Here are our top 3 picks for Green friendly destinations!
Turtle Bay Resort
Why we like it: Respect and responsibility are as Hawaiian as surfing on the North Shore. Honor both here.
Turtle Bay Resort is the first resort in Oahu to cover its roofs in solar panels, this major initiative was only one of the many that has led to its STOKE certification from an organization whose rigorous criteria include 140 quantifiable measures and 320 indicators of surf–specific sustainability. TripAdvisor backed that up with accolades of their own, as has Hawaii Governor David Ige.
They couldn't be more well–deserved, with small changes like compact florescent bulbs and resort-wide recycling making big environmental impacts and donations of leftover food—80% of the produce is organic—to local organizations for the hungry or area farms making huge social waves. On the actual famous waves of this surfing destination, their participation in beach cleanups extend far beyond their own shores, and contributions to the Waste to Waves program that turns non–biodegradable Styrofoam—which you won't find on the resort—into surfboards. In the kitchen, cooking oil is turned into biofuel with the help of a nearby university. It also helps that it isa stunning resort!
Click HERE for info on Turtle Bay!
El Dorado Royale, a Spa Resort, by Karisma
Why we like it: The only thing as green as the jungles of the Riviera Maya is this brand.
In the eyes of this Gourmet Inclusive® brand, "protecting our natural resources is more than just good taste." Every one of their Riviera Maya properties features produce harvested from their Rainforest Alliance–certified hydroponic greenhouse and surrounding orchard and Green Globe certification for admirable efforts in environmental protection and sustainability. El Dorado Royale, by Karisma is just one opulent way to enjoy the best signatures of this eco–friendly family of resorts, featuring accommodations equipped with energy–saving air conditioning units, LED lighting, motion sensors and solar panels to conserve energy even further. Recently they moved to all glass water bottles.
Like all the other El Dorado Spa Resorts & Hotels, Azul Hotels and Generations Resorts, this property also makes recycling very easy by installing special receptacles throughout the resorts and automatically using the oil your food is cooked in to power machines and reduce fossil fuel use. Each property features its own water treatment plant that purifies it and sends 85% back for landscape irrigation; the remainder is carefully returned to the environment. Also aqueous is the Kan–Kanan artificial reef, the largest privately funded attraction of its kind and an expansion of the Mesoamerican Reef, providing a home for local wildlife as opulent as the accommodations of El Dorado Royale, an initiative that goes hand in hand with their Marine Turtle Conservation Program.
Click HERE for more info on El Dorado Royale!
Sunset at the Palms Resort & Spa
Why we like it: Who says treehouses are for children? Certainly not this upscale resort.
The very first hotel in the world to receive the UK's Green Globe certification for environmentally sustainable tourism, the tropical landscape Jamaica is so revered for is lovingly made a focal point here. It’s a secluded Balinese–style resort where no building is higher than the many namesake palm trees that fill the perimeter. Its open–air design and treehouse–style rooms bring you even closer to nature. A bamboo swim–up bar introduces another organic, sustainable material.
This luxurious all–inclusive keeps the hug from Mother Earth going with fruits and vegetables so locally sourced that some—like bananas and organic herbs—come straight from the resort itself. Anything not used is returned to the community; produce waste is readily given to local pig farmers to support their livestock. Glass and plastic bottles, cardboard, paper, aluminum and stainless steel are also conscientiously separated for recycling to create another full circle.
Contact us HERE for more info on Sunset at The Palms Resort & Spa!
We would love to help you plan your next Green Getaway! Contact your Upon A Star TraveL Advisor Today!
Don’t have one yet? Contact us us HERE to find one!
