ll come home talking about how each of the 22 epically scaled villas has an ostrich-egg shaped tub on its private balcony, overlooking a small lake, rolling hills of vines, and the Andes beyond. And because that’s not enough, consider soaking while sipping one the fine vinos made on site from the grapes in the field in front of you.