The short answer: the literal highest hotel on earth is Bolivia's Hotel Tayka del Desierto at about 4,522 metres, but it is a bare salt-flats outpost, not a resort. For altitude with real luxury, the St. Regis Lhasa Resort in Tibet, at roughly 3,650 metres, is the highest five-star resort. Whichever you choose, plan for altitude sickness, which is the catch nobody mentions.
By the Hotels for Kings Editorial Team · Last updated: June 14, 2026
We may earn a commission when you book through links on this page, at no extra cost to you. Rankings are editorial, we never accept payment for placement. Elevations below are cross-checked against each property's stated altitude and authoritative geographic and travel sources, not estimated.
Quick comparison
| Hotel | Location | Elevation | Luxury? | Claim to fame |
|---|
| Hotel Tayka del Desierto | Siloli Desert, Bolivia | ~4,522 m | No, basic | Highest hotel on earth |
| Hotel Everest View | Khumbu, Nepal | ~3,880 m | Modest | Guinness highest-placed hotel |
| St. Regis Lhasa Resort | Lhasa, Tibet | ~3,650 m | Yes, 5-star | Highest true luxury resort |
| Belmond Hotel Monasterio | Cusco, Peru | 3,399 m | Yes, 5-star | Oxygen-enriched rooms |
| Shinta Mani Mustang | Jomsom, Nepal | ~2,800 m | Yes, lodge | Bensley-designed Himalayan lodge |
| Tierra Atacama | San Pedro, Chile | ~2,400 m | Yes, resort | Andean plateau adventure base |
How we ranked and verified this
We rank by elevation above sea level, how high the ground itself sits, not by how high the rooms are off the floor of a skyscraper, which is a separate record covered on our world's highest hotels page. Each elevation is taken from the property's own stated altitude and cross-checked against authoritative geographic sources. We deliberately separate hotels that are genuine luxury resorts from properties that hold an altitude record but are basic, because conflating the two is how these lists usually mislead. Every property here is open and operating in 2026.
The ranked list
1
Siloli Desert, Bolivia
Hotel Tayka del Desierto
~4,522 m above sea level · the altitude record
Why it's number one: at roughly 4,522 metres on the edge of Bolivia's Siloli Desert, near the Salar de Uyuni salt flats, this is the highest hotel in the world by elevation, and that is the only superlative it claims. Built largely of stone and adobe to hold heat, it exists to put travellers within reach of the surreal high-desert landscape of lagoons, geysers and salt flats.
Who it's for: serious overland adventurers crossing the altiplano, for whom location beats comfort. What to book: a room as part of a guided Uyuni circuit, with a night lower down first.
The honest part: this is not a luxury resort and should not be sold as one. It is remote, simple and genuinely cold, there is no spa or fine dining, and at this height many guests sleep badly and feel the altitude hard. Come for the landscape and the record, not for pampering.
Source: property and regional travel listings for the Tayka hotels, Siloli Desert.
See every hotel world record →
2
Khumbu, Nepal
Hotel Everest View
~3,880 m above sea level · Guinness record
Why it's here: opened in 1971 above Namche Bazaar, the Hotel Everest View is listed by Guinness World Records as the highest-placed hotel in the world, at around 3,880 metres. Every room frames the Himalaya, and on a clear morning the terrace delivers one of the great breakfast views on earth, straight at Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam.
Who it's for: trekkers and Everest pilgrims who want the view without camping, and day visitors hiking up from Namche. What to book: an Everest-facing room, ideally with a night to acclimatise first.
The honest part: the record oversells the reality. This is a modest mountain hotel, not a luxury resort, and most people visit for an hour over tea rather than overnight. Getting there means a small-plane flight to Lukla and a trek, the air is genuinely thin, and altitude sickness is a real risk this high.
Source: Guinness World Records, highest-altitude hotel; the hotel's own materials.
See the world's most unusual stays →
3
Lhasa, Tibet
~3,650 m above sea level · highest 5-star resort
Why it's here: this is the highest hotel run as a full international luxury resort. Opened in 2010 as Tibet's first five-star hotel and the first St. Regis in China, it sits at roughly 3,650 metres near the Barkhor, with around 150 oversized rooms and villas, a gold-tiled pool and butler service, and views toward the Potala Palace. It is the rare property that pairs genuine altitude with genuine luxury.
Who it's for: travellers who want Tibet's culture and scenery without giving up comfort, after acclimatising. What to book: a Potala-view room, with a gentle first day on arrival.
The honest part: the luxury cannot cancel the altitude, expect to feel short of breath and to sleep poorly for a night or two. Tibet also requires permits and organised travel, so this is not a spontaneous booking, and political access can change at short notice.
Source: Marriott / St. Regis Lhasa Resort; Lhasa elevation per Tibet travel references.
Explore the St. Regis collection →
4
Cusco, Peru
3,399 m above sea level · oxygen-enriched rooms
Why it's here: a former 16th-century monastery in the old centre of Cusco at 3,399 metres, with 117 individually styled rooms set around a colonnaded courtyard and a centuries-old cedar tree. Its smartest feature is the most honest answer to altitude on this list: many rooms can be oxygen-enriched on request, so you sleep better at a height where most visitors struggle. It is the most refined high-altitude stay in the Andes, and the gateway to Machu Picchu.
Who it's for: travellers who want history, comfort and a softer landing into Andean altitude. What to book: a superior room confirmed "with oxygen" if you are sensitive to height.
