#1 for Solo Retreat
Kita-ku, Kyoto · Ultra-luxury . ***** · from JPY 320,000/night
"A forest sanctuary north of Kyoto built around the silence of an unbuilt pavilion."
9.8Room & Design
9.9Service
9.7Location
Why this rank, Aman Kyoto opened in November 2019 on a forested moss-garden site north of the city, originally assembled by a textile magnate for a pavilion that was never built. Twenty-six rooms and two villas are spread across pavilions linked by stepping paths. The setting is the most fully realised solo sanctuary in the Aman portfolio in Japan. Onsen bathing, a quiet library, and a kaiseki kitchen serve single diners with the same care as couples. The pavilions absorb sound. The forest is the operative element. Service tenure under Aman standards (recognition by name from arrival) is at the top of Japanese hospitality. The city centre is fifteen minutes by car when wanted. Aman Suite at 122 sq m sits at the property's quietest edge. Best for the seven-day solo retreat in Japan where the property itself does the work that travel cannot.
Best room: Aman Suite, 122 sq m, forest view
#2 for Solo Retreat
Five Valleys, Bhutan · Ultra-luxury . ***** · from USD 2,400/night
"A five-lodge journey across the valleys of Bhutan, designed to be travelled as a single retreat."
9.7Room & Design
9.9Service
10.0Location
Why this rank, Amankora opened progressively from 2004 across five lodges at Paro, Thimphu, Punakha, Gangtey and Bumthang. Each lodge is intentionally small, monastic in mood, and built from rammed earth and local stone. A solo guest travels with one private driver and one private guide across the full journey, which produces the most fully designed multi-lodge solo programme available in Asia. Meditation with resident monks at Punakha, dawn hikes to Tiger's Nest from Paro, and hot stone baths in cedar tubs at every lodge structure the days. Dinner is taken in the lodge dining room at a small table. The country itself measures Gross National Happiness; Amankora is its quietest expression. The lodge format and the unified service produce a week that reorders a guest's sense of pace. Best for the multi-week solo retreat across Bhutan.
Best room: Punakha Suite, river-facing, river-stone bath
#3 for Solo Retreat
Yufuin, Oita, Japan · Ryokan . ***** · from JPY 90,000/night
"A sixteen-room onsen ryokan in a cedar wood at the foot of Mount Yufu in Kyushu."
9.7Room & Design
9.8Service
9.5Location
Why this rank, Yufuin Tamanoyu has operated as a private onsen ryokan in Yufuin in Oita Prefecture for several decades. Sixteen rooms only, each with its own private cypress bath. Kaiseki dinner is served in-room on lacquered trays; breakfast follows the same private format. The communal onsen baths are open through the night, which a solo traveller can use at four in the morning under a stand of cedar without seeing another guest. The river runs through the property. The ryokan format is the most considered solo-retreat format in Japan because it removes the dining-room awkwardness that defeats single diners at most hotels. Yufuin as a small mountain town is forty-five minutes by train from Beppu and the regional airport. The setting is calm, the kitchen serious, and the staff understand the solo guest. Best for the Japanese retreat focused on rest rather than touring.
Best room: Suite room with private cypress bath, river view
#4 for Solo Retreat
Five Valleys, Bhutan · Ultra-luxury . ***** · from USD 1,800/night
"A parallel five-lodge journey across Bhutan with a tighter wellness curriculum than Amankora."
9.6Room & Design
9.8Service
10.0Location
Why this rank, Six Senses Bhutan opened in 2019 across five lodges in Thimphu, Paro, Punakha, Gangtey and Bumthang. The Integrated Wellness programme runs across all five lodges as a single course, with sleep consultations, breathwork, yoga at altitude, integrated nutrition and traditional Bhutanese sowa rigpa treatments delivered in sequence. The lodges share a single design vocabulary of rammed-earth walls, cedar interiors and reflecting pools, each calibrated to the altitude and character of its valley. Punakha runs hot stone baths in cedar tubs. Gangtey runs meditation with monks at the Black Necked Crane Monastery. The price sits a step below Amankora; the wellness depth sits a step above. For a solo traveller whose primary objective is recovery rather than travel for its own sake, this is the more pointed Bhutan choice. Best for the wellness-led week in Bhutan.
Best room: Lodge Suite with private terrace, valley view
#5 for Solo Retreat
Galle Fort, Sri Lanka · Ultra-luxury . ***** · from USD 700/night
"A 17th-century Dutch colonial building inside Galle Fort, the only Aman inside a working UNESCO town."
