Sustainable travel has continued to grow in scope over the years. It has allowed travellers to reduce their environmental footprint significantly and paved the way for responsible, conscious tourism. The rise of eco-friendly hotels, with sustainability at their core, has allowed travellers to make informed choices about where they want to stay while visiting a destination.
Most people assume that being eco-friendly involves a compromise on comfort and luxury, but that isn’t the case. Eco-friendly hotels have embraced geothermal energy and upcycled furniture, and are sourcing food directly from farms, to provide guests with an experience that is both sustainable and top-quality. Luxury eco-friendly hotels and eco-lodges offer the best to their guests, but never at the cost of damaging the environment.
Also read: 13 eco-friendly products you’ll definitely need when you travel
Here Are 6 Of The Best Eco-Friendly Hotels From Around The World
1. White Pod—Eco-Luxury Pods In The Swiss Alps
Switzerland
White Pod in Switzerland is an intriguing hotel experience. With multiple eco-luxury pods cosily built high up in the Swiss Alps, you’re sure to find a way to connect with nature without giving up on luxury. These rustic domed pods have private bathrooms, wood-burning stoves and decks. If you choose to stay in a family pod, you’ll find mezzanines with beds. Upgrades include private saunas and minibars.
The hotel prioritises sustainability ensuring that all the pods are heated by pellet stoves, all the furniture is either reclaimed or recycled and food served in the restaurant is entirely locally sourced. This eco-friendly hotel offers all its guests guilt-free luxury.
2. Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica—Nestled In the Amazon Jungle
Amazon Rainforest, Peru
Inkaterra, a small travel company pioneering sustainable tourism across the country. The company owns five hotels including Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica. This striking eco-lodge is located deep in the Amazon jungle making it the perfect base to explore the wilderness around and spot wildlife. Highlights include a treetop canopy walkway or a night spent in the treehouse. All the funds generated by the hotel go towards ecological research and conservation projects along with offering planet-friendly jobs.
3. Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa—The Ultimate Luxury Experience
Maldives
This is the only resort in the Maldives that holds an EarthCheck certification because of its ability to effortlessly blend beauty and conservation. EarthCheck is the world’s leading scientific benchmarking certification and advisory group for the travel and tourism industry. Modern design that integrates the environment makes this eco-friendly hotel the ultimate luxury resort. The hotel ensures that it harvests rainwater and keeps its plastic use to a minimum. Plastic bottles are replaced with glass bottles, paper straws and paper takeaway boxes are also used. It protects the surrounding reef with the help of resident marine biologists that monitor the waters every day. Many parts of the hotel are built over the water in the Indian Ocean in order to minimize interference with the natural environment
4. H2Hotel—Sustainable At Every Step
California
This LEED Gold Certified hotel has conservation as its main goal. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the most widely used green building rating system in the world. It provides a framework for healthy, highly efficient, and cost-saving green buildings.
The design of the property ensures sustainability at every step. The curved roof of this eco-friendly hotel was created to filter and manage rainwater flow to decrease its runoff impact on the nearby Foss Creek. The solar panels don’t just heat water in the rooms but also heat the swimming pool. Further, guests will notice that floors are made of bamboo and that all the linen used is completely organic.
5. Garonga Safari Camp—Supports Locals Through Economic Empowerment
Phalaborwa, Africa
This 12-bed camp in South Africa is part of a resort that supports the local community through economic empowerment. Locals in the area are given employment opportunities with significant scope for career development. Further, all the food and goods used at this eco-friendly hotel are locally sourced. Guests are also encouraged to offset their carbon footprint by assisting with the planting and growing of trees in the Eastern Cape.
This resort is run in partnership with the Steenberg Hotel in Cape Town. The camp is specifically designed to blend in with its natural surrounding ensuring guests get a unique experience with breathtaking views.
6. The Scarlet—A Delightful Eco-Escape
Cornwall, UK
Nestled on a cliff in north Cornwall, The Scarlet is an eco-friendly hotel with a unique glass structure. This eco-escape has much to offer its guests including an Ayurvedic spa, a natural swimming pool, cliff-side log hot tubs and many relaxation areas. Sustainability is intrinsic to the hotel’s functioning. There are solar panels, biomass boilers and an all-natural spa that runs an upcycling towel program. All of the produce is sourced locally as well.
Also read: 44 of the most beautiful places to see in the UK
Eco-friendly Hotels Seamlessly Integrate Luxury And Sustainability
Eco-friendly hotels offer travellers an opportunity to offset their carbon footprint and help reduce damage to the environment. Many assume that being sustainable is always at the cost of giving up luxury, but these eco-friendly hotels are an example of how you can enjoy a luxurious vacation while also helping the environment. Every decision we take while travelling can help reduce our carbon footprint, and choosing a hotel that is conscious of the environment is an important choice every traveller must make. As travellers, we must always be on the lookout for hotels that use alternative energy methods, incorporate organic materials and decor, and strive to co-exist with their natural surroundings.
