Six Senses Plots a Utah Desert Escape

IHG Hotels & Resorts is taking its glamping, er, tented pavilion game to the canyons.

The global hospitality giant announced today the signing of Six Senses Camp Korongo, a 480-acre resort and residential community slated for a 2029 opening near Kanab, Utah. It’s a move that underscores a massive strategic shift we’ve been tracking for years: IHG is increasingly a formidable player in the ultra-luxury hotel stratosphere.

IHG has long been in the luxury game thanks to its namesake InterContinental Hotels & Resorts brand, but why stop there? Following the acquisitions of both Regent Hotels & Resorts and Six Senses, IHG has been steadily working to fill the halo gap in its portfolio to compete with the industry’s heaviest hitters.

While the Six Senses integration initially focused on its strongholds in Asia and Europe, the brand is finally picking up serious growth momentum in the Americas. Camp Korongo joins a burgeoning pipeline that includes the highly anticipated Six Senses Telluride, Six Senses Xala in Mexico, Six Senses Belize, and the Six Senses RiverStone Estate in Pennsylvania.

This new Utah outpost promises to be a stunner. Located a stone’s throw from the region’s heavy hitters of Zion, Bryce Canyon, Grand Canyon, and Arches National Parks, the property will feature 41 luxury tented pavilions and 12 branded residences.

Six Senses Camp Korongo — The new Six Senses is the latest in the brands growing momentum in the Americas.
(Six Senses/IHG Hotels & Resorts)

True to the hotel snob standards we look for, this isn’t just a tent in the dirt. The project is being designed by South Africa–based Luxury Frontiers (leaders of the ultra-luxe safari aesthetic) to blend into the sculpted rock landscape. Expect a contrast of textures that harmonize with the juniper forest, ensuring the structures feel like a natural extension of the desert rather than an imposition on it.

Wellness, the Six Senses bread and butter, will naturally play a central role. A Six Senses Spa will offer “internal discovery” journeys, while the outdoor programming leans heavily on the location’s natural rhythms: hiking ancient trails, canyoneering sheer faces, and stargazing in some of the darkest skies in the lower 48.

The project is a partnership with Canyon Global Partners, a Larkspur, California–based developer making its debut with IHG.

“Six Senses Camp Korongo will blend the brand’s distinctive values and touchpoints in a unique location while also underscoring our growth plan for the brand in the Americas,” Jolyon Bulley, IHG’s CEO of the Americas, said in a statement.

For travel advisors, this signals that the long-awaited “Six Senses-ification” of the U.S. hospitality landscape is truly underway, offering domestic clients a taste of the brand’s renowned eco-conscious luxury without the trans-Atlantic flight.

For yours truly, I’ll start wondering if there’s any opportunity for a “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” crossover event once the stunning new Six Senses opens for business.