Once shorthand for skipping turndown service and reusing towels, eco-friendly travel has grown up—and fast. In time for Earth Day, a new generation of sustainable hotels is moving beyond surface-level gestures to embrace regenerative design and low-impact operations that don’t just reduce harm—they actively repair the environments they occupy.
While most travelers say they value sustainability, far fewer book accordingly. That’s partly because greenwashing has blurred the line between intention and impact. But a vanguard of properties is closing the gap, replacing vague commitments with measurable interventions: solar-powered infrastructure, closed-loop water systems, permaculture farms and hyper-local supply chains that create circular economies as much as memorable guest experiences.
According to the World Travel and Tourism Council’s 2024 Net Zero Roadmap, the global hotel industry has already cut carbon intensity by 11 percent since 2019—thanks in part to innovative green hotels rethinking everything from construction methods to workforce development. The shift in sustainable travel is as economic as it is ecological: as guests grow willing to pay more for verified sustainability, hotels are finding that what’s good for the planet can also improve the bottom line.
These 15 standouts exemplify the new standard. Across five continents, they offer a glimpse into what eco-luxury can be when rooted in place, powered by renewables and designed with long-term resilience in mind. Yes, there are farm-to-table meals, natural swimming pools and low-emission materials—but there’s also a deeper story of regenerative tourism done right.
15 Sustainable Hotels to Visit Now
Phaea Blue
Plaka, Elounda, Crete 720 53, Greece
Female leadership drives environmental innovation at this Blue Flag certified resort. Drawing 92 percent of energy from renewable sources, Phaea’s pioneering Farmers Program exemplifies hospitality coming full circle—educating local agronomists in regenerative farming, then purchasing their produce, which provides nearly half the resort’s honey and most of its olive oil. Guests experience this commitment through the Phaea Farmers Feast, harvesting ingredients directly from organic gardens and cooking under starry skies. With green roofs generating solar power and composting programs cutting landfill waste by half, the property’s emphasis on energy efficiency perfectly embodies philoxenia (Greek hospitality).
Phaea Blue.
Phaea Blue.
InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort
Bãi Bắc, Thọ Quang, Sơn Trà, Đà Nẵng 550000, Vietnam
InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort is one of the few large-scale luxury properties embedded within a protected nature reserve—and one of even fewer with a team trained to manage that tension. The luxury resort is located within the Son Tra Nature Reserve, home to one of the world’s last viable populations of red-shanked douc langurs. Its architectural footprint was minimized during construction under the direction of architect Bill Bensley to protect the area’s rich biodiversity, and ongoing operations include wildlife monitoring, poaching deterrence and environmental education programs led by a resident zoologist. As part of the resort’s efforts to become 100 percent plastic-free, the property has removed plastic products and packaging from the hotel, and is opening a water-bottling plant to eliminate single-use bottles.
InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort.
InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort.
Nekajui, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve
Peninsula Papagayo, 253 National Route, Provincia de Guanacaste, Liberia, 50104, Costa Rica
Nekajui, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, was designed not to impose on its environment, but to echo it. Set on 1,400 acres of tropical dry forest—one of the most ecologically fragile biomes in Central America—the resort was constructed using local volcanic stone and native hardwoods harvested through certified low-impact methods. Suites open directly into the landscape, some suspended in the canopy and many with private pools. The luxury hotel is integrated into the Palmares Preserve, a privately protected wilderness with three distinct ecosystems, where conservation programs are funded in part by tourism.
Nekajui, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve.
Nekajui, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve.
Hotel Marcel
500 Sargent Drive, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
Hotel Marcel is a rare proof of concept: a heritage building made viable in a post-fossil fuel future. Housed in a 1970s Brutalist structure by Marcel Breuer, the 165-room hotel was overhauled to Passive House standards, making it the first of its kind in the U.S. It runs entirely on electricity—most of it solar energy—and eschews natural gas entirely, down to the kitchen’s induction stoves in order to lower its carbon footprint. Systems like Power-over-Ethernet lighting and regenerative elevators aren’t there to impress; they’re part of a tightly engineered renewable energy strategy that has cut operational energy use by more than two-thirds compared to conventional hotels in the region.
Hotel Marcel.
Hotel Marcel.
Soho Beach House Canouan
Grand Bay, VC, Canouan Island VC0450, St. Vincent & Grenadines
At Soho Beach House Canouan in the Caribbean, over 80 percent of all ingredients are sourced from within the archipelago—part of a procurement strategy that prioritizes resilience over convenience. Interiors were built using existing structures and furnished with locally made pieces, including textiles produced by inmates in St. Vincent through the Grow In Time program. The result is a vertically integrated approach to hospitality that avoids dependency on imports and channels tourism capital back into the region’s social and economic infrastructure.
Soho Beach House Canouan.
Joseph Woomer.
1 Hotel Hanalei Bay
5520 Ka Haku Road, Princeville, Kauai, Hawaii, USA
What distinguishes 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay isn’t necessarily its location on Kauai’s North Shore, but what it chose to do with it. After acquiring a decades-old resort site, the brand reversed prior development, restoring more than 35 percent of the land to native vegetation. The hotel was the first in Hawaii to be named an Ocean Friendly Hotel by the Surfrider Foundation and every dining outlet on the property meets Ocean Friendly Restaurant criteria. These certifications are built on specific sustainable practices: no single-use plastics, locally sourced ingredients and drainage systems designed to minimize marine pollution in adjacent waters already under stress.
1 Hotel Hanalei Bay.
AVABLU.
