Eco-savvy trips don’t have to mean compromising on glamour, luxury, or comfort, especially when you choose an eco luxury hotel. In fact, many of the world’s sustainable hotels are made even more indulgent by their environmental credentials, with locally-sourced produce and cutting-edge, energy-efficient technology coming as standard for sustainable stays.
From spa treatments infused with fresh florals foraged from the hotel gardens to outstanding conservation efforts that grant guests the opportunity to help preserve local wildlife, these eco luxury hotels offer a planet-friendly way to travel – coupled with the unparalleled excellence and service Luxury Gold guests expect with a five-star retreat.
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Sani Resort, Halkidiki
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For the fourth year running, Greece’s pioneering Sani resort on the shores of the Halkidiki peninsula won the World’s Leading Luxury Green Resort at the World Travel Awards in 2023. The Sani Green program is implemented across the five energy-efficient hotels at this dreamlike beach resort – despite its huge scale, it has been running on 100% renewable energy since 2019, and in 2020 Sani became Greece’s very first carbon-neutral resort.
Commitment to sustainability continues in Sani’s carefully-crafted guest experiences, from eco excursions exploring the 1,000-acre wetland and nature reserve next door, to taking part in wild dolphin surveys and replanting local olive groves.
Six Senses Svart, Norway
Wellness specialists Six Senses are opening a new base at the foot of a Norwegian fjord later this year; and, in true Scandi sustainable style, it’s hoped that the Six Senses Svart will be the world’s first energy-positive hotel. Not only is the ring-shaped hotel building itself intended to be completely off-grid and self-sufficient thanks to solar and geothermal energy: the supply and transfer boats that dock at the hotel will be too.
Staying at this eco luxury hotel is a lesson in Earth-conscious comfort. Zero-waste dining with farm-to-table ingredients is a given, while sp treatments also utilise locally-foraged produce: think wild Norwegian herbs pounded into soothing body scrubs.
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Saffire Freycinet, Tasmania
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Set in the spellbinding Tasmanian wilderness, Saffire Freycinet is one of Australia’s most sustainable hotels. It’s guided by two core principles – protecting healthy sites and healing damaged ones. The hotel stands on the land of a former campsite, where the land had been ravaged by passing vehicles; however, Saffire Freycinet has replanted 30,000 native flora species since it opened in 2010. Charming embellishments – from knitwear to cuddly toys – designed by locals and displayed in the lobbies and rooms keep the hotel’s carbon footprint low, and guests can even take part in a Tasmanian Devil conservation program.
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The Brando, French Polynesia
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French Polynesia’s paradisiacal islands look as if they have barely been touched by man – and the exclusive Brando private island getaway hopes to keep it that way. Inspired by Marlon Brando’s keenness to preserve sanctuaries for future generations, the understated yet uber-luxe energy-efficient hotel is mostly powered by 4,700 photovoltaic panels. Plus, all food waste is transformed into compost within 24 hours so the next generation of hotel-grown crops can flourish.
The Brando also works with a Polynesian non-profit, the Tetiaroa Society, to operate the island’s very own Eco-Station – where scientists monitor biodiversity and other crucial aspects of the island’s ecosystem.
Park Hotel Pickering, Singapore
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Eco luxury hotels in cities can be harder to find than sustainable rural boltholes, but the Park Hotel Pickering in Singapore bucks the trend. This ‘hotel-within-a-garden’ set along the banks of the Singapore River is literally covered in greenery, with 15,000 square metres of exterior planting, roof gardens and even waterfalls on the walls transforming this five-star hote into a true urban jungle.
The sustainable credentials continue inside, too, with tempting pure plant-based menus in the restaurant and electric vehicles used for all guest transfers. No wonder it’s been named the “World’s Leading Green City Hotel” at the World Travel Awards three years in a row.
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Gaia Hotel and Resort, Costa Rica
Certified by the Costa Rican government as 99.6% sustainable and currently the World’s Leading Green Hotel (at the World Travel Awards), Gaia prides itself on ‘5-star barefoot luxury’ – you’ll feel connected to the glorious rainforest around you within moments of stepping through the door.
Light-filled rooms are equipped with special sensitive glass, which reduces the need for both artificial heating and cooling. In the grounds, tours of the sustainable luxury hotel’s own nature reserve introduces guests to the resident scarlet macaws, as Gaia hopes to spearhead the reintroduction of the species into the adjacent Manuel Antonio National Park.
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