Take the style and service of your favorite hotels on terra firma to the seven seas with these dedicated hotel yachts, barges, and boats.
It’s the last night of our visit to Raja Ampat and after a sensational eastern Indonesian sunset, in which mesmerizing oranges, reds, and violets are eventually replaced with a silky inky darkness punctuated by a canopy of stars, we settle in for dinner. It’s been a week of great diving, island hopping, and smooth sailing among the islands of the acclaimed Raja Ampat archipelago, with breathtaking meals and first-class service along the way.
But this is no regular liveaboard; the Alila Purnama is a beautifully constructed twin-masted Indonesian phinisi schooner operated by the Alila hotel and resort group. It is one of a growing number of vessels that let travelers extend the luxury of the world’s best hotels to the globe’s most remote and sought-after destinations (read more about our adventures on the Alila Purnama here).
Liveaboards are a great way to see remote locales, and the 150-foot Alila Purnama (above), launched in 2002, really is a meeting of worlds. There’s a 14-strong crew of dive guides, chefs, stewards, and deckhands; there are five beautifully appointed guest rooms, including a penthouse at the stern with a soak tub and its own balcony; a full dive set up, which comes in handy in the likes of Komodo, Raja Ampat, and Flores, where the Purnama offers week-long cruises; and a galley that serves fine dining extravaganzas with plenty of local touches. From the gleaming teak decks to the 400 thread-count linens, and mother-of-pearl tiled showers to the colorful welcome cocktails served on return from each day’s adventure, the Alila Purnama personifies remote luxury to perfection.
But Alila weren’t the pioneers of hotel-run vessels exploring beyond the world of minibars and spa complexes. Aman, another luxury hotel group with a strong presence in Indonesia, has two custom-built phinisi vessels, each of which boasts five cabins and a crew of 15. The 32-meter Amanikan was launched in 2009 and links the group’s resorts in Bali and its tented camp on Moyo Island with the likes of Raja Ampat, Komodo, and Sumba. The 52-metre Amandira (below), crafted by the Konjo tribe, was launched in 2015, and each vessel is available for individual charter, with Aman also planning its own vessels for Japan, the Philippines, Indochina, and the Adriatic.
Not so far away, another iconic resort on Malaysia’s Langkawi Island has also entered the shipping scene. The Datai, which has graced one of the island’s most beautiful beaches for two decades, offers half-day, evening, and overnight cruises on the beautiful chengal wood, junk-rigged schooner Naga Pelangi from December to April each year. The beautiful Bedar style schooner is operated in a partnership with The Datai to offer its guests a chance to explore the Andaman in true luxury. Overnight voyages catering to just eight guests sail through the Butang archipelago north into Thailand, going as far as Unesco-listed Phang Nga Bay.
Head north from Malaysia and you arrive in Yangon, the former capital of Myanmar, where The Strand Hotel, an iconic colonial edifice on the city’s riverfront, recently launched its own luxury cruise vessel on the Irrawaddy River. The Strand Cruise (below) offers three and four-night itineraries between Bagan and Mandalay, with just 27 superbly appointed cabins complete with floor-to-ceiling Juliette balconies and spacious bathrooms. There’s a plunge pool, a vibrant cocktail lounge, and an elegant dining room, to be enjoyed between daily excursions to ancient temples, monasteries, and lacquer workshops.
Intrepid cruisers can explore another ancient capital with Anantara’s two-century-old teak rice barges. Anantara Cruises offers visitors to Bangkok the chance to ply the waters of the Chao Phraya River north to the former capital of Ayutthaya on two night, three-day itineraries aboard the luxurious two-cabin private charter vessel Anantara Dream or the four-cabin cruiser Anantara Song. Each features spacious upper deck areas with al fresco dining, air-conditioned staterooms, and a full crew to ensure plenty of traditional Thai pampering on an unforgettable journey back in time.
Jet across the Indian Ocean and you can link two of the Maldives’ most beautiful resorts with a truly unique dive or surf cruise aboard the fastest and most luxurious liveaboard in the archipelago, the Four Seasons Explorer. Three, four or five-night itineraries on the 22-guest catamaran link the Four Seasons resorts at Kuda Huraa and Landaa Giraavaru with remote dive spots, coral gardens popular with whale sharks, and manta rays, and desert islands and sand spits. The vessel offers ten luxurious staterooms, a full dive and water sports experience, and gourmet meals, interlaced with the world-class service of a Four Seasons resort.
Finally, in the tranquil backwaters of Kerala in southern India, The Oberoi hotel group operates the sumptuous Oberoi Motor Vessel Vrinda, offering a unique take on one of India’s most beautiful but least visited landscapes. Catering to just 16 guests across eight deluxe air-conditioned cabins, the Vrinda is dressed in rich local timber, with king-sized beds, spacious bathrooms, attentive butler service, and ample outdoor recreation areas, from which guests can spy waterside villages, ancient temples, regal palaces and vibrant market towns on two and three-night itineraries along Kerala’s network of canals and lakes
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