Wild Mongolia in Style

In the heart of the capital of Mongolia, Shangri-La Ulaanbaatar is an urban oasis, ready to pamper business and leisure guests alike with its spacious suites, exquisite restaurants and expansive health club. The hotel features nearly 300 rooms and suites, each with an impressive vista over downtown Ulaanbaatar, and is in within walking distance of the city’s best shops, restaurants, and historical sights. Fusing contemporary and traditional design, the hotel also offers much for guests to do within its walls, from enjoying a meal and culinary show in the open-kitchen Café Park to enjoying a steam bath and jacuzzi in the luxurious health club.

This five-star contemporary hotel is situated in the city’s business district and more interestingly in Ulaanbaatar’s tallest building. The hotel, decorated in a classic European style, has many top quality facilities including an indoor pool, gym, wellness centre, sauna and a business centre. There are many services on offer to make your stay as comfortable and convenient as possible such as 24-hour room service, car rentals, currency exchange, laundry services, luggage storage, safety deposit boxes and a 24-hour front desk. Diners will be spoilt for choice with the Cantonese, Japanese, Korean and western food on offer at the hotel’s restaurants. The rooms feature free WiFi, flat-screen TVs with cable channels, en-suite bathrooms with a bathtub and shower facilities as well as a minibar luxury toiletries, hairdryers and slippers.

The Three Camel Lodge was constructed without nails from Siberian timber and local stone using traditional techniques, and is situated within view of the Gobi Desert's stunning Gobi-Altai Mountain Range. Built under environmentally and culturally sustainable guidelines, energy for the lodge is drawn partially from solar and wind power; the main building has a large shaded porch and remains cool and comfortable even on hottest desert days. The staff is a group of well-practiced folk musicians who don beautiful costumes and play the horse-head fiddle and other traditional instruments in the evening. Guest rooms are in 30 gers (yurts), made from latticed structures covered by layers of felt and canvas and heated with wood-burning stoves. The beds and furniture are hand-painted in vivid colors. The main lodge has a bar with a selection of beers, wines and spirits, a gift shop with local crafts and artwork and a business facility including fax service. Meals of traditional Mongolian cuisine are served in an over-sized ger, with ingredients fresh from local farms. There is no fitness center but you will not want for physical activities: a number of expeditions are possible, including hiking in the foothills of the Gobi-Altai Mountains, camel trekking through sand dunes, horseback riding through mountain valleys to local springs, and excavating dinosaur fossils at the Flaming Cliffs under the guidance of a paleontologist from the Mongolian Academy of Sciences. The Three Camel Lodge is 1.5 to two hours from the airport in the provincial capital of Dalanzadgad (DLZ).

Nestled in one of the last frontiers, the HS Khaan Resort is a first-class cottage experience in Mongolia, a country typically only providing “Ger”-style tents for travelers. Guests will feel at one with nature as they sleep with an incredible view of the open prairie. The individual cottages are quaint and luxurious, while still maintaining a one-of-a-kind environment. The spacious suites are far from rustic and provide guests with all the desired comforts during their Mongolian adventure, including fantastic views of the majestic Himalayas and vivid blue sky above. Inside the rooms, guests will find a lavatory, western toilet, audio components, refrigerators, showers, bathroom, electric pot, safe box and a bar counter. There is USB Internet available for guest-use. Situated across a vast site nearby the location of the famous Naadam Festival, this is an idyllic spot for exploring the natural beauty of the area. There are seasonal wild birds migrating across the picturesque Himalayan Mountain Range every year. The open plains are perfect for taking a hike into the unending vibrant green grass. The remote location creates an uninterrupted blanket of bright stars over the prairie every night. There is also private transfer from anywhere in Ulaanbaatar City available. This is a far stretch from roughing it in the more traditional “Ger”-style Mongolian tents.

The Terelj Hotel provides a luxurious base from which to explore the wonders of the Mongolian outdoors in the Gorkhi-Terelj National Park, one of the most carefully protected parklands in the country and part of the Khan Khentii Strictly Protected Area, an expansive, virtually uninhabited wilderness. Terelj Hotel is only 43 miles north of the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar, near to the birthplace of Mongolia’s Great Unifier Chinggis Khaan (Ghengis Khan). The hotel itself boasts just 52 elegant suites, overlooking views of the Mongolian larch trees in front of the hotel or the Tereji River and surrounding mountains. The rooms are spacious with separate living areas and marble bathrooms. Rooms are well-appointed with classic furniture and quality upholstery, the sumptuous bedding comprises layers of Egyptian cotton and Mongolian cashmere blankets. Traditional Mongolian and local artworks are displayed throughout the hotel and guest suites. Hotel facilities include a spa, Jacuzzi, pine sauna, steam room, swimming pool, fitness center, winter movie theater and ice-skating rink and complimentary WiFi. Dining options include Morin Khuur, serving refined Mongolian cuisine paired with wines in an exquisite dining hall decorated with antique Mongolian saddles and artifacts; a restaurant overlooking the river serving western delicacies, as well as Argali serving burgers, steak and over 70 different whiskeys; a café with fresh coffee and French pastries; and a lounge bar.