The 12 Most Sustainable Hotels in Hawaii

A Sustainability Ranking in partnership with ETIC Hotels

You’re planning a trip to Hawaii and you’re trying to be as ethical and sustainable as possible?
niood lists you the 12 most sustainable hotels in Hawaii:

1. The Modern Honolulu, Hawaii
1775 Ala Moana Blvd, Honolulu, HI 96815, United States

From $250 per night
ETIC Hotels Green Score: 9.5/10

What makes The Modern Honolulu sustainable?

• Our hotel features open spaces with natural light throughout, including guest rooms and public areas.
• Paperless check-in and check-out systems reduce paper waste.
• Eco-friendly cleaning products are used by our housekeeping and maintenance teams.
• LED lighting is used throughout the hotel.
• The Sustainables, our green team, includes managers, directors, and front-line staff throughout the hotel who have a passion for creating a more sustainable hotel and meeting experience.

• SMART Room Technology activates a guest room air conditioner only after the guest checks in and automatically turns off when balcony doors are open.
• Single sort recycling is available in all guest rooms.

2. Fairmont Kea Lani, Hawaii
4100 Wailea Alanui Dr, Wailea-Makena, HI 96753, United States

From $800 per night
ETIC Hotels Green Score: 9.5/10

What makes Fairmont Kea Lani sustainable?
The Fairmont Kea Lani Maui hotel is an environmental leader on the island because of the passion and dedication of the hotel’s Green Team.  Over the past nine years, the team has successfully implemented more than 50 environmentally friendly initiatives including: a Recycling Cents program donating money from recyclables to local charities raising over $20,000; a laundry water recycling system which has saved over 50 million gallons of water since installation in 2005; automatic eco-MODE thermostats reducing air conditioning costs by 20%; biodegradable food containers; rock salt treatment systems in pools; and a focus on sustainable cuisine served in each of this Maui resort’s distinctive restaurants.

3. Honua Kai Resort and Spa, Hawaii
130 Kai Malina Pkwy, Lahaina, HI 96761, United States

From $550 per night
ETIC Hotels Green Score: 9.5/10

What makes Honua Kai Resort and Spa sustainable?
Honua Kai, which opened in January 2009, has its own director of sustainability, Lance Gilliland. “We call it ‘Eco-nomics,’—practices that are ecologically sound and economically feasible,” Gilliland says. “It just makes sense to conserve energy, re-use, recycle and protect the beautiful natural environment for our homeowners and the resort guests that visit the property.”

A new two-tiered water-conserving program is designed to keep the nearly 40 acres of landscaped gardens and grounds healthy and green without wasting precious water. Honua Kai worked in partnership with the county waste water department to develop a landscape irrigation system that is fed solely by recycled “R1” water, which provides the highest quality of recycled water.

4. The Westin Hapuna Beach Resort, Hawaii
62-100 Kaunaʻoa Dr, Waimea, HI 96743, United States

From $500 per night
ETIC Hotels Green Score: 9.5/10

What makes The Westin Hapuna sustainable?
Our eco-sustainable hotel is committed to continuously revising its processes in order to adopt more environmentally friendly methods of providing its guests with the best possible service.
The Westin Hapuna Beach Resort honors, celebrates, and malama (cares for) our island home.

5. Surfjack Hotel & Swim Club, Hawaii
412 Lewers St, Honolulu, HI 96815, United States

From $180 per night
ETIC Hotels Green Score: 9.5/10

What makes Surfjack Hotel & Swim Club sustainable?
Travelers can visit Hawaii in an environmentally-friendly way thanks to Lonely Planet’s recommendations. Lonely Planet shared how the Surfjack and Mahina & Sun’s are making sustainable strides in Hawaii’s tourism industry as a plastic-free hotel and locally-sourced restaurant.

6. Turtle Bay Resort, Hawaii
57-091 Kamehameha Hwy, Kahuku, HI 96731, United States

From $500 per night
ETIC Hotels Green Score: 9.5/10

What makes Turtle Bay Resort sustainable?
In December 2013, Turtle Bay became the first Oahu resort with a solar roof installation. The energy savings are immense, reducing the amount of fossil fuel usage equivalent to 4.3 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions over the next ten years. That’s equivalent to planting 350 acres of forest. Our new roof also saves 1,000 barrels of oil annually, diverted from the production of electricity.

An Energy Management System automates chillers and air conditioning systems in areas not in use. Each room has been fitted with a special monitor that allows for the setting of room temperature upon check-in or before the start of a function/event.

Resort-wide recycling has gone full-effect, with an average increase of 1.8 tons of recycling over the last two years. Trash numbers have also gone down 0.4 tons each month. Recycling collection centers are located in designated areas of the resort for both guests and employees.

A part of being one of the islands’ eco friendly sustainable hotels is using local and organic produce. We’re very pleased to have partnerships with the North Shore’s many farmers, using their fresh produce in our restaurants, of which 80% are organic. 

7. Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, Autograph Collection, Hawaii
62-100 Mauna Kea Beach Dr, Waimea, HI 96743, United States

From $700 per night
ETIC Hotels Green Score: 9.5/10

What makes Mauna Kea Beach Hotel sustainable?
Our sustainability mission is to share a timeless experience for generations, serving our guests, families, the community, and environment. In 2017, we published a comprehensive sustainability case study, through an independent third party, showing transparency in operations related to the environment, community, and economy. The study incorporated the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework to show local and global impacts which protect the planet, promote peace, and encourage prosperity.

