Soneva Jani: one of the heavenly hotel hammocks that make for a swinging check-in
Kick back, relax, and get into into the swing of things by checking into one of these hotels where amazing hammocks come as standard
Swing and snooze in style at 5-star Maldives overwater resort, Soneva Jani
One of the newest - and already one of the most lauded - properties in the ever-expanding Maldives crop, Soneva Jani enjoys an enviable location adjacent to the biggest lagoon in the archipelago. It’s also a hammock-lovers dream.
Here, a signature hammock has positioned in the middle of the lagoon, suspended above the water, creating a place to relax that’s nothing short of idyllic. Accessed by an easy swim, you can swing blissfully above the crystal clear ocean. Hammocks also infiltrate the accommodation with overhanging net floors featuring in each of the sprawling over-water villa decks, as well as the restaurant, bar, and twice weekly overwater cinema, where hammock ledges double as cocktail tables. This self-described ‘playground for adults’ also offers complimentary ice cream parlours and amazing in-villa water slides that make getting into the ocean even more of a thrill.
Brazil's Juma Amazon Lodge hammocks look out onto the Amazon River
For Brazilians the hammock - or ‘rede’ in Portuguese - is part and parcel of their culture. To experience it firsthand, head to the border of the famed Amazon where the Juma Amazon Lodge pairs outdoor activities and wildlife spotting with lazy afternoons spent swinging horizontal.
Each of the eco hotel’s 21 bungalows comes with a private hammock and for the adventurous, the overnight jungle experience involves an open air slumber in one under a starry sky.
CONRAD BORA BORA NUI, BORA BORA, FRENCH POLYNESIA
Hammocks in French Polynesia's Conrad Bora Bora Nui resort are a must for luxury lovers
Nothing says ‘vacation’ quite like gently swaying in a hammock. Add to this a plush, 5-star resort located within a private cove in French Polynesia and you have a combination for holiday heaven.
The first luxury resort to open in Bora Bora for a decade, the Conrad Bora Bora Nui comprises 86 bungalows each outfitted with giant bathtubs and large hammocks on private overwater decks. Guaranteed to wow both honeymooner and non-honeymooner alike.
The Insta-worthy offshore hammock at Grenada's Le Phare Blue hotel
At this boutique hotel in Grenada, hammocks dot the pristine white beach, but it’s offshore where Le Phare Blue really ups its hammock ante. Taking the plunge, visitors can swim out to a pontoon where the most distinctive feature of the property lies: a floating hammock. Possibly one of the only structures of its kind, day or night, you can float and swing at the same time under a Caribbean sky.
The rainforest Costa Rica resort, Pacuare Lodge, offers jungle tree houses with hammocks
Nestled in the Costa Rican rainforest overlooking the Pacuare River, Pacuare Lodge has plenty in the way of eco credentials, but it’s the treetop accommodation that will linger in your memory. A jungle tree house hideaway, within the lush canopy dual deck hammocks allow you and your belle or beau to sway in tandem as you spy tropical birds and playful monkeys.
The National Geographic-recognised property also offers zip lining, waterfall hikes, and white water rafting, while those less inclined for adventure will love the infinity pools, day spa, claw-foot bathtubs and outdoor showers. For an extra-special check-in, opt for the canopy suite, which also boats a sundeck kitted out with private, spring water-fed swimming pool.
GILI LANKANFUSHI, THE MALDIVES
Maldives magic! Gili Lankanfushi’s lagoon villa guests can enjoy overwater hammocks
Suspended over crystal clear waters, each of Gili Lankanfushi’s luxurious lagoon villa suites enjoys its own private hammock from where you can take in the A to Z or marine life for which the Maldives is so renowned. Eagle rays, reef sharks, and shoals of snapper pass you by, as you snooze away the afternoon, dangling over lapping waves.
Located in the North Male Atoll, the leading luxury eco-resort also features an overwater hammock in its central living area and high rollers can splurge on the private reserve, which is the largest overwater villa in the world.
PUMPKIN ISLAND, QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA
Queensland's private Pumpkin Island offers seven eco cabins with a beach hammock each
Swinging daybeds are the definition of summer laziness and there’s no better place to slumber in one than on your very own private island.
Positioned in the Southern Great Barrier Reef’s group of Keppel Islands, Pumpkin Island’s seven eco cabins and bungalows can be rented out exclusively. Each accommodation comes with its own hammock or swing chair in which would-be castaways can relax in between snorkelling the reef, fishing, or taking in the rich ocean life via glass bottomed kayaks and stand up paddle boards. You can even turn your hammock into an overnight swag, so you can rock-a-bye-baby under a star-speckled sky.
Malaysia's St. Regis Langkawi hotel features an overwater hammock restaurant
Sitting in an idyllic cove on the southern tip of Pulau Langkawi, the in-house Kayu Puti restaurant at the St. Regis Langkawi offers diners dinner and drinks from an over-water hammock.
Accessed by a wooden walkway from the hotel entrance, the restaurant stands in the sea on stilts and off its terrace are spacious suspended hammocks over the Andaman Sea where guests can sip cocktails and eat pan-Asian fare while watching the sun dip below the horizon.
RITZ CARLTON AMELIA ISLAND, FLORIDA, USA
In what may be a world first, Florida’s Ritz Carlton Amelia Island resort have fused the humble hammock with a high end spa treatment.
Combining energy work, reflexology, and gentle rocking, the ‘heaven in hammock’ massage is carried out in a specially designed private treatment room by a specially trained therapist, who utilises both their hands and feet. Designed to loosen muscles, the hammock elongates the spine giving the spa goer a sense of weightlessness.
SAL SALIS, WESTERN AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA
Luxury eco-camping with beach hammocks at Western Australia's Sal Salis Ningaloo Reef
A luxury eco-clamping experience in the dunes of the Cape Range National Park, each of the 16 tents that comprise Sal Salis Ningaloo Reef offer killer views of the surrounding bush and beach, but also a postcard-perfect front deck complete with hammock.
During the day visitors can explore the 500-plus species of colourful fish and 250 coral species that Ningaloo Reef plays home to, and beyond the reef, the heavy hitters of the ocean, including whale sharks, dolphins, humpback whales, and manta rays. Before enjoying an afternoon siesta back on dry land as they rock in the Indian Ocean breeze to a soundtrack of bird song, kangaroo rustles and the sound of the surf. Get snap-happy as these beachside hammocks are social media gold mines too.