The 14 Best Sustainable Boutique Hotels in the World

A Sustainability Ranking in partnership with ETIC Hotels

You’re planning a trip and you’re trying to be as ethical and sustainable as possible?
niood lists you the 14 best sustainable hotels in the world:

1. Punta Islita, Autograph Collection
Carrillo, Costa Rica

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

What makes Punta Islita sustainable?
​Hotel Punta Islita is fully committed to a holistic sustainability model that supports an array of local environmental and community initiatives.
As part of Grupo Islita, Hotel Punta Islita underscores that we are all stakeholders in our planet’s health and prosperity. Understanding and embracing our role is enriching. It fosters a caring attitude that permeates every endeavor. And we are thus better empowered to protect the environment, champion economic opportunity, and celebrate the cultural differences that color the fabric of human experience.
 
Hotel Punta Islita opened its doors in 1994 and was developed in full synergy with its local neighbors, prompting wildlife conservation, reforestation, and local employment opportunities.  Art programs and complementary education further provided empowering tools for the local communities. Today, Hotel Punta Islita is not only a globally recognized sustainable travel destination, but also a thriving region characterized by a healthy natural environment and a dynamic collective of travel professionals, community artists, and micro-entrepreneurs. 

We believe travel should be planet-friendly, people-positive and we thank you for your interest in sustainability.

2. The Brando
Arue, French Polynesia

From $2,800 per night
ETIC Hotels Green Score: 9.5/10

What makes The Brando sustainable?
We consider ourselves stewards of Tetiaroa, and believe that we have the responsibility to treat it with the highest level of care and respect. Almost all of Tetiaroa is being protected and preserved forever in its natural state.  We have touched the motu on which the resort sits as lightly as possible.

The Brando and all the villas have been designed without beach obstructions to blend harmoniously into the trees. We have used local materials extensively in the design and construction. All building materials used are of local or certified origin, renewable, or incorporate recycled components.  We are using a pioneering deep seawater air-conditioning system to reduce energy demands and rely entirely on renewable energy sources including solar power and biofuel whenever it can be procured.

Setting a new world standard, the resort is close to reach its goal of being carbon neutral and self-sustainable. We have built and gifted an Ecostation to Tetiaroa Society, the nonprofit organization established to lead the scientific and cultural mission to protect the atoll and to inspire sustainable interdependence on Tetiaroa and around the world.

3. Mashpi Lodge
Mashpi, Ecuador

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

What makes Mashpi Lodge sustainable?
Mashpi Lodge was built using the latest techniques in sustainable construction, with much of the structure having been preassembled in Quito. It is designed to blend in perfectly with its natural environment, its glass walls making it virtually invisible at times. Stunningly contemporary and featuring modernist design and décor that mixes warm earth tones, steel, stone and glass in striking perspectives, Mashpi Lodge makes for a true cocoon of luxury in the middle of the forest.

4. Bardessono
Yountville, California, USA

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

What makes Bardessono sustainable?
An underground geothermal system heats and cools the guest rooms, the spa, and the domestic hot water supply. Almost no offsite energy is used. Hidden on the flat rooftops are 940 solar panels that provide significant amounts of the hotel’s electrical demand. Occupancy sensors in guest rooms automatically decrease energy consumption when guests are not in their rooms.

Gorgeous woods used throughout the hotel are milled from salvaged trees. Non-toxic, non-allergenic materials were used in construction. Organic linens and cleaning supplies and recycling and composting programs are standard. Products in the restaurant and spa are sourced primarily from local organic or sustainable producers. We are not perfect. Knowledge and budgets have limits to heed. But we hope our actions have provided worthy examples for others to try.

Even though much of what we have done remains hidden to the eye, our environmental commitments are reflected everywhere. The hotel has been designed to achieve the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design’s (LEED) Platinum certification, the highest standard for environmental design, and to be as transparent as possible when it comes to the choices we’ve made and the values we stand by. Our design team created a list of environmental initiatives to address every aspect of Bardessono life, most of which we were able to implement.

5. Zuri Zanzibar
Kendwa, Tanzania

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

What makes Zuri Zanzibar sustainable?
In June, 2016, we started the ‘Keep Kendwa Clean!’ project together with Zanrec, a waste management company.  For the last two years, our funding has allowed Zanrec to operate the project and provide a healthier environment for the community. We have placed waste collection points around the town, and a local women’s group is collecting trash and keeping the area tidy. By doing this they are also earning additional income for their families.

We at the Zuri Zanzibar want to be part of, and make a contribution to, the Kendwa community, where we are located. We are working together with committees from the village to make longer-term development plans, and in the meantime we have made a one-off contribution to solve some of the immediate issues.

6. Serra Cafema
Kunene River Namibia, Namibia

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

What makes Serra Cafema sustainable?
Sierra Cafema is 100% solar powered, with electricity and hot water provided via solar panels and inverters. 
Waste water (sewage and grey water) is treated in an Above Ground Sewerage Plant, ensuring that the water is clean before being allowed to enter the natural environment.
In order to reduce the use of bottled water, reverse osmosis filtration is done on site to provide guests with high-quality drinking water.
Staff are hired from neighbouring communities and undergo continual training and upskilling workshops.

