Alila Jabal Akhdar

The road up from Birkat Al Mouz climbs so steeply that the police at the checkpoint let only four wheel drives through. About an hour later the air has cooled noticeably, and the hotel appears as a group of low stone buildings that recall the region's old forts. The British firm Atkins and the Thai studio P49 Design built it of locally sourced stone and wood, with copper fixtures, woven basketry and painted ceramics inside. The complex is LEED certified, and the resort has since added EarthCheck Gold.

What sets the place apart is the edge. The 86 suites and villas are spread along the clifftop, and the infinity pool looks out over a gorge, so the view runs downward as much as outward. The Ridge View suites, on the first floor of the outlying buildings, have large balconies facing straight into the gorge, while the two Jabal Villas add private pools. Juniper, the main restaurant, serves an international menu inspired by Arabic cuisine and is known for its tagines; the Rose Lounge by the pools serves drinks and light bites.

Days fill with the via ferrata on the cliffs below the hotel, hikes through abandoned mountain villages and a stargazing session after dark. In April the terraced villages of the plateau harvest their damask roses for rosewater, and through the summer the plateau offers an escape from the heat of the coast.