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Archive for the ‘Sustainable Travel - Hotels’ Category
Friday, January 1st, 2010
Marlon Brando’s private island was once a playground for Tahitian Royalty. Now a French Polynesian hotel developer is working to carry out the late actor’s dream of turning the island into the ultimate sustainable luxury destination. The resort is set to open in 2012 on Tetiaroa, about 30 miles from Tahiti.
Power at the resort will be 100% autonomous, using renewable energy. The resort will use fuel made from coconut oil, buildings will be air conditioned by an ocean-powered cooling system and the rest of the resort’s power will be solar.
Tetiaroa is a 13-island atoll circled by a coral reef. “Tetiaroa” is a Polynesian word meaning “who stands apart” or “keeps its distance”.
The Brando will be the only resort on Tetiaroa. It will have 47 bungalow villas with private plunge pools, a spa, a fitness center and a community pool. The Brando will offer island activities such a scuba diving and archaeological tours of royal tahitian sites. Ther are also plans for residences and research facilities on the island, which is a well known sea turtle hatching ground.
Getting to Tetiaroa is a bit of a process… There is a small runway on one of the motus, but not regularly used by any commercial flight company running today. It will be interesting to see if the hotel plans to offer helicopter orsome other type of boat tranfers to the island.
Written by C Kennedy
kennedy@atlastravelweb.com
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Tags: branco edc-hotel, brando hotel, brando hotel tetiaroa, french polynesia, marlon brandon hotel, tetiaroa Posted in Sustainable Travel, Sustainable Travel - Hotels | 3 Comments »
Tuesday, January 13th, 2009
With more travelers expected to go green on their vacations, we continue to feature tour operators, cruise lines and hotels that are taking environmental initiatives.
Radisson St Martin is at Anse Marcel – one of the best-preserved and most secluded coves on the French side of St Martin. The ocean-front luxury property features 63 suites and 189 guestrooms; a signature beachfront restaurant with al fresco dining; casual, market-style eatery; lobby tapas bar; zero-entry infinity pool; full-service spa and fitness center; 7,500 square feet of meeting space and 150-slip marina.
The Radisson St Martin Resort, Marina & Spa is already engaged in several environmental measures, including:
- An in-house desalinization plant to conserve scarce water resources, making the resort self-sufficient for fresh water. The irrigation system converts to re-use water as such water becomes available.
- Landscapes were designed to use indigenous plantings and include native palms, trees and shrubs. The irrigation design utilizes water-conserving techniques such as low-flow and drip irrigation systems.
- The hardscape was designed to use native St Martin stone and boulders for Veneer stone and retaining walls, and cast stone and concrete materials manufactured in St Martin.
- Resources were preserved through the renovation strategy in which original buildings and structures were preserved to the greatest extent possible.
- Light-colored surfaces were used for walkways and terraces to reflect heat and light from the property.
- The Resort connects to the adjacent Marina, restaurants and retail, eliminating the need for automobiles on site.
- Radisson St Martin Resort, Marina & Spa is part of Radisson Hotels & Resorts ongoing expansion in the Caribbean and will be the second flagship resort in the Caribbean.
For more information on the resort, visit: www.radisson.com/stmartin
For more information on this resort, visit
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Tags: green hotels st. martin, radisson ecofriendly property, radisson st martin, sustainable caribbean hotels, sustainable hotels Posted in Sustainable Travel, Sustainable Travel - Hotels | No Comments »
Monday, November 17th, 2008
The American Hotel & Lodging Association is completing it’s guidelines to help hotels become more “green.” At this point, there is no plan to create a certification program, but rather ask for minimal environmental guidelines to be followed. Some items being addressed are energy saving measures such as towel & linen reuse programs, waste management & use of fluorescent bulbs & digital thermometers. It’s not much, but it is a start to what we hope will be increased changes in the coming years.
Many individual hotel chains are taking their own steps to help the environment. InterContinental Hotels has set up a new Innovation Hotel, which is a specially dedicated section of the IHG web site that will showcase the hotel’s green efforts both now & for properties in the future. Many things are being put into place within the next few years, such as solar roof panels, recycled furniture & low-emissions paint, where other items such as “green roof” & rainwater harvesting will take more time to implement as new hotels are built.
Ask an agent to assist you in finding hotels worldwide that are committed to the environment & “greening” the hospitality industry.
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Tags: american hotel & lodging association, environment hotels, green guidelines, green hotels, intercontinental hotels, sustainable hotels, Sustainable Travel Posted in Sustainable Travel, Sustainable Travel - Hotels | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008
On October 13, 2008 Travel Weekly’s Editor in Chief Arnie Weissman wrote an article about the recent meeting in Barcelona of the World Conservation Congress. They are trying to develop a set guidlines and criteria for what who should be considered a “sustainable” travel company, as there are more than 100 definitions of what sustainable tourism is. It seems that significant progress was made towards this mission. Another goal is that popular travel companies such as Travelocity and Sabre will eventually offer hotels with ratings where agents and clients who want to search for sustainable hotels only could do so with ease. A green hotel not only promotes energy- and water-conservation, but also offers guests a variety of eco-friendly amenities, including organic cotton sheets and gourmet meals made with locally grown ingredients.
Would you prefer a Green hotel over a standard hotel? Would you be willing to pay more?
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Tags: alternative travel, ecotourism, global awareness, international, sustainability, Sustainable Travel, vacation Posted in Cruise Ports, Sustainable Travel, Sustainable Travel - Hotels, Sustainable Vacations | No Comments »
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