9.5Room & Design
9.8Service
9.7Location
Why this rank, Amangalla occupies the New Oriental Hotel building inside Galle Fort, parts of which date to 1684. Thirty rooms and suites are laid out over creaking timber floors. The garden holds a long pool. The library is the kind of room where a solo guest can spend an entire afternoon. The case for solo travel is the fort itself: small enough to walk in an hour, safe to walk after dark, full of independent jewellers, gem dealers, bookshops and small cafes that fill several days without the guest needing company. The hotel is the calm centre of that small world. Ayurvedic treatments are taken at The Baths, a colonial bathhouse adapted for the property. The dining-room treatment of solo guests is unforced. Best for the week-long retreat that combines a walkable historic town with serious wellness depth.
Best room: Garden House, ground floor, garden view
#6 for Solo Retreat
Luang Prabang, Laos · Ultra-luxury . ***** · from USD 1,100/night
"A French colonial hospital restored as twenty-four suites around four courtyards, in the middle of UNESCO Luang Prabang."
9.6Room & Design
9.8Service
9.7Location
Why this rank, Amantaka opened in 2009 in a former French colonial hospital in central Luang Prabang, redrawn around four courtyards and a long swimming pool. Twenty-four suites open on to private gardens. The town's UNESCO protection has fixed Luang Prabang in a quiet that is rare in Southeast Asia: no nightlife, no tour buses, and the early-morning Buddhist alms procession that passes the hotel's front gate sets the daily rhythm. The yoga pavilion overlooks a garden. The spa is small and considered. The kitchen runs a Laotian-French programme with a daily set menu. Private temple visits, weaving village trips and slow-river boat journeys are arranged at the guest's pace. A solo traveller spends a week here without needing company, and the hotel never signals that one is missing. Best for the Southeast Asian retreat that combines a contemplative town with serious hotel infrastructure.
Best room: Pool Suite with private plunge pool, garden view
#7 for Solo Retreat
Borobudur, Central Java, Indonesia · Ultra-luxury . ***** · from USD 1,200/night
"A stone amphitheatre facing the 9th-century Borobudur stupa, ringed by four volcanoes."
9.7Room & Design
9.8Service
9.8Location
Why this rank, Amanjiwo opened in 1997 facing the 9th-century Borobudur stupa across a green plain ringed by four volcanoes. Thirty-six suites are arranged in a stone amphitheatre around a central rotunda. The design borrows the geometry of the temple itself. Private dawn access to Borobudur is arranged for guests, who walk the temple at first light before public gates open and return for breakfast on the rotunda terrace. The volcano hikes, the village walks and the gamelan performances fill the daylight hours. The pool faces the stupa. Solo dining at the rotunda counter or at a window table is the standard format, not an arrangement. Few hotels in the world hold a major monument at this distance with this clarity. The whole experience is calibrated for guests who came to think about a major monument and to sleep within view of it. Best for the contemplative Southeast Asian retreat anchored on a single site.
Best room: Borobudur Pool Suite, private pool, stupa view
#8 for Solo Retreat
Siem Reap, Cambodia · Ultra-luxury . ***** · from USD 1,300/night
"King Norodom Sihanouk's 1962 royal villa, twenty-four suites a short drive from Angkor."
9.5Room & Design
9.8Service
9.6Location
Why this rank, Amansara was built in 1962 as a guest villa for King Norodom Sihanouk, on land within walking distance of central Siem Reap and a short drive from Angkor. Aman took over the property in 2002 and preserved the midcentury architecture intact. Twenty-four suites are arranged around two reflecting pools. The hotel runs private temple tours by remork (the Cambodian tuk-tuk variant), shaped to the guest's pace. A solo traveller can spend ten days here on a programme of dawn temple visits, afternoon swims and evening reading without retracing a step at the Angkor complex. Spa treatments draw on Khmer traditions. Dinners are taken in the courtyard or in-villa. Siem Reap as a town has limited independent interest beyond Angkor, which makes the hotel the second focus of the trip rather than an inconvenient lodging. Best for the deep solo Angkor visit.
Best room: Pool Suite, private pool, garden view
#9 for Solo Retreat
Otemachi, Tokyo · Ultra-luxury . ***** · from JPY 200,000/night
"The Otemachi Tower's top six floors, the calmest space in Tokyo at altitude."
