Properties / Hotels

Top eco-friendly luxury hotels

Whether you’re in search of an urban adventure or a tropical getaway, satisfy your wanderlust in eco-friendly style with our guide to green luxury hotels.

Apr 23, 2013 | By AFPRelaxnews

Laguna Lodge Hotel Guatemala

A resort in Australia that helped bring a species of tree back from the brink of extinction, a lodge in Guatemala that’s completely off the grid, and a Japanese oasis that offers guests luxury eco-tours are being called some of the top, green yet lavish hotel stays in the world.

It sounds like a contradiction in terms: opulent hotels that provide five-star service and amenities while respecting the environment.

Hoshinoya Karuizawa summer pond

But according to Ecoluxhotels.com, helmed by a travel journalist and an environmental consultant, the two concepts don’t have to be mutually exclusive.

Hoshinoya Karuizawa bedroom

As the world fetes the 43rd edition of Earth Day, globetrotters with deep pockets are encouraged to consider spending their money at eco-responsible properties that offer luxury experiences, guilt-free.

Hoshinoya Karuizawa guestroom

Just an hour outside Tokyo, for example, guests can find a secluded, mountainside spa resort that harnesses the power of the area’s geothermal energy to provide a luxury hot spring experience which is said to have skin-healing properties.

Hoshinoya Karuizawa autumn day

Hoshinoya Karuizawa, styled after traditional Japanese inns or ryokans, also offers guests award-winning eco-tours on foot and on bike that explore bird wildlife sanctuaries in the day, flying squirrels at night, and operates a black bear conservation program.

Hoshinoya Karuizawa dining hall

Similarly, the resort is powered by hydroelectricity generated by the area’s fast-moving streams and rivers in the mountainous surroundings, while foods are sourced from local farmer.

Hoshinoya Karuizawa winter

Here are a few other picks for the greenest luxury hotels in the world, as chosen by Ecoluxhotels.com:

Laguna Lodge, Guatemala

Set in the lush, tropical jungles of Guatemala, the five-star boutique hotel offers sweeping views of Lake Atitlan and a trio of volcanic peaks in the distance.

Laguna Lodge Hotel jaguar suite

Suites are carved out of the area’s volcanic stone, adobe and palm and decorated in indigenous Mayan antiques.

Laguna Lodge Hotel

The lodge is also powered entirely from renewable solar energy and is off-grid, reuses grey water, collects rainwater and grows organic vegetables. Meals are meat-free.

www.thelagunalodge.com

Laguna Lodge Hotel Guatemala pool

The Scarlet, Cornwall

Set along the Cornish coast, the airy, seaside British resort is pitched as an Ayurvedic-inspired spa that tries to echo the rugged surroundings into its design.

Scarlet Hotel England

In addition to offering classes like ‘laughter yoga’, transformational dance, surfing and horse riding, the wellness retreat also offers day-long sustainability courses.

Scarlet Hotel England outdoor

Eco measures include the harvesting of water, the collection of rain water and the use of solar energy.

www.scarlethotel.co.uk

Scarlet Hotel England room

Emirates Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa, Australia

Emirates Wolgan Valley Resort bar

Deep within the Greater Blue Mountains, three hours from Sydney, guests staying at the Wolgan Valley Resort choose from 40 luxury suites styled after traditional, rural Australian homesteads, each with its own private terrace and swimming pool.

Emirates Wolgan Valley Resort australia

Billed as Australia’s first luxury conservation-based resort, the property is also the first to achieve internationally accredited carbon neutral certification through cabonNZero which it’s maintained for three years in a row thanks to its rehabilitation programs and use of renewable energy.

Emirates Wolgan Valley Resort suite

By the end of last year, more than 200,000 trees were planted in wildlife corridors, for example, including the reintroduction of the Wollemi Pine, one of the world’s rarest trees, which was thought to be extinct.

www.wolganvalley.com

Emirates Wolgan Valley Resort

Garonga Safari Camp, South Africa

A luxury safari sanctuary that promises intimate wildlife encounters with four of the five iconic African land animals, Garonga is glamping at its finest.

Garonga Safari Camp South Africa

Guests stay in spacious, airy tents outfitted with wooden decks, hammocks, large, draped beds and indoor and outdoor showers.

Garonga Safari Camp

Activities include safaris, spa services, wilderness walks, outdoor bush-baths and sleep-outs. Ssustainability measures include the conversion of food and natural waste into natural gas, which is used to power the kitchen stove.

Garonga Safari Camp room

The site also harnesses solar power, harvests grey water and grows its own vegetables while its fleet of vehicles is powered by biodiesel.

www.garonga.com

Garonga Safari Camp photo


 
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