Eco with an edge:
The dazzling infinity-edge
pool at the Alila Ubud
resort in Bali, Indonesia
According to Hitesh
Mehta, award-winning landscape architect and one of the
world’s leading authorities on ecotourism, “The word eco
has been hijacked.” Indeed, the tiny word (actually just a prefix)
has become ubiquitous, in the hospitality and travel industries as
elsewhere, yet what does it actually signify? An “ecotour” could
simply mean a nature walk; an “eco-hotel” might indicate the
presence of recycling bins on site, and nothing more. When a
uniformly accepted vocabulary on such matters is lacking, how can
planners discern which properties are embracing green practices,
and which are freeloaders riding the eco-bandwagon?
“One solution is to ask questions,”
says Kelly Bricker, director of The International Ecotourism
Society (TIES), based in Washington, D.C., which defines ecotourism
as “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the
environment and sustains the well-being of the local people.” Among
those questions: What is green about your facility? How have you
benefited the local community? “If they use environmentally
sustainable practices, they’ll most likely make it known,” Bricker
adds.
Bricker also recommends considering
whether the property has achieved some type of ecotourism
certification. Hundreds of such programs exist, and TIES is in the
process of establishing a set of criteria to which it believes
certification programs should conform.
Planners leaning in a green direction
likely would find eco-lodges and eco-resorts of particular
interest. Mehta, a TIES board member, says there is a notable
difference between the two. Eco-lodges must meet specific criteria,
such as conserving the surrounding flora and fauna and engaging in
educational programs about the local environment, and they
generally have few frills and fewer than 75 rooms.
Eco-resorts are more loosely defined.
“They implement some ecotourist practices, but they also feature
amenities such as spa treatments and golf, and they generally have
more than 75 rooms,” says Mehta.
The increasing popularity of ecotoursim
in recent years has led to the proliferation of sustainable travel
beyond typical destinations like Costa Rica, Ken-ya and parts of
South America. Properties in Asia and Europe, for example, are
beginning to exemplify ecotourist practices. The following are a
handful of resorts off the beaten “eco” path, yet entirely
committed to being green.
Hillside haven:
The Alila Ubud hotel,
in the Balinese village of Payangan,
offers open-air dining
amid coconut palmwood
pillars and a traditional
thatched roof.
Alila Ubud
Bali, Indonesia
(011) 62-361-975-963
www.alilahotels.com/Ubud
The 56-room, eight-villa Alila Ubud,
set in the Balinese hillside village of Payangan, didn’t
deliberately set out to be “eco” when it was built 10 years ago. In
recent years, however, the hotel has made sweeping efforts to
minimize its environmental impact and aid the surrounding community
in the process.
In May 2007, Alila Ubud became Green
Globe-certified, meaning it follows criteria established at the
1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. A
“Green Team” of 12 staffers is responsible for upholding the
program’s requirements (audited annually by a Green Globe
assessor), though general manager Amanda J. Pummer notes that all
of the hotel’s workers are extensively trained in maintaining the
resort’s sustainability.
The property excels in energy
conservation and practices sustainable waste recycling with its use
of organic composting and the recycling of 80 percent of the water
it consumes. In fact, thanks to various initiatives, water
consumption fell from 5,038 gallons per room per day in 2006 to
1,392 gallons in 2007.
Another of the hotel’s goals for 2007
was to reduce paper consumption by 50 percent. “We managed to
reduce it by approximately 22 percent,” says Pummer. “The good news
is, though, we are now using 100 percent recycled paper for all our
in-house commercial printing.” The resort also encouraged the paper
distributor to create a carbon-neutral tree-planting program in
order to offset the energy used to ship the paper from Denmark.
In addition, Alila Ubud makes it a
practice to support the surrounding community by hiring most
employees from local areas, and management is creating special
tours that will focus on traditional Balinese textiles, which will
introduce the products to guests and help preserve local business
and culture.
Future green practices at the property
will involve research and further attempts at carbon offsetting.
Pummer intends to conduct studies on the community’s flora and
fauna. To reduce carbon emissions, a proposal is in the works to
change the mode of staff transport from motorbikes to
biofuel-powered shuttle buses. And in the cultural realm, “We will
be introducing new experiences for guests involving local Balinese
healers,” says Pummer.
Meeting facilities consist of a modest
room for up to 30 attendees on the ground floor of the hotel’s
central courtyard. Ubud, an artists’ center known for its
galleries, museums and other cultural activities, is just three
miles down the road.
Vista vision:
All of Alila Ubud’s
rooms have views
of the surrounding
Ayung River valley.