7. The Datai Langkawi
Langkawi, Malaysia

From $400 per night
ETIC Hotels Green Score: 9.5/10

What makes The Datai Langkawi sustainable?
ENERGY SAVING PROGRAMME
HVAC, a complete system of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning has been installed and is fully monitored by our BMS (Building Management System) to ensure continuous energy-saving practices. All fitted lights are LED which are 80% more efficient than traditional lighting and consume less power.

WATER MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME
Waste water from the sewage treatment plant is further purified using aquatic plants at the Wetland Filtration System, which is an organic waste water management system. The clean water is then used for irrigation at The Garden, while excess water is released back into nature.

NO SINGLE-USE PLASTIC POLICY
In order to completely avoid the use of single-use plastic bottles, we created our in-house water bottling plant. Water is purified using reverse osmosis and bottled in customised glass bottles which are recycled.

8. Soneva Fushi
Eydhafushi, Maldives

From $3,400 per night
ETIC Hotels Green Score: 9.5/10

What makes Soneva Fushi sustainable?
The sun shines a lot in Soneva locations, and so solar is an excellent source of energy for our resorts. The current solar photovoltaic capacity at Soneva Fushi is 694kWp which gives us an annual generation of 956,945 kWh. This reduces our diesel consumption by 287,084 litres. To put it another way, it saves the equivalent greenhouse emissions produced from driving the average car for approximately 3,000,000 km.

The traditional pole and line method used to catch tuna is both environmentally and socially sustainable with its catch levels of one man, one hook, one fish.

The hand-woven fabrics we use in our villa and restaurant interiors come from Barefoot in Sri Lanka. Barefoot works almost exclusively with women in rural communities, allowing them to work locally without having to leave their families.
No child labour is used. There are no factories and no production lines. For over 40 years Barefoot has provided training and fair wages to its workers and an environment conducive to creativity

9. Song Saa Private Island
Koh Ouen Private Island, Koh Rong Archipelago, Near Sihanoukville, Cambodia

From $930 per night
ETIC Hotels Green Score: 9.5/10

What makes Song Saa Private Island sustainable?
In line with its promise of being an eco-friendly resort, Song Saa Private Island staff embark on plastic recovery and beach cleaning expeditions twice a day, with guests more than welcome to participate if they so desire. An alternative cathartic ecotourism activity is afforded to guests who partake in kayaking or sailing, with Song Saa staff offering guests reclamation bags crafted from recycled fishing lines, aimed at collecting stray debris encountered in the water, which will then be recycled by the Song Saa team. Staying true to its sustainable tourism development ethos, Song Saa Private Island has been a strong proponent of the Refill Not Landfill cause, with merchandise and water bottles available in the eco-friendly resort island.

Through the Song Saa Foundation, the eco-destination strives towards the protection of ocean habitats and marine life throughout the Cambodian coastline. Song Saa’s marine life commitment is of particular focus, considering the lavish resort is surrounded by Cambodia’s first marine park. Ongoing projects range from the support of community fisheries, development of a coral nursery, and a tropical marine conservation programme. These causes champion the conservation of sea turtles, mangroves, and Cambodia’s rare seagrass meadows.

10. Amankila
Bali, Indonesia

From $600 per night
ETIC Hotels Green Score: 9.5/10

What makes Amankila sustainable?
Amankila is participating in the ROLE Foundation’s “Waste to Wonder” programme, which introduces waste management services and infrastructure development planning at a community level.

11. The Outpost Lodge
Kruger National Park, South Africa

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

What makes The Outpost Lodge sustainable?
The principles of sustainable architecture guided Daffonchio’s hand during the entire design process: from the strict regulation of construction activities, careful water management, effective sun-orientation in order to minimise energy usage and a natural air-conditioning system, to the decisions to build around the trees and raise the lodge on stilts for a minimum footprint.

12. 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge
Brooklyn, NYC, USA

From $350 per night
ETIC Hotels Green Score: 9.5/10

What makes 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge sustainable?
1 Hotel has implemented a wide range of energy, WATER, and environmental design strategies to keep our footprint small.
It offers hemp-blend Keetsa mattresses, organic cotton sheets, recycled wood room keys and hangars made from 100% post consumer recycled materials are also standard.

13. Six Senses Qing Cheng Mountain
Chengdu, Sichuan, China

From $400 per night
ETIC Hotels Green Score: 9.5/10

What makes Six Senses Qing Cheng Mountain sustainable?
Six Senses promotes and supports sustainable environments and communities and is recognized as having established the initial benchmarks for the hospitality industry. Since then, and across all our resorts, our mission is to prove that it is possible to enhance our guests’ experience by showing respect to nature.

Our organic garden provides us with fresh vegetables during all four seasons. Fresh oyster mushrooms can be collected directly from our mushroom hut before our chefs clean and serve them during a Sichuanese Hot Pot dinner.

Six Senses works with Panda Mountain, a conservation and community development organization dedicated to restoring panda habitats. Located in the heart of Wolong Nature Reserve, the organization provides opportunities for people to get involved with restoration and participate in practical hands-on activities to restore degraded habitats and biodiversity.

14. Pikaia Lodge
Galapagos, Ecuador

From $400 per night
ETIC Hotels Green Score: 9.5/10

What makes Pikaia Lodge sustainable?
Pikaia Lodge is carbon neutral. It provides hot water to guests through solar-powered heaters, and even participates in a reforestation program to offset any CO2 emissions produced by the property.
This luxurious lodge works with the National Park Service to achieve sustainable tourism in many ways, including limiting the areas in which tourists can visit, and managing tourist numbers yearly.