Forest domes take eco-hotels to new heights

Are they tents, igloos, cabins, or a little bit of everything?

If you were passing overhead, you probably wouldn’t even notice these three luxury accommodation pods in a heavily forested area of the Quebec mountains.

And that’s kind of the point.

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Designed to “blend harmoniously with the landscape”, the “Dômes Charlevoix” are touted as eco-luxury, and are intended to make guests feel as if they’re a part of their surroundings.

The domes are barely noticeable among their forest surrounds.

Created by Bourgeois/Lechasseur architects and built by Urbanext, the domes at Petite-Rivière-Saint-François, next to the Massif de Charlevoix, are the first phase of a larger tourist project.

Accessed only via a path through the trees, they’re deliberately remote, and yet have every creature comfort waiting within.

The view from the main bed at the Dômes Charlevoix.

Each dome is set on a wooden patio and has a spa overlooking the forest, while the south-facing windowed area offers stunning views of the St. Lawrence River.

Concrete floors underscore each room, while the walls are made of grey canvas and a central internal cube houses a bed at ground level and above, as well as a kitchen and a bathroom with an Italian shower.

Staying in the domes’ picturesque surrounds won’t cost you the earth, either. Each dome costs around $310 per night.

The centre of the domes houses beds, a bathroom and a kitchen.