We are proud to have engaged employees participate in our cross-departmental Green Team to implement and champion sustainability initiatives resort-wide. We partner with the National Park Service to provide upkeep on a portion of the Ala Kahalai National Historic Trail, a 175-mile trail that traverses our property; our team helps keep this culturally significant route clean, safe, and beautiful, with access for all. We also work with the Nature Conservancy and University of Hawaii, Hilo to conduct ongoing studies to establish baselines, collect data, protect coral reefs and to keep pollutants from entering the ocean.

Our Mauna Kea Beach Hotel Green Program encourages guests to support environmental efforts through the reuse of towels to conserve water and energy. Throughout the property we use LED lighting and occupancy sensors, energy efficient appliances, hardware, boilers and steam plate heat exchangers, in addition to hybrid equipment at the golf course. Our course operates using 25 percent recycled water for irrigation.

8. Maui Coast Hotel, Hawaii

From $300 per night
ETIC Hotels Green Score: 9.5/10

What makes Maui Coast Hotel sustainable?
In addition to our High-Efficiency Solar Power System, we are proud to participate in a wealth of green practices, a few of which are listed below:

• 100% Non-Smoking Guest Rooms & Suites
• Recycle Bins throughout the facility
• Conserve Water Program – “Save our Planet” tent cards displayed in each guest room.
• Bicycles provided to guests for public transportation
• Use of reusable items such as glass mugs instead of plastic
• Guest Confirmation Letters sent electronically limiting paper usage
• Use of Environmentally Friendly Cleaners and Sanitizers

9. Andaz Maui At Wailea Resort, Hawaii
3550 Wailea Alanui Dr, Wailea, HI 96753, United States

From $700 per night
ETIC Hotels Green Score: 9.5/10

What makes Andaz Maui At Wailea Resort sustainable?
Through Andaz Maui’s partnership, ‘Awili Spa and Salon now incorporates locally sourced sunflower oil into all treatments. With this new initiative, guests are able to experience the resort’s sustainability efforts while enjoying massages and other body treatments. In addition, the spa carries Kuleana oils from Pacific Biodiesel available for purchase in the spa’s retail shop.

10. Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa, Hawaii
1571 Poipu Rd, Koloa, HI 96756, United States

From $450 per night
ETIC Hotels Green Score: 9.5/10

What makes Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort sustainable?
Transitioning to large-format bathroom amenities and reducing single-use water bottles builds on Hyatt’s broader commitment to reduce disposables and select environmentally preferable options whenever possible, with the exception of when single-use bottles are needed for water-quality reasons, according to the company.

Other recent global initiatives have included removing plastic straws and drink picks and making alternative options available only by request at Hyatt hotels, and increasing the use of compostable, recyclable or recycled content packaging for to-go food containers.

11. Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, Hawaii
72-100 Ka’upulehu Drive, Kailua-Kona, HI 96740, United States

From $1,000 per night
ETIC Hotels Green Score: 9.5/10

What makes Four Seasons Resort Hualalai sustainable?
Four Seasons Resort Hualalai introduces a Hawaiian Kanpachi sustainable fish farming and culinary experience.  Exclusively available to guests of the Resort, this experience takes guests on a private tour of the country’s only open-ocean fish farm. In partnership with Blue Ocean Mariculture, the sole producers of Hawaiian Kanpachi, guests will be guided through the full life cycle of the native fish, culminating with a custom dinner highlighting the richly flavorful fish.

12. The Kahala Hotel & Resort, Waikiki, Hawaii
5000 Kahala Ave, Honolulu, HI 96816, United States

From $550 per night
ETIC Hotels Green Score: 9.5/10

What makes Kahala Hotel & Resort sustainable?

• 90,800 KWH saving between the 2017 and 2018 by replacing incandescent and CFL’s bulbs to LED’s.
• 1.25% reduction in total energy usage and 4.05% reduction in energy consumption average per room (based on monthly usage to occupancy between 2017 and 2018.
• Lighting retrofits continue throughout the property with light sensors and LED replacement.
• We are working with Ameresco to conduct an energy audit to determine potential areas of improvements with efficiency, reliability, and energy saving in mind.
• Air-conditioning and lighting systems for the property are on an Energy Management System.
• A/C programmable digital thermostats in guestrooms will turn off the fan coil unit upon opening guestroom lanai door.
• Ceiling fans installed in all guestrooms can be used as an alternative for A/C.

• Deep water wells are used to cool chiller system, which saves the property approximately 380,000 kwh every year in electricity use by not using two cooling towers. 
• Approximately 320,000 Ibm are saved per year on CO2 for each cooling tower.
• 8.6 gpm of evaporation for each cooling tower save approximately 4,520,610 gallons of water a year operating at 70 percent capacity.

• Our Daily Communication Form (DCF) describes recycling efforts for employees and departments.
• We have a suggestion box for employees to offer ideas.
• We conduct quarterly community beach and neighborhood clean ups.
• A green waste recycle roll-off is located at a central point for the landscaping company to use. Plant material is sent to Campbell Industrial Park for composting.
• Cooking oil is collected and processed with Pacific Biodiesel.