Some luxury stays defy online booking norms, demanding exclusivity through membership or referrals. From the serene Awas Country Club to the historic Skibo Castle, these destinations blend privacy, community, and tailored experiences for discerning travelers.
There is very little in luxury travel today that can’t be booked online. Private islands, sprawling villas, presidential suites, yachts - if you know where you want to go and are prepared to pay, chances are there is a way to reserve it.
But a small clutch of private clubs and estates still operates differently.
You can browse their websites, look at the accommodation and plan the weekend in your head. Actually staying there, however, requires something more: membership, ownership, an invitation or a referral from someone already inside. Here are five where simply clicking ‘Book Now’ is not an option.
For Mumbai, Alibaug has steadily gone from weekend escape to unofficial second-home suburb. The villas have become more luxurious, the restaurants considerably better and, with ferry connections making the journey easier, slipping across the harbour for the weekend is no longer quite the undertaking it once was.
Awas Country Club, founded by Rajesh and Tia Advani, whose family is behind Sun-n-Sand Hotels, offers another take on the Alibaug weekend: all the familiarity of having a place here, without necessarily owning one.
There are just three villas, each spanning 4,700 sq ft with five bedrooms, generous living spaces, a private kitchenette and terrace. They can’t be booked through a hotel website; reservations are made exclusively through the Awas Country Club app by members.
“ACC was never conceived as a hotel or a resort where the objective was to maximise the number of rooms,” says Rajesh. “I have always felt that space and privacy are increasingly important forms of luxury.”
The club itself gives members plenty of reason to come even when they aren’t staying over. There is padel, pickleball and squash; a spa and wellness wing; gym, swimming pool and yoga deck; mahjong, karaoke, a golf simulator, card room and private screening room; along with Drift, the multi-cuisine restaurant, and Beachcomber, its rooftop bar.
“A hotel gives you hospitality but you remain a guest. A second home gives you privacy and familiarity, but it also comes with the responsibility of maintaining a home and may not give you a community,” Rajesh says. Awas sits somewhere in between the two, offering members the best of both worlds.
There are several compelling reasons to want to spend a few nights at Skibo Castle. Waking to the sound of a resident bagpiper is one. An afternoon spent riding across an 8,000-acre Highland estate followed by tea, a swim, dinner and an evening around the piano is another.
Andrew Carnegie bought the Scottish estate in 1898 and made it his family’s summer home. Today, it houses The Carnegie Club, an intensely private members’ club that is currently fully subscribed. Those hoping to join can apply for its waiting list.
There are 21 individually designed bedrooms inside the castle and another 13 lodges scattered across the estate. Several of the latter are intended for families or groups wanting their own house rather than rooms in the main building.
Life at Skibo has retained much of its country-house rhythm. There is golf on the Carnegie Links, riding, fishing, shooting and spa treatments by day; dinner and drinks back at the castle later. Staff remember a returning member’s favourite drink and how they take their eggs. The club describes the atmosphere as an Edwardian house party, and that is perhaps the easiest way to understand the appeal.
Hoback Club makes the route in fairly clear: membership is by invitation and referral only. Want to stay without becoming a member? You will still need to come through one.
The private residence club sits at the base of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in Teton Village, with direct ski-in, ski-out access. Its website has an option to enquire about a stay, but the process begins with a member referral rather than a conventional room search.
Once that introduction has been made, accommodation ranges from one- to five-bedroom residences with full kitchens, fireplaces and large living spaces. There is private dining, a European-inspired spa, fitness facilities, and indoor and outdoor après-ski spaces.
The club works particularly well for families and groups who want the ease of a resort without feeling like they’re staying in one.
In one of Europe’s most famous ski towns, a lack of luxury accommodation is hardly the problem. Kitzbühel Country Club simply makes accessing it a little selective.
Established in 2013, the private members’ club has 20 apartments ranging from 45 to 160 sq m. Depending on which one you choose, that can mean a kitchen, fireplace, steam shower, sauna and mountain views; the 45 sq m Junior Residence, for instance, looks directly towards the Hahnenkamm.
The club around them is substantial enough to make leaving fairly optional. There is a 25-metre natural-stone indoor pool, Finnish and infrared saunas, a steam room, gym and massage treatments, alongside a restaurant, cocktail bar, cigar lounge, vinothèque, four private dining rooms, cinema and a 1,000 sq m panorama terrace.
The arrangement feels closer to having an Alpine apartment with a private club downstairs than checking into a conventional ski hotel. Breakfast is included with the residences, while the concierge can arrange everything from shuttle services to ski-lift transfers; housekeeping and room service are also available on longer residence packages.
The Northern Club has no sprawling estate, ski mountain or golf course attached. Instead, seven rooms are tucked away on the upper floors of a 19th-century clubhouse in the middle of Auckland.
The club dates back to 1869, when its 120 founding members bought the Italianate-style stone building on the corner of Princes and Kitchener Streets. Designed by James Wrigley, it had originally been built as the Woods Royal Hotel—at the time, the largest building in Auckland—before architect Edward Mahoney helped transform it into the club’s home.
Today, the four-storey clubhouse combines its heritage interiors with three dining spaces, three bars, private dining and function rooms, and an ornate billiards room. Members might come in for lunch, drinks or one of the club’s events; someone visiting Auckland can, rather usefully, stay upstairs.
The seven guest rooms sit on the top floors, with arched windows and plenty of natural light. But despite the building’s origins as a hotel, you cannot now treat it like one: accommodation is strictly reserved for members.