Impact

ULTRA LUXE BEAUTY EXTREME DESERT

Image: Courtesy of White Desert. Amazing mountain views from the White Desert Camp. Antarctica.

WHITE DESERT -- ANTARCTICA

Antarctica is the biggest desert in the world, with less than 200 mm of rainfall per year across its 5.5 million square miles of extreme beauty. It is the driest, windiest and coldest place on the planet. Now, it offers extreme luxury too!

Image: Courtesy of White Desert. Beautiful view of the water from the White Desert Camp. Antarctica.

While the White Desert Camp has been attracting luxe-seeking adventurers, such as Prince Harry and David Beckham, for the past 10 years, until now, they’ve had to “rough” it, settling for bare necessities in the middle of frozen natural glories.

Image: Courtesy of White Desert. New sleeping pod at White Desert Camp. Antarctica.

But now, in celebration of its 10th anniversary, White Desert has unveiled a magnificent 5-star mega-luxury retreat, complete with bespoke furnishings and its own fleet of aircraft.

Image: Courtesy of White Desert. Snowy desert landscape view from the White Desert Camp. Antarctica.

The main campsite contains 6 sleeping pods, a dining pod and library pod, each with its own piece of icy real estate for privacy and unparalleled views of the frozen lake.

Image: Courtesy of White Desert. Bedroom in White Desert Camp. Antarctica.

While the pods may sound Spartan, they are full of their own little luxuries, like fur throws on plush beds, and Saarinen-designed furniture.

Image: Courtesy of White Desert. Inside bathroom at the luxurious White Desert Camp. Antarctica.

En-suite bathrooms are kitted out with Rothschild’s Lost Explorer toiletries and, fortunately, towel warmers and hot water!

Image: Courtesy of White Desert. A White Desert guest explores an ice tunnel. Antarctica. White Desert Camp. Antarctica.

You’ll be given an oh-so-warm parka to keep you happy when you venture out into the sub-sub-sub-zero wilderness where you can go trekking into blue ice caves, go kite-skiing, try abseiling, or visit research scientists stationed nearby. You can also chill out and warm up at the sauna.

Image: Courtesy of White Desert. Dining room. White Desert Camp. Antarctica.

White Desert’s new dining room offers furs thrown over its chairs. Meals are are fully choreographed by a resident private chef who also happens to cook for the British Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton in the off season. Top-end ingredients and wines are flown in from Cape Town.

Image: Courtesy of White Desert. Luxurious library pod at White Desert Camp. Antarctica.

Renovations were no picnic. And running the White Desert is no mean feat. It takes extreme logistics and mega-loads of cash for transportation of goods, zero-impact policies, and weather management, with efforts steered by the resort’s cofounders, husband and wife team Robyn and Patrick Woodhead.

Image: Courtesy of White Desert. Beautiful penguins in Antarctica.

The only time to travel to Antarctica is during November and December, so there are only 2 trips are offered each year. Stay for 8 or 11 nights -- and be prepared for a $72,000 per person tariff.

Image: Courtesy of White Desert. Arrival at Unknown International Airport. Antarctica.

You can take a 6 hour flight in a prop plane from White Desert for an excursion to the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. Braving this will earn you a custom engraved Bremont timepiece to commemorate the trip.

Image: Courtesy of White Desert. Flying across the mountains to get to the South Pole campsite. Antarctica.

Read more about Desert & Beach Beauties all this week on BeautifulNow. And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Wellness, Impact, Nature/Science, Food, Arts/Design, and Travel, Daily Fix posts.

Image: by Peter Liu. “Antarctica Fortuna and Stromness penguin colony.” Antarctica.

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Image: by Pierre Roudier. “Miers Valley.” McMurdo Dry Valleys. Antarctica.