The best accommodation network in travel
From off-market country estates to hosting grand theatrical parties on remote islands, we have the contacts to open up the planet’s finest properties.
Having travelled endlessly, our team can recommend between isolated lodges for a wellness retreat in the wilderness or the best private safari reserves for your family to experience conservation projects up close. All are matched to your exact requirements.
And with us, these are just the platforms to explore, whether that’s taking helis out to track great wildlife migrations or setting up rope stages in the jungle canopy for thought leadership conversations.
Of course, we also go far beyond any infrastructure. We use explorer yachts and build bespoke luxury camps and also uplift accommodation to our clients’ exacting standards, from simply bringing in a top private chef or entirely renovating a grand, historic property for your event.
Featuring footage & imagery from Cookson Adventures trips
Pulling off the impossible became the company’s credo: When a client requested a guaranteed puma-sighting in Chilean Patagonia, Cookson hired an interior designer to redo a decrepit local farmhouse hundreds of miles from any other accommodation—but right in the middle of the animals’ natural habitat.
Off-market properties
We have the contacts to open up accommodations usually closed off to the public. Not only does this mean extra options and access to something truly exclusive, but so often these are true passion projects. Where traditional hotels are beholden to commerciality, private owners can realise their interests. Think recording studios set up on private islands, dining in atmospheric vaults built deep in the Kenyan bush and extravagant homes that house the world’s largest collection of West African art.
Platforms for adventure
Travelling with us, the experience always comes first. Think getting involved with a rhino translocation as part of your safari, heli-skiing adventures from your grass-roofed Icelandic lodge and elaborate dining setups to close out your private-island stay.
Privacy
For so many of our clients, discretion, seclusion and safety are their top priorities. That’s why we specialise in buyouts and remote lodges, where privacy comes as standard.
Our personal global network
Not only do we foster contacts with the world’s top accommodations and off-market owners, but our team is constantly travelling on recces to gain a first-hand understanding. This means they can offer recommendations based on personal experience around the world.
Uplifting properties
Whether it’s setting up a historic castle with staff and grand themes for a special event or operating in a remote corner of the world where there’s not the standard of accommodation our clients would expect, our team will uplift properties to exacting detail. That might be simply bringing in a specialist masseuse or gym equipment, or going as far as renovating a palace in the Middle East. We’ve even built a traditional longhouse for our client to stay with a tribal community in Papua New Guinea – before donating it to them afterwards.
Taste matching
We’ll ensure that you’re matched with the right property. Perhaps that’s a specific architectural style for your long-stay villa, a ski lodge with separate accommodation for your staff or a private-chef nutritionist to deliver a tailored, longevity-focused diet.
A few of our favourite property types
Remote lodges
Designer comfort in the wilderness
We specialise in bringing luxury to faraway environments, with our network of remote lodges offering privileged access to the world’s wild frontiers. Throughout, we’ve organised some of the most impressive trips around them. That might be taking helis out to erupting volcanoes in Iceland, using fixed-wing planes to track bear migrations in Alaska or organising wellness retreats in Bhutan, complete with time spent with the royal family. Alternatively, an all-American ranch might mean heli-fishing and astronomer-led stargazing.
Historic estates
Distinguished provenance
From Scottish castles and Patagonian estancias to Moroccan riads and Indian forts, these grand properties are built for occasion. Indeed, we’ve organised buyouts for thought leadership events and private celebrations alike, creating special experiences among them. That might be private concerts in the manor grounds, actor-led immersive mysteries for the whole family or great group competitions – racing rage buggies on custom courses and flying paramotors among the castle turrets.
Private islands
Exclusive by nature
We go beyond the classics in the Caribbean and Indian Ocean. Think Madagascan white sands where you can go from designer villas to dining setups under great baobab trees. Off-market Panamanian private islands where you’ll join biodiversity studies at the on-site lab. And, golden-beach idylls in the Philippines, where snorkelling rewards with dugong spotting in the island’s very own marine reserve.
Safari lodges
Before his polar exploits, Henry Cookson ran horse-riding safaris in Kenya. Since then, we’ve gone on to organise some of the continent’s most ambitious trips. Using top conservancies as a platform, we’ve organised elephant translocations alongside family trips in Namibia, pioneered multi-heli adventures to land on marooned calderas in Kenya, and been among the first public groups to visit gorilla families in central Africa.
Private villas
Long retreats or intensive escapes
We’ve organised epic, multi-month retreats in off-market properties, bringing in the likes of wellness specialists, top chefs and experiences that span from audiences with local Netflix documentarians to heli touring to remote beach setups. While you might want to relax in the Med, we’ve also brought guests among the likes of Indonesia’s and Costa Rica’s private villas and haciendas. Think swimming with whale sharks or setting up camera traps to monitor jungle wildlife before retreating to your infinity pool and gym setup.
Ski lodges
Around the world
From Europe to North America and Japan, we have access to the best in off-market ski lodges – often private homes. Throughout, we go beyond the facilities to ensure you have the staff you need, whether that’s a post-ski massage or a top global DJ for the afterparty. Then, experiences can range from lightsuit downhill sessions to dramatic mountaintop dining setups. Heli-skiing is a particular speciality, bringing you out away from the crowds to exclusive slopes few – if anyone – has skied before.