The honest part: Cusco at 3,399 metres still hits hard on day one, even with oxygen rooms, so plan a quiet arrival or acclimatise in the lower Sacred Valley first. The historic building means some rooms are darker and quirkier than a modern five-star.
Source: Belmond Hotel Monasterio; Cusco elevation 3,399 m per the hotel and city data.
Browse Cusco luxury hotels →
5
Jomsom, Nepal
Shinta Mani Mustang
~2,800 m above sea level · design-led lodge
Why it's here: opened in 2023 in the former kingdom of Mustang at about 2,800 metres, this Bill Bensley-designed lodge brought serious, all-inclusive luxury to the Nepali Himalaya for the first time. Its 29 suites, expedition-style guiding and Himalayan views make it the most polished high-mountain stay in the country, built around treks, monasteries and the dramatic Kali Gandaki valley.
Who it's for: active travellers who want guided high-altitude adventure with a soft bed and a real spa to return to each evening. What to book: the all-inclusive rate, which bundles guiding and excursions.
The honest part: getting there is a journey, typically a flight to Pokhara then a small plane or long drive to Jomsom, and weather can disrupt the light aircraft. The all-inclusive pricing is high, and at 2,800 metres with daily treks above it, fitness and acclimatisation matter.
Source: Shinta Mani Mustang; independent reviews of the 2023 opening.
More remote luxury escapes →
6
San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
Tierra Atacama
~2,400 m above sea level · adventure resort
Why it's here: on the Andean plateau above San Pedro de Atacama at roughly 2,400 metres, Tierra Atacama is an all-inclusive adventure resort with a spa, a pool framing the Licancabur volcano, and a guided-excursion programme into the driest desert on earth. It is the gentlest altitude on this list, which makes it the easiest high-desert luxury base for first-timers.
Who it's for: travellers who want stargazing, salt flats and geysers by day and a proper resort by night. What to book: a plateau-view room with the all-inclusive excursions.
The honest part: the hotel itself is at a manageable 2,400 metres, but the headline excursions climb past 4,000 metres to the lagoons and geysers, where altitude hits hard, so the height you book is not the height you experience. Days are scorching and nights are cold.
Source: Tierra Atacama; San Pedro de Atacama elevation ~2,400 m.
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A different record: the world's highest hotel rooms
The resorts above are high because the land they stand on is high. A separate record, and a common point of confusion, is the highest hotel rooms, which sit near the top of giant skyscrapers at sea level rather than on a mountain. By that measure the highest hotel is the J Hotel in Shanghai Tower, whose guest floors climb to the 120th floor, more than 550 metres off the ground but barely above sea level.
So a room at the J Hotel is far higher off the ground than a room at the St. Regis Lhasa, yet the St. Regis sits roughly 3,600 metres higher above the sea. Different records, different experiences: one is a view down a skyline, the other is thin mountain air. We rank the skyscraper version in full on our world's highest hotels guide, and the tallest hotel-only towers on our world's tallest hotels page.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the highest-altitude hotel in the world?
- By elevation above sea level, the highest hotel in the world is generally cited as Hotel Tayka del Desierto in Bolivia, at about 4,522 metres on the edge of the Siloli Desert. It is a remote, basic property rather than a luxury resort. The highest hotel run as a true international five-star resort is the St. Regis Lhasa Resort in Tibet, at roughly 3,650 metres.
- What is the highest luxury resort in the world?
- The St. Regis Lhasa Resort, at about 3,650 metres in Tibet, is the highest hotel operated as a full international luxury resort. It opened in 2010 as Tibet's first five-star hotel and the first St. Regis in China. Andean grandes dames such as Belmond Hotel Monasterio in Cusco, at 3,399 metres, sit just below it.
- Will I get altitude sickness staying at a high-altitude hotel?
- Possibly. Acute mountain sickness, headaches, nausea, breathlessness and poor sleep, can affect anyone above roughly 2,500 metres, regardless of fitness, and most of these hotels sit well above that. Ascend gradually, rest on arrival, drink water, go easy on alcohol, and ask your doctor about acetazolamide. Some hotels, including Belmond Hotel Monasterio, offer oxygen-enriched rooms.
- What is the difference between a high-altitude hotel and the world's highest hotel rooms?
- They are two different records. High-altitude resorts sit high above sea level on mountains and plateaus, so the land itself is high. The world's highest hotel rooms, like the J Hotel in the Shanghai Tower, are near the top of giant skyscrapers, so they are high off the ground but at sea level. This page ranks the first kind; our world's highest hotels page covers the second.
- Is the Hotel Everest View really the highest hotel?
- It is the highest hotel recognised by Guinness World Records, listed as the highest-placed hotel at about 3,880 metres above Namche Bazaar in Nepal, where it opened in 1971. In practice it is a modest mountain hotel that serves mostly day visitors hiking up for the Everest panorama, not a luxury resort, and reaching it means a multi-day trek or a small-plane flight to Lukla.
- How do you reach the highest-altitude resorts?
- Access is part of the price. Lhasa has an airport but Tibet requires permits and organised travel; Cusco is a short flight from Lima; San Pedro de Atacama is reached via Calama airport in Chile; and the Nepali lodges involve flights into Pokhara or Lukla plus road or trekking. Build in acclimatisation time rather than flying straight to the highest point.
- When is the best time to visit high-altitude destinations?
- Generally the dry season, when skies are clearest and roads most reliable: roughly April to October for Tibet and the Andes, and October to May for the Atacama, which is dry year-round but coldest at night in winter. Nights are cold at altitude in every season, so pack layers regardless of when you go.
