Eco-friendly hotels are the way of the future. Indeed, there’s more accommodation focused on protecting nature and the environment than ever before. But in today’s day and age, it does raise the question: shouldn’t every hotel be eco-friendly? (that’s exactly what tentree is pushing for) And by supporting hotels that are committed to sustainability, we can make that dream a reality. Here are 10 hotels around the world that are bringing ecotourism to a higher standard:
1. Baikaler Eco-Hostel, Siberia, Russia
It wouldn’t take much to be Russia’s most eco-friendly lodging (the country doesn’t exactly have the best track record) but Baikaler outdoes itself big time. Located in Eastern Siberia, the purpose-built hostel generates part of its electricity and heats water using solar panels.
2. Park Royal, Singapore
Don’t let Singapore’s first eco-friendly hotel fool you. It may appear over-indulgent, but painstaking environmental measures have been taken behind the scenes. Park Royal was built using Cobiax flat slabs, saving six truckloads of concrete, and claims to spare 32.5 Olympic-sized pools of water annually through in-house conservation.
3. Finca Rosa Blanca Coffee Plantation and Inn, Costa Rica
This luxury boutique hotel in Costa Rica’s highlands has been committed to sustainability all the way back to its modest beginnings in 1985. Over the years, they’ve developed a fantastic recycling program– using coffee “pulp” as fertilizer, an advanced compost system to tackle organic waste and only hiring employees locally to “recycle” back into the community.
4. Proximity Hotel, North Carolina, America
Proximity Hotel likes to call itself the greenest hotel in America, and with good reason. It was built in 2007 using recycled content, and 87% of the construction waste was also recycled and saved from ending up in a landfill. The facilities continue to keep up this impressive list of 70 ongoing sustainable practices.
5. Dana Guest House, Jordan
Run by Jordan’s Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN), Dana Guest House thrives on simplicity. The rooms are made of stone, the food is all locally produced and the conversation of the surrounding biodiversity is of utmost importance.
6. Jetwing Vil Uyana, Sri Lanka
It’s not often a resort increases the biodiversity of an area, but that’s certainly the case right here. Jetwing Vil Uyana was built on manmade wetlands, which were once used for disastrous slash and burn agriculture. Jetwing has since created a private nature reserve on the property, preserving surrounding rice paddies and reed beds.
7. Campi ya Kanzi, Kenya
For us at tentree, the construction of this hotel is totally dreamy. It was made using only sustainable materials collected locally, including lava rocks, grass and trees that fell naturally. Absolutely no trees were cut and much like in our own reforestation programs, local people were employed to make it all happen.
8. Hi Hotel, Nice, France
It’s the little touches that make Hi Hotel a shining star in global ecotourism, from organic paint to recycled paper. The rooms are cleaned using only eco-friendly cleaning products as well.
9. The Raintree, India
This business luxury hotel in India’s south produces energy with windmills, and they only generate exactly what’s required. They’ve found some very creative solutions to saving power – for example, using heat generated by air conditioners to warm water for bathroom.
10. Chumbe Island Coral Park Eco-Bungalows, Tanzania
What this Tanzanian hotel has managed to do is quite amazing. By creating the country’s first gazette marine park, they’ve kept a coral ecosystem untouched and pristine. It’s an even greater feat considering the overfished and exploited waters nearby. There’s also a stunning forest reserve located on the property.