9.7Room & Design
9.9Service
9.7Location
Why this rank, Aman Tokyo opened in December 2014 across the top six floors of the Otemachi Tower in central Tokyo. Eighty-four suites only, with views over the Imperial Palace gardens and the harbour to Mount Fuji on clear days. The lobby is a 33-metre wood-and-stone room dressed with washi paper and a single tree. The 30-metre swimming pool, the cedar onsen, the spa, the library and the lounge are the recovery rooms a solo guest needs in a city built on speed. From them the guest descends into the city in measured doses. The Italian restaurant has a counter; the sushi bar is configured for single diners. Aman Tokyo solves the central problem of Tokyo as a solo destination, which is that the city is otherwise a sensory hammer. The hotel is what Tokyo looks like with the volume turned to zero. Best for the urban solo retreat in Japan.
Best room: Aman Suite, 122 sq m, Imperial Palace view
#10 for Solo Retreat
Tavarnelle Val di Pesa, Tuscany · Five-Star . ***** · from EUR 900/night
"COMO's 12th-century Tuscan estate, COMO Shambhala wellness programme, Michelin-starred kitchen."
9.6Room & Design
9.5Service
9.4Location
Why this rank, Castello del Nero is a 12th-century Tuscan estate twenty minutes south of Florence, operated by COMO Hotels since 2019 as a wellness-led country retreat. Fifty suites are spread between the castle, the converted farmhouses and the chapel grounds. The COMO Shambhala spa programme draws solo guests specifically; yoga is taken in the orangery and treatments draw on integrated wellness principles. The kitchen holds a Michelin star and the chef's table works for solo diners as well as for couples. Olive groves and vineyards extend from the windows. Florence is close when wanted and absent when not. The scale (fifty rooms) is the right size: large enough that a single guest is not visible at dinner, small enough that the staff know the guest's name by the second day. A solo traveller leaves having rested in a way that a city break does not allow. Best for the Tuscan solo retreat with a serious wellness curriculum.
Best room: Junior Suite Chianti, valley view
#11 for Solo Retreat
Bodrum, Turkey · Ultra-luxury . ***** · from EUR 1,500/night
"Thirty-six stone cottages on a wooded hillside above the Aegean, each with its own pool."
9.7Room & Design
9.8Service
9.5Location
Why this rank, Amanruya opened in 2011 as a village of thirty-six stone cottages on a wooded hillside above the Aegean, twenty minutes from Bodrum airport. Each cottage has its own private pool. The communal pool is fifty metres long and faces the sea. The setting is intentionally remote. A solo guest can spend three days without seeing another guest unless they choose to. The library, the spa and the beach club are the social rooms; the cottage is the working day. Boat days to nearby coves are arranged for one as readily as for six. The kitchen draws on Aegean traditions: grilled fish, white cheeses, local olive oil. Solo dinners in the open-sided pavilion are taken with the sound of cicadas, at a small table set with linen. The cottage-village format closes the gap between hotel and private estate as completely as any Aman in Europe. Best for the Mediterranean retreat at peak privacy.
Best room: Pool Cottage, private pool, sea view
#12 for Solo Retreat
Marrakech, Morocco · Ultra-luxury . ***** · from EUR 1,400/night
"Forty pavilions in olive groves six kilometres south of central Marrakech, the country's most serious hammam."
9.6Room & Design
9.8Service
9.4Location
Why this rank, Amanjena (the name means peaceful paradise in Arabic) opened in 2000 in olive groves six kilometres south of central Marrakech, with the Atlas Mountains as a permanent backdrop. Forty pavilions and maisons are arranged around a long central basin. The design is Moroccan in vocabulary and Aman in restraint. The hammam is the most architecturally serious in Morocco. The pool basin is a long central pool that suggests an ablutions tank in a medersa. Spa rituals run for half a day. The medina is twenty minutes away when wanted, and entirely outside the experience when not. Solo guests are placed at small tables in the Moroccan restaurant or beside the central basin under fan palms. The hotel has hosted writers, designers and solo travellers consistently since opening; the operation reflects that history. Best for the North African retreat that pairs medina visits with serious property-side wellness.
Best room: Pavilion with private courtyard, fountain view
#13 for Solo Retreat
Luang Prabang, Laos · Five-Star . ***** · from USD 500/night
"The hilltop Belmond above UNESCO Luang Prabang, the Mekong sunset west-facing pool."
