Once reserved for scientists and intrepid explorers, Antarctica’s otherworldly landscape is now attracting affluent visitors willing to pay top-dollar to see it. A handful of eco-friendly, luxurious hotels have risen up to meet this demand, with properties that boast views of glaciers, icebergs, and polar wildlife. These one-of-a-kind stays are also committed to sustainability, with many embracing carbon neutrality and maintaining strict eco-certifications.
Experience the Ultimate Escape at a Luxury Hotel in the South Pole
Among the most audacious of these new lodges is White Desert’s space-themed Echo Camp. Founders Patrick Woodland and Roby Woodward are former world-record-breaking polar explorers who launched the company with the sole mission of whisking guests into the forbidding interior of Antarctica while remaining fully committed to environmentally responsible travel. After establishing Wolf’s Fang and Whichaway, the company launched Echo, a collection of cutting-edge pods located in a no-man’s land at the base of Henriksen Nunataks. The designers drew inspiration for their futuristic design from astronauts Terry Virts and Buzz Aldrin, who had both completed a White Desert journey in the past and shared how Antarctica reminded them of the planets they’d visited in their spaceships.
Like all of White Desert’s camps, the South Pole Central Hotel is designed to be dismantled after each operating season with a minimum impact on this fragile landscape. Guests fly into Cape Town aboard a chartered Basler BT-67 business jet (White Desert hopes to switch to bio fuels in the next few years) and are then transported via helicopter to their destinations.