7 Impala partner eco-hotels for a sustainable summer holiday
Gone are the days when eco-friendly practices were a rarity in the hospitality industry. Today, travelling smart means travelling sustainably whenever possible, and you have your choice of boutique hotels and resorts that have designed their property with the local environment — and the health of the planet — in mind.
To celebrate Earth Day, we’ve hand-picked some of our favourite partner eco-hotels to consider for your summer holidays. From using solar-powered heating systems and locally-sourced construction materials to employing unique water recycling systems, each hotel here has features that reflect their substantial commitments to sustainability — and each is bookable through our partner room sellers.
1. IKION ECO Boutique Hotel
You’ll be seeing green everywhere you look when you set foot in Ikion Eco. This boutique hotel is planted on Greece’s most eco-friendly island, Alonissos, and takes their strict Green Hotel guidelines very seriously — they use energy-saving bulbs and solar water heaters on the property and have rainwater collection tanks for gardening and landscaping.
As you breathe in salty air on your room’s private balcony, you’ll be pleased that Ikion’s eco-centric endeavors do nothing to pollute the sea view resting right outside your window.
2. Bukubaki Eco Surf Resort
Bukubaki understands a surfer’s need to be one with the sea, which is why they designed their eco surf resort to allow visitors to live harmoniously with the natural ecosystem. You can enjoy organically produced local foods at the gastrobar and electric transport for all your travel.
Whether you choose the Treehouses or Canadian glamping tents, you’ll rest easy knowing the resort uses solar and photovoltaic panels to reduce energy consumption, as well as water wells specifically for the swimming pool and on-site irrigation. All this just so you can skate, surf, and sleep while preserving the playground that we call the great outdoors.
3. Eco Milano Hotel BioRiso
There’s eco-friendly, then there’s the eco-experience that Eco Hotel Milano provides. It begins before you even pack your bag, as you’re given the chance to choose between green rooms, eco-friendly apartments, and the oh-so-serene eco-friendly feng shui suite. The scent of essential oils wafting through the hallways might convince you to indulge in an aromatherapy session after a flying yoga class.
The hotel can also connect you with an ecoshopping experience, where you can browse vintage clothing stores and boutique shops selling eco-friendly products all made in Italy. You’ll work up an appetite for a dinner full of seasonal ingredients at their BioRiso Restaurant.
4. Fava Eco Suites
Fava Eco Suites reflects the sustainability trends of today while honouring the settlements of the Cyclades built thousands of years ago. The past and present collide via their use of discrete solar panels, low-e double glazing windows, thermal inertia natural materials, and traditional “parthyres” skylights.
Located in the village of Finikia, you’ll be just a stone’s throw from the best of Santorini — but it might be hard to tear yourself away from the Fava Eco Villa. A three-person jacuzzi, large private courtyard, and immaculate sunsets will keep you planted for hours.
5. Santa Bárbara Eco-Beach Resort
Disappear into the Azores for the summer and let Santa Bárbara introduce you to the archipelago’s first ecologically friendly eco-beach resort. It’s a harbour of harmony, thanks in part to the locally sourced natural and repurposed building materials. Explore the resort long enough and you’ll uncover rainwater basins for hydric efficiency, a photovoltaic farm for electric grid consumption reduction, and a host of eco-tourism activities that range from beach cleaning and compost classes to bird-watching and terrestrial ecology.
Should you only have time for a massage and a bite to eat, you’ll be pleased to know that the spa uses plant-based products and each meal features fresh food from the on-site organic farm.
6. Bisos Paulilatino
The Bisos Paulilatino is a Nearly Zero Energy Hotel — which also describes the amount of energy you’ll need to enjoy your stay. This eco-friendly historic house was carefully restored under the principles of green building. Within each colourful room rests a number of thoughtful features embracing local resources like traditional wool blankets and furniture hand-crafted by local artisans.
Even the recycled materials used in the building’s ecological design are Sardinian-sourced as often as possible. As you dine with local Paulilatino families for the Bisos social eating experience, you may just break bread with the same Sardinian artisans who made your wooden bed by hand.
7. Reserva Alecrim EcoSuite & Glamping
You’ll be peacefully at rest between the mountains and the sea at Reserva Alecrim. The Alentejo countryside is your destination for supreme serenity, with a host of Eco Suites, Eco Pods, and Eco Houses awaiting your arrival.
Surrounded by nature yet not without creature comforts like fully equipped kitchens and bathrooms, Reserva Alecrim is ready to ensure your off-property excursions are as kind to the Alentejo area as possible. E-bike tours, meditation and yoga classes, and beekeeping lessons are all readily available. Or while away the day floating in the plant-and-animal-filled biotope pool, and enjoy the night staring at the stars from your private deck.
A Better Way to Sell
Diversify your distribution by joining these hotels on Impala.
Properties can join Impala today to reach new markets this summer. Room sellers can start selling these properties — and many more — by making Impala part of their supply strategy.
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