Bambu Indah
Jl. Baung, Sayan, Kecamatan Ubud, Kabupaten Gianyar, Bali 80571, Indonesia
Bambu Indah, the brainchild of John and Cynthia Hardy, occupies a narrow middle ground between preservation and reinvention. Eleven antique Javanese bridal homes, salvaged from decline, serve as the heart of an eco-resort built entirely of bamboo—structurally resilient, locally sourced and rapidly renewable. Closed-loop greywater systems support irrigation; waste is composted and reintegrated on-site. Its natural pool, devoid of chlorine, is filtered through lava stone and native aquatic plants. When the United Nations cited the boutique hotel property as a model of localized sustainability, it wasn’t for its aesthetics—it was for proving that resource circularity can be achieved in real-time, at scale.
Bambu Indah.
Bambu Indah.
The Brando
Tetiaroa, Arue 98702, French Polynesia
The Brando is frequently held up as a model for sustainable luxury, but its influence lies in its engineering. Located on a private atoll once owned by Marlon Brando, the award-winning resort hideaway operates using Sea Water Air Conditioning—an innovative system that circulates cold water from the ocean’s depths, reducing energy consumption for cooling by up to 70 percent. Power comes primarily from solar panels and coconut oil biofuel. On-site, researchers monitor nesting sea turtles and coral reef regeneration projects, while the attached Ecostation hosts scientists contributing to broader studies on climate resilience in small island environments.
The Brando.
The Brando.
Bardessono Hotel and Spa
6526 Yount St, Yountville, CA 94599
Opened in 2009, Bardessono Hotel and Spa remains one of the few U.S. properties to boast both LEED Platinum status and a Forbes Five-Star rating. Energy is drawn from rooftop solar arrays and geothermal wells, construction relied on reclaimed wood and low-emission finishes, and everything from cleaning products to textiles is rigorously vetted. The eco-friendly hotel continues to demonstrate that environmental integrity can exist within—and even elevate—top-tier hospitality.
Bardessono Hotel and Spa.
Bardessono Hotel and Spa.
Soneva Fushi
Kunfunadhoo Island, Baa Atoll, Maldives
Soneva Fushi has, for nearly three decades, operated as a test site for zero-waste hospitality in a nation where import dependence and rising sea levels intersect. Its on-site glass studio repurposes discarded bottles into functional and decorative objects. Food waste fuels a robust permaculture system and all water is filtered and bottled on-property to eliminate plastic use. Its charitable arm, the Soneva Foundation, extends sustainability initiatives across the Maldives—funding coral regeneration, coastal clean-up infrastructure and local community education programs.
Soneva Fushi.
Soneva Fushi.
Fogo Island Inn
210 Main Road, Joe Batt’s Arm, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Fogo Island Inn is a mechanism for economic survival. All operating surpluses are redirected into the Shorefast Foundation, which supports small business development, heritage craft training and marine ecology research. Architect Todd Saunders designed the structure using traditional building methods adapted to withstand North Atlantic conditions, while employing only local labor and materials to lessen any negative environmental impact. The inn’s existence has created a viable alternative to an economy long dependent on commercial fishing—an early and rare, example of regenerative tourism in the North Atlantic.
Fogo Island Inn.
Fogo Island Inn.
andBeyond Punakha River Lodge
Wolakha, Punakha Valley, Bhutan
andBeyond Punakha River Lodge leverages a conservation model honed over three decades in southern Africa, applying it to a new frontier: Bhutan. Situated along the Mo Chhu River, the property is constructed from rammed earth, reclaimed hardwood and locally quarried stone—all transported with minimal emissions due to short supply chains. Bhutan’s constitutional mandate to remain carbon-negative is not symbolic; andBeyond’s integration of community engagement, ecological monitoring and low-impact design was built specifically to align with this national policy.
andBeyond Punakha River Lodge.
andBeyond Punakha River Lodge.
Wildflower Farms, Auberge Resorts Collection
2702 Main Street, Gardiner, New York, USA
Wildflower Farms, Auberge Resorts Collection, occupies former commercial farmland at the base of the Shawangunk Ridge. Rather than overlaying greenery for optics, the site was ecologically restructured: soil was remediated, monoculture cleared and replaced with pollinator meadows and permaculture gardens that now feed the restaurant directly. Construction favored regional timber, stone and local tradespeople—decisions that shortened supply chains and embedded the build into the Hudson Valley’s existing economy. It’s not a nostalgic pastoral fantasy—it’s a working blueprint for rewilding land through tourism.
Wildflower Farms, Auberge Resorts Collection.
Wildflower Farms, Auberge Resorts Collection
Wilderness Bisate Lodge
Volcanoes National Park Ruhengeri, Rwanda
This conservation pioneer has transformed 42 hectares of farmland into thriving forest through the planting of more than 100,000 indigenous trees. The four exclusive villas, crafted from hand-chipped volcanic rock and local materials by regional artisans, offer 360-degree views of all six Virunga volcanoes. Beyond luxury accommodations with private wood-fired hot tubs, the reserve’s true distinction lies in its holistic approach—guests participate in reforestation, on-site gardens supply the kitchen’s seasonal menus, and over 70 percent of staff come from neighboring communities. The property’s Children in the Wilderness program fosters environmental stewardship among local youth while developing infrastructure that has brought clean water to 5,000 community members.
Wilderness Bisate Lodge.
Wilderness Bisate Lodge
Wolwedans Dunes Lodge
NamibRand Nature Reserve, Namibia
Located within one of the world’s largest private nature reserves, Wolwedans Dunes Lodge has functioned for decades as both a hospitality outpost and a desert conservation lab. All suites at the eco-lodge getaway are modular, built without foundations and powered by solar. Greywater systems are engineered to perform in extreme scarcity and the reserve operates under strict carrying capacity limits—often cited as a model in regenerative travel frameworks. Wolwedans also helped develop the Global Ecosphere Retreats certification, which sets quantifiable criteria for tourism businesses across conservation, culture, community and commerce—far exceeding what most ecotourism labels demand.