Mountain fountains:
Crosswaters Ecolodge & Spa,
Nankun Shan Mountain Reserve, China
Crosswaters Ecolodge &
Spa
Nankun Shan Nature Reserve, China
(011) 86-752-7693-666
www.crosswaters.net.cn
When it comes to ecotourism, the
Crosswaters Ecolodge & Spa, which opened last fall, is the real
deal. Tucked within the 100 square miles of thick forests and
bamboo plantations that comprise the Nankun Shan Nature Reserve in
the southern Guangdong Province, this is China’s first planned
ecotourism and eco-lodge destination.
At every phase of planning and
construction, local villagers, or Keija, were considered
integral advisers to the project. The plan was to construct a
resort that blended into the environment; materials such as bamboo,
clay tiles, marble, river stones and even recycled railway ties
were the resort’s building blocks. An entire bridge was made out of
bamboo, the first of its kind in China. Local craftsmen were
instructed by builders from other countries who were experts in
this new architectural discipline.
Sustainable span: Visitors
make their way to
China’s Crosswaters Ecolodge & Spa
by passing over a bridge constructed
entirely from locally grown bamboo.
Resort architects, Hitesh Mehta among
them, respected the cultural and spiritual values of the area; so
as to not disturb the chi (Chinese for “energy”) of the
site, all villas and public buildings were laid out according to
feng shui principles and guided by a local master of the practice.
Architects carefully studied the principles of Chinese garden
design to use throughout the property. Also strategically placed
around the grounds are a conference center for 200 people, a
fine-dining restaurant, and a wellness center that offers massages,
spa treatments and yoga. (Though the resort is open for business,
the wellness and conference centers are slated to finish in
August.)
Activities in the reserve include
mountain climbing, wine tasting, biking and fruit picking. Further
development occurring over the next 10 years will result in a
25-room boutique property called Sumoaping River Lodge, a visitor
and Interpretation Center, a Bamboo Museum, and a retail and civic
center.
Rustic and renewable:
Careys Manor Hotel
and SenSpa in England’s
New Forest
Careys Manor Hotel and
SenSpa
Bournemouth, England
(011) 44-1590-623551
www.careysmanor.com
This 80-room property in southern
England first opened its doors back in 1888 but has only lately
become known as an environment-friendly destination thanks to
various initiatives that helped it earn a gold award from the
U.K.’s largest eco-certification program, the Green Tourism
Business Scheme.
To begin with, the resort offers a 10
percent discount to guests who arrive car-free. All electricity on
the premises is generated from local wind farms, and the food
served is grown locally.
The property sits in the midst of the
New Forest community, about 290 square miles of unenclosed pasture
between Southampton and Bournemouth. The development (such as it
is) is a designated National Park with a population of 180,000 and
was named the winner of the 2007 U.K.-based Responsible Tourism
Awards. The local New Forest District Council has spent the past 15
years working to support sustainable tourism.
Other green initiatives include the New
Forest Trust’s Visitors Scheme, which encourages guests to donate
one pound (approximately US$2) upon departure; the funds are used
to help sustain the region’s flora and fauna as well as to enhance
visitor facilities. In addition, all of the resort’s spa products
are organically produced within the New Forest.
Conference facilities include three
naturally lit meeting rooms, which combined accommodate about 400
guests for a reception.
Boundless beauty:
The pool blends into
the horizon at
Evason Phuket &
Six Senses Spa
Evason Phuket & Six Senses
Spa
Phuket Island, Thailand
(011) 66-76-381010
www.sixsenses.com/evason-phuket
At the 260-room Evason Phuket,
sustainability starts with a main building largely forged from an
older structure on the site (the property opened in 2002). All wood
used was purchased from local producers abiding by sustainable
practices; in some instances, driftwood was incorporated into the
decor.
The resort’s water system is abetted by
reservoirs that collect rain. The pond and waterfall in the
conference area naturally cool the room and conserve energy. Waste
production is ameliorated by the use of a composting facility.
Evason Phuket contributes to the
surrounding community through education and financial donations
made possible by energy savings. One project entails supporting the
local primary school, Wat Sawang Arom, by providing computer
equipment, books and other learning materials to students. The
property’s employees participate in sustainability training as a
team-
building measure.
In addition to the resort’s Six Senses
Spa, three swimming pools and extensive recreational activities,
meeting and banquet facilities are available for events of anywhere
from 30 to 400 people. The property’s 64 acres accommodate large
gala receptions overlooking the Andaman Sea.
Mediterranean menu:
Into the Med, at Evason
Phuket & Six Senses Spa