Travel 3 minutes 27 March 2024

Aggro-Tourism: 12 Hotels for Blowing Off Steam

When the real world gets too heavy, you could escape to a comfy chair on a quiet beach. Or, you could release all that stress via more aggressive means. These hotels are for the latter.

The hotels below are part of the MICHELIN Guide hotel selection. Each of the 5,000+ hotels in the selection has been chosen by our experts for its extraordinary style, service, and personality — and each can be booked on the MICHELIN Guide website and app.

If you're the kind of traveler who likes to move — the hotels below are your dream come true. Not only are they in settings where activities like heli-skiing or bungee jumping are par for the course (and yes, some of them have golf courses), they're places that facilitate those very adventures.

A lap pool is the very least of the amenities you'll find on this list. Sailing and snorkeling, kite surfing and archery — at one hotel, you actually arrive soaking wet via inflatable raft.

We'll show you luxury soaking tubs at a later date. Today, it's about blowing off some steam. Each of the twelve hotels below provides a home base for some of the world's best adventure tourism.


Blanket Bay

Lake Wakatipu, New Zealand

Adventure tourism doesn’t get much more adventurous than in New Zealand, especially in Queenstown, the adrenaline-sports capital of the country. About an hour outside the city is Blanket Bay, and we can assure you that it measures up. It’s all here: heli-skiing, heli-fishing, rafting, jet boating, bungee jumping, or just a leisurely 4-day hike in The Mount Aspiring or Fiordland national parks.

Book Blanket Bay on MICHELIN Guide →

Mauna Lani

Kohala Coast, HI, USA

Boutique-hotel junkies, it’s time to come to terms with the benefits of large-scale hospitality, especially if you’re seeking to stay active. At Mauna Lani Bay you’ll have access to no fewer than three golf courses, as well as a spa, a fitness center, a 25-meter lap pool, a tennis club, and no end of water sports, from stand-up paddleboards to sailing, diving and snorkeling.

Book Mauna Lani on MICHELIN Guide →

Martinhal Sagres Family Resort

Sagres, Portugal

And now, something for the kids. All four pools at Martinhal welcome pint-sized swimmers, with beanbags by the poolside when it’s time to get out of the water. The resort has a huge list of leisure activities on offer, both on land and sea, and nearly everything that’s available for adults to try, is available for children as well. Finally, play areas beckon after meal-times, conveniently located near all three restaurants.

Book Martinhal Sagres Family Resort on MICHELIN Guide →

Mama Thresl

Leogang, Austria

The motto of Mama Thresl is “urban soul meets the Alps,” but it might as well just be “go outside and play.” Facilities in and around the hotel go beyond wellness into extreme-sports territory. There’s the ski area and bike park as well as rafting, archery, the extravagantly named Flying Fox XXL Mega Zipline, and something the kids call geocaching. Plus, you can rent a GoPro to record it all for later.

Book Mama Thresl on MICHELIN Guide →

Pacuare Lodge

Turrialba, Costa Rica

Due to its remote location, the check-in process at Pacuare is a little different. You’ll arrive via an inflatable raft, dripping wet and triumphant after a rollicking whitewater journey through the jungle. It’s a spectacular introduction to the lush tropical landscape of central Costa Rica, and an appropriate hint of the drama that awaits during your stay at this lo-fi paradise.

Book Pacuare Lodge on MICHELIN Guide →

Il Borro

Arezzo, Italy

Il Borro is one of the most dynamic hotels in the world. This farm estate covers 2,000 acres, and along with the animals, olive groves, vineyards and wine cellars, there are horse trails, tennis courts, a football pitch, a golf course, and opportunities to work beside local artisans, creating your own hand-made objects. Did we mention there’s also an entire restored medieval village?

Book Il Borro on MICHELIN Guide →

Machrie Hotel & Golf Links

Port Ellen, Scotland, UK

Don’t ever let anyone tell you that golf isn’t a physically taxing activity. In Scotland, where nary a golf cart can be found, it most certainly is. Your typical over-manicured golf resort gives the sport a bad name — but at the Machrie, on the isle of Islay, you can get back to the roots of the game and play it the way it was meant to be played: man versus nature and the elements, over rough and tumble ground, all on foot.

Book Machrie Hotel & Golf Links on MICHELIN Guide →

Campo Bahia

Santo Andre, Brazil

Campo Bahia is famous for hosting the German men’s national team that won the 2014 World Cup. They trained and restored themselves here during that year’s matches, so, unsurprisingly, there’s an emphasis on sports and fitness, from yoga and a beachside gym to stand-up paddling, kite surfing, cycling, and professional-quality tennis courts. If it’s good enough for the Mannschaft, it’s good enough for you.

Book Campo Bahia on MICHELIN Guide →

Amangani

Jackson Hole, Wyoming

You’re in Jackson Hole, so you’re going to take advantage of some of North America’s best ski terrain. You’re also near the spectacular landscapes of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, so you’ve got that going for you. And you’re at an Aman hotel, so the excursions on offer are guaranteed to go above and beyond the norm, from heli-skiing and dog sledding to whitewater rafting and photography tours.

Book Amangani on MICHELIN Guide →

Nay Palad Hideaway

General Luna, Philippines

Nay Palad Hideaway might have taken some inspiration from the concept hotel we mentioned in the intro. Sports are strongly encouraged throughout the resort, with a variety of equipment available for use. There’s also a games pavilion where you’ll find less athletic pastimes like foosball, billiards, and board games. The requisite water sports are always an option, too, as are cooking classes in the huge open-plan kitchen.

Book Nay Palad Hideaway on MICHELIN Guide →

Riverside Boutique Resort

Vang Vieng, Laos

Riverside offers many of the recreations mentioned elsewhere on this list, like tubing, caving, off-road trike riding and even ballooning. But what really stands out is its dedication to activities that teach guests about Laotian culture. When you’re done rock climbing, take a village tour in Vang Vieng and learn the cultural differences between the many ethnic groups that call Laos home.

Book Riverside Boutique Resort on MICHELIN Guide →

Six Senses Zighy Bay

Musandam Peninsula, Oman

Zighy Bay, on the northern end of Oman, just across the peninsula from Dubai, is the sort of desert-meets-the-sea idyll that the Middle East really ought to be known for. And Six Senses provides a variety of ways for you to explore it, whether that’s paragliding, rock climbing, speedboating, snorkeling, or 4×4 off-roading. The traditional bedouin dining is a pretty good adventure as well.

Book Six Senses Zighy Bay on MICHELIN Guide →

You already trust the MICHELIN Guide for restaurants. Now you can trust it for hotels.

Book the best hotels you can imagine — for every style and budget.


Top image: Mama Thresl — Leogang, Austria

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