It isn’t until guests book a stay in one of the minimalist, glass-enclosed PurePods that directions to the off-grid location are revealed—the four solar-powered homes are scattered across New Zealand’s South Island, either near the Kahutara River, along the Seaward Kaikoura Range, above the Little River township on the Banks Peninsula, or nestled in the Waipara wine region (the newest location). With unparalleled views of the country’s vast landscape, it’s a roughly 15-minute walk from where guests park to the secluded, wifi-free zone. Designed in-house and led by director and founder Grant Ryan, the team wanted “to ensure we had the smallest possible footprint on the pristine landscapes,” says CEO Stephanie Hassall, “which is why the PurePod is suspended above the ground on steel footings with a glass floor to allow the plants to continue to grow below.” To make the pods accessible year-round, the structures have “custom designed (and patented) heating embedded into the glass floor,” Hassall adds. Sliding doors open to a deck where a telescope and a star map ensure that “even novice stargazers can have fun,” she says, or guests can choose to stay tucked in bed and gaze up at the sky through the glass ceiling.

Purepod Kaikoura