While we grapple with the issues of climate change and sustainability, consumers are putting pressure on the travel industry to modify tourism for an eco-conscious world. And the industry has responded with initiatives like carbon offsetting, water conservation, responsible design and single-use plastic bans. Green credentials are in and if you were looking for a hotel with a focus on sustainability, you were spoiled for choice in 2019. Here are some of the best.
Arima Hotel, San Sebastian
This is the first hotel in Spain and the largest in Europe to hold the Passivhaus Certification, awarded to hotels that consume 70% less energy than one built with conventional criteria. Not only is it built to be energy efficient, but rooms are filled with sulfate-free toiletries and the fine dining restaurant offers a locally sourced vegetarian menu. Rooms are also exceptionally stylish in this family-friendly boutique hotel that's less than three miles from San Sebastián's beaches.
Saorsa 1875, Scotland
Saorsa 1875 opened its doors earlier this year in Pitlochry, a village that's popular with travellers en route to Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It's the UK's first 100% vegan hotel, offering guests an ethical travel experience from check-in to departure. Everything from food to drink and the upcycled lounge furniture is vegan. Rooms in the cosy, 11-room boutique hotel are heated with electric radiators from the 100% renewable Ecotricity supplier. And owners work closely with animal sanctuaries and wildlife charities on fundraising efforts.
Jungle Keva, Tulum
Jungle Keva is a new environmentally-friendly resort in Tulum, Mexico, designed to look and feel like "being in a small village in the Mayan jungle," with five close-knit lodges to minimise site impact. The hotel is built of locally sourced, natural materials and designed in stylish, muted tones. The resort is all about wellness and personal development and hosts a range of retreats and seminars that cover varied interests from yoga to writing, and from history to cooking.
Macal River Camp, Belize
The Macal River Camp is an eco-lodge resort hidden inside a 400-acre private nature reserve in Belize's Cayo District, the country's top spot for eco-adventure tourism. This is ideal for eco-conscious travellers on a budget as it offers a wallet-friendly mix of 10 rustic casitas (the Spanish for 'small house') in a jungle environment where guests can bird-watch, canoe or hike through the onsite rainforest medicine trail. Macal River Camp boasts ultra-low energy consumption; it offers no electricity but hot meals can be cooked around the campfire.
Arctic Blue Resort, Finland
Arctic Blue Resort is a new eco-hotel 450km northeast of Helsinki that will decrease its rates for guests who decrease their carbon footprint. To encourage guests to consume less, the hotel will offer discounts for the total price of a stay to guests who watch their water intake, electricity use and food choices. Planting a tree in the nearby forest will also reduce the cost. The eco-hotel is set to open in 2022 in Kontiolahti.