9.4Room & Design
9.5Service
9.6Location
Why this rank, Belmond La Residence Phou Vao sits on the Hill of the Kites above Luang Prabang, with views across the UNESCO town to the mountains beyond. Thirty-four rooms are arranged in low pavilions around a frangipani garden. The pool faces west toward the Mekong sunset. For solo retreat the hilltop position is the central asset: the town is a five-minute drive when wanted, and the hotel is a complete world when it is not. The spa is set in a teak pavilion. Yoga is taken at sunrise on the lawn. The bar is the right size for a solo guest and a book. The kitchen leans Laotian with French training. Solo dinners are taken at terrace tables facing the sunset. The hotel runs at half the cost of Amantaka in the same town and delivers a different experience: hilltop calm rather than town immersion. Best for the Laos retreat at a lower price tier without sacrificing quality.
Best room: Phou Vao Suite, hilltop, sunset view
#14 for Solo Retreat
San Polo, Venice · Ultra-luxury . ***** · from EUR 2,200/night
"The Palazzo Papadopoli on the Grand Canal, Tiepolo frescoes and two private gardens."
9.7Room & Design
9.9Service
9.8Location
Why this rank, Aman Venice opened in 2013 in the 16th-century Palazzo Papadopoli on the Grand Canal. Twenty-four rooms are spread across the piano nobile and the floor above, with frescoed ceilings by Tiepolo overlooking the lounges. The unusual amenity for a Venice palazzo is the two private gardens behind the building. In a city where outdoor space is almost nonexistent in private hands, this makes Aman Venice the only Aman in a major European city where a solo guest can spend a morning entirely alone outdoors. Venice in low season suits solo travellers, and Aman Venice is the address that pairs best with that suitability. The canal-side terrace works for a solo aperitivo at the end of an afternoon walked alone. Library access, curated private museum visits, and gondola arrangements that avoid the crowds are organised by the concierge. Best for the literary or academic solo retreat in Europe.
Best room: Alcove Tiepolo Suite, frescoed ceiling, canal view
#15 for Solo Retreat
Siena, Tuscany · Five-Star . ***** · from EUR 1,200/night
"A 10th-century castle on a 4,200-acre Tuscan estate, the largest privately held tract in Italy."
9.7Room & Design
9.5Service
9.4Location
Why this rank, Belmond Castello di Casole opened in 2012 in a 10th-century castle on a 4,200-acre private estate in southern Tuscany, between Siena and the coast. Forty-one suites are spread across the castle and outbuildings. The estate is one of the largest privately held tracts in Italy. For solo retreat the scale of the land is the asset: walking, cycling, hilltop chapels, vineyard visits, truffle hunts and cooking classes are organised across the estate without the guest leaving the property. A solo traveller can fill a week without retracing a single path. The kitchen serves Tuscan classics on terraces under wisteria. Solo dining works at the wine cellar table or at the chef's counter. The spa runs an Italian wellness curriculum. The property asks for a slowness from its guests that the city does not allow. Best for the multi-day Tuscan retreat with extensive grounds.
Best room: Castle Suite, frescoed ceiling, valley view
#16 for Solo Retreat
Minhang District, Shanghai · Ultra-luxury . ***** · from CNY 12,000/night
"Fifty Ming and Qing houses relocated stone by stone, plus 10,000 camphor trees, forty-five minutes from central Shanghai."
9.7Room & Design
9.8Service
9.4Location
Why this rank, Amanyangyun opened in 2018 around fifty Ming and Qing dynasty houses that were relocated stone by stone from Jiangxi province in advance of a reservoir flood, alongside 10,000 camphor trees. The result is a 600-acre estate forty-five minutes from central Shanghai, a piece of preserved rural China outside one of the densest cities in the world. The Aman Spa across the property is the largest in China and runs both Western and Traditional Chinese Medicine treatments. Tea ceremonies, calligraphy classes, and slow walks through the camphor wood are arranged on the estate. The pool sits in a glass pavilion at the centre of the property. Solo dining is taken at small tables in the village restaurants, where the menus run Cantonese, Shanghainese and Italian. The setting is contemplative rather than entertaining, which is the right note for a solo retreat near a megacity. Best for the cultural solo retreat in mainland China.
Best room: Antique Villa, restored Ming dynasty courtyard house
#17 for Solo Retreat
Paro, Bhutan · Five-Star . ***** · from USD 900/night
"COMO Shambhala wellness in the Paro Valley, the most accessible entry to a serious Bhutan retreat."
