The Next Generation of Tree House Resorts Models Sustainability, Whimsy and Escapism

When filmmakers were producing the 2020 Apple TV series Home, they had no idea a pandemic would create such a captive audience for the show about architect Elora Hardy’s futuristic bamboo tree houses in Bali. Since then, travelers’ quests for escapist wellness and nature retreats prove more powerful than ever, fueling interest — and investment — in deluxe, sustainable accommodations around the globe.

These include Okinawa’s WiFi-free, carbon-negative Treeful Treehouse cabins, boasting luxurious, repurposed wood and solar-powered accommodations, lauded as the Most Instagrammable Hotel in Asia; The Green O, on an adults-only ranch in Montana; and Skamania Lodge Tree Houses, where nothing was felled during building in the protected Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.

Other new tree house imaginings even incorporate the best of land and sea. In Panamá, Nayara’s two Bocas del Toro tree houses on a private island (soon to be joined by three more now being constructed of reclaimed hardwood collected from the Panama Canal) feature 360-degree views of the Caribbean Sea and mangrove forests, and outdoor showers with copper soaking tubs.

SKAMANIA LODGE TREE HOUSES
It’s all about iteration and innovation at Skamania Lodge, where the first of four phases of tree houses opened to guests in 2016 — years before other hoteliers started to follow suit.

From the beginning, the concept caught on like wildfire with adventurers like Christine Easton. The Bostonian traded skyscrapers for the towering firs of the Pacific Northwest for a few days last year.

“The entire experience was just so luxurious and so nostalgic,” Easton said of the modern glass fireplace with views straight through to a canopy of Douglas firs, and the window nook designed with a tent enclosure. “It totally felt like a cocoon — it was so dark and quiet, you could just relax and fall asleep to the sounds of the outdoors.”

These aren’t the simple Dennis the Menace-style forts of his youth, said Jeff Randall.

The senior vice president with Pebblebrook Hotel Trust, which operates Skamania, has been part of the tree house builds from the ground up — literally — influencing iterations that grow in tandem with demand for immersive travel experiences from guests like Easton. The two original tree houses have been enhanced to add more refinement to rusticity. There’s now a mini village of nine such escapes, the newer ones with bigger picture windows, extended covered decks, and bump-outs that add additional sleeping space for families with kids (or adults who simply want to slumber like one).

What ties them all together? “From the beginning, it’s always been us asking ourselves, ‘How do we do the best job of bringing the outside inside?’” said Randall. Beyond exteriors that become interiors — including magnificent panels of glass — furnishings and décor are decidedly regional without seeming overwrought. A palette of natural earth tones is complemented by Pendleton blankets, featuring patterns inspired by Pacific Northwest tribes for the ultimate sense of place.

While Skamania also offers tented glamping experiences, the tree houses are more advantageous for Randall’s team to extend the operating season in a traditionally rainy corner of the planet. They also frequently serve as a retreat for guests who want to extend their stay from the main lodge and add on a couple days of solitude and serenity.

THE GREEN O
Like Skamania, Paws Up Montana has traditionally attracted families, groups and teams drawn to a ranch experience. In Washington state there’s zip lining and disc golf, and on the 37,000-acre Montana sprawl, adventurers can channel their inner cowboy.

PHOTO: © STUART THURKILL, THE RESORT AT PAWS UP

But The Green O, a circle of 12 luxurious “hauses” opened in 2021 at the Resort, is more for dudes and dudettes canoodling than traditional dude ranching. The ultra-luxurious, adults-only accommodations hover around $3,000 a night in high season, a price tag that comes with all meals; airport transportation (via Lexus, not horse); and 1,500 square feet of indoor-outdoor space with floor-to-ceiling windows that remove barriers from the natural world.

“When you wake up in the morning, you can see deer walking by in the mountain dew. You might see that a foot of snow has dropped overnight, but you’re warmed by a cozy fireplace. You can see beautiful spring blooms all around you as you retire at night that may not have been there in the morning,” said Steve Hurst, resort managing director.

The entire experience is one guests seek now more than ever, he said — the luxury level of the Four Seasons with the sense of escapism the four seasons provide. In three years The Green O has been heaped with awards including a designation from Hospitality Design for the best suites out of 800 luxury properties.

“The tree houses are reserved by those drawn to a sense of locality and immersion,” said Hurst. “Hospitality is doing the same thing that food did 10 to 15 years ago, evolutionary growth in the experience that makes it hyper-local and connected to where you are.”

Eight-course dinners here are a highlight. The open-flame, open- kitchen concept harkens back to ranchers’ campfires of yore. But local tasting menus from James Beard-nominated chef Brandon Cunningham put modern spins on Montana bison as elevated as the tree “hauses” themselves.

NAYARA BOCAS DEL TORO TREE HOUSES
Leo Ghitis had clear goals when building the tree houses of Nayara Bocas del Toro on a private island in Panamá: Make the whimsical lodgings just as much a model of sustainability as other luxury properties in the Nayara portfolio, and nab Elora Hardy of IBUKU as the design and architecture firm.

PHOTO: © NAYARA RESORTS

“She, and we, created one of the most magical boutique hotels anywhere in the world; it’s a combination both of Balinese and Central American elements that’s so gorgeous and warm,” said the Nayara Resorts co-founder and partner. “And the element that captivated my imagination was the idea that we would use wood from forests flooded during construction of the Panama Canal. This is our philosophy — that you can offer luxury but have it be 100 percent sustainable.”

Nayara Bocas del Toro tree houses are completely solar-powered, with purified rainwater used for drinking and bathing. Open-air living rooms and 21-foot-tall ceilings create a cross breeze 40 feet in the air (no air-conditioning). Two out of five planned tree houses opened last spring, each with 360-degree views of the ocean and mangrove forest, copper soaking tubs and outdoor showers. The vibe is as romantic as the adults-only island, with guests as niche as the environs, said Ghitis.

“Our Nayara guests are wonderful — they believe in what we believe in, they are intellectually curious,” he said. “They want to visit places of extraordinary natural beauty that are sustainable and that have social responsibility.”

PHOTO: © @TREEFUL.TREEHOUSE

TREEFUL TREEHOUSE SUSTAINABLE RESORT
Sustainability is both in vogue philosophically and literally at Treeful Treehouse Sustainable Resort in Okinawa. Since Vogue magazine, CNN and Instagrammers spread the word — and imagery — about the Japanese hideaway, visitors from around the world have flocked to spend a few nights WiFi-free in repurposed wood and solar-powered accommodations where décor such as lamps or shelves is made with fallen branches and stones.

Treeful founder Satoru Kikugawa finished the first structure, the spiral house, in 2014. Seven years later he opened the resort with his daughter Maha, who studied ecosystem science in the United States. They are working on building plans to create a village of 10 total leafy escapes, but those are slow-growing, said Maha Kikugawa. Each house has a different blueprint since it is designed and constructed around the shape of each tree — not universal floorplans that fit man’s convenience, she said.