9.4Room & Design
9.7Service
9.7Location
Why this rank, COMO Uma Paro opened in 2004 above the Paro Valley on a forested ridge, with views of Mount Jomolhari on clear mornings. Twenty-nine rooms and villas are laid out as a small lodge with a central courtyard. The COMO Shambhala wellness programme integrates with Bhutanese sowa rigpa practice across a seven-day curriculum, addressing sleep, breath, nutrition and movement in sequence. The hotel is small enough that the wellness team know each guest's programme by name within forty-eight hours. Yoga at dawn on the lawn overlooks Mount Jomolhari. Hikes to Tiger's Nest and to local nunneries are arranged with private guides. Solo dining works in the dining room where an Asian-fusion menu runs in parallel to Bhutanese classics. COMO Uma Paro is the lowest entry point for a serious week in Bhutan and the most consistent delivery of that week at the price. Best for the entry-level serious Bhutan retreat.
Best room: COMO Villa, private terrace, mountain view
#18 for Solo Retreat
Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic · Boutique . ***** · from USD 400/night
"A thirty-room boutique on the Samana Peninsula, one of the few unspoilt Caribbean coastlines."
9.3Room & Design
9.4Service
9.6Location
Why this rank, Sublime Samana is a thirty-room beachfront retreat on the Samana Peninsula on the northeast coast of the Dominican Republic. The hotel sits on a quiet stretch of palm-lined sand between Las Galeras and El Limon, on a coastline better known to humpback whales (January and February) than to North American tourists. For solo retreat the geography is the reason: Samana is one of the few Caribbean coastlines that has not been built out, and the hotel is the most considered address on it. The beach is private. The pool is a long lap pool. The spa is small but serious. Solo guests sit at the beach restaurant under thatched palapas at single tables without comment. Yoga is taken on a deck above the water. The hotel runs at a fraction of the cost of comparable Aman properties; for a solo guest looking for tropical quiet without long-haul travel from the eastern US, the proposition is rare. Best for the budget Caribbean solo retreat.
Best room: Beach Loft Suite, beachfront, private terrace
#19 for Solo Retreat
Luang Prabang, Laos · Five-Star . ***** · from USD 800/night
"Bill Bensley's hillside tented camp above Luang Prabang, twenty-three pool villas and tents."
9.6Room & Design
9.5Service
9.4Location
Why this rank, Rosewood Luang Prabang opened in 2018 on a wooded hillside above the town, with twenty-three pool villas, tented suites and lodge rooms scattered across a stream-cut estate. The design by Bill Bensley draws on French colonial Indochina, Lao crafts and explorer-camp vocabularies. There is a waterfall on the property. The hotel is twenty minutes by road from central Luang Prabang, the right distance to make town a chosen visit rather than a default backdrop. The pool is small but characterful. Solo dining is taken at a corner table at the riverside restaurant with the sound of running water, or at the small bar with a cocktail card built around regional spirits. The kitchen is led by a Le Cordon Bleu alumnus. Of the three serious hotels in Luang Prabang, Rosewood is the most theatrical, the right pick for a solo guest who wants character without crowd. Best for the design-led solo retreat in Southeast Asia.
Best room: River Pool Villa, private pool, river view
#20 for Solo Retreat
Sacred Valley, Peru · Five-Star . ***** · from USD 700/night
"The riverfront Sacred Valley lodge at altitude that solo travellers find more sleepable than Cusco."
9.3Room & Design
9.4Service
9.7Location
Why this rank, Belmond Rio Sagrado sits on the banks of the Urubamba River in the Sacred Valley between Cusco and Machu Picchu, at 2,800 metres altitude. Twenty-three casitas and suites are spread across landscaped gardens. The river runs the length of the property. For solo retreat the valley is the reason: acclimatisation is gentler than Cusco's 3,400 metres, and Machu Picchu is reached by the Belmond Hiram Bingham train direct from the property's nearest station. Quechuan textile workshops, ruins, and salt-pan visits are arranged with private guides. The spa runs altitude-recovery treatments. Solo dining is taken in the river-facing restaurant with a small Andean wine list. Of the Sacred Valley addresses, Rio Sagrado holds the quietest position and the best riverfront. For a solo guest the combination of lower altitude, riverfront and direct Machu Picchu access is decisive. Best for the Andean cultural solo retreat.
Best room: Royal Casita, river view, private terrace
