The Hotels Looking after People, Place and Planet

It is the summer holidays in the North and you may be entertaining the idea of going away. Fortunately, we are living in a time where packing our bags doesn’t necessarily mean we are not environmentally conscious. The era of regenerative travel – a movement that encourages governments, tour operators, and businesses to give more to the planet and their local communities than they take – is well and truly upon us.

There are now more and more hotels committed to such sustainable practices, whether it be caring for the local environment or operating a business model that prioritizes social good. Below are three such hotels that embody the spirit and practice of regenerative tourism, each in their own way.

Playa Viva, Mexico

Focus: Sustainability and Regenerative Tourism

Playa Viva, situated near significant Aztec archaeological sites in Juluchuca on Mexico’s Pacific coast, is a staple example of regenerative travel. Using biophilic design – a concept used within the building industry to increase occupant connectivity to the natural environment ­– care has been taken to fuse man-made structures with the natural setting. In this case, Playa Viva uses bamboo panel roofs that slot into place with minimal disturbance to the ecosystem. An evening here means hearing absolutely no man-made sounds, but instead the sounds of nature – the crash of waves, the sounds of birds, tropical fruit dropping to the ground with a gentle thud.

Recently, Playa Viva received B-Corp Certification – a certification awarded to third-party verified companies that meet high levels of social and environmental performance. It runs entirely on off-grid solar power, uses solar thermal hot water, and processes gray and black water. On site there is a permaculture farm, which supplies the resort with most of its produce and meat. It is also a sanctuary for baby sea turtles where guests can participate in releasing them back into the ocean.

Eaton, Washington DC

Focus: Social Programming

Eaton DC is a global hotel brand that not only offers beautifully designed eco-conscious rooms but also something else: a unifying ethos dedicated to social and environmental impact. In 2018, the Hong Kong-born, US-educated, Katherine Lo, launched the Eaton Workshop, describing its mission as reimagining hospitality as a way to create a better world. Eaton’s diverse cultural programming spans visual arts festivals, music, a live radio station, film and theater, talks and new media, covering topics such as climate change, immigration, women’s rights, race, food waste and health care.

Walking into Eaton DC means crossing the threshold into a buzzing ground level, where one finds Michelin-starred chef Matt Baker’s French-inflected restaurant ‘Michele’s’, an all-day coffee shop ‘Baker's Daughter’, while a radio station stocked with vinyl records and a state-of-the-art DJ booth buzzes behind a neon On Air indicator. There are co-working spaces – an incubator tenanted by everyone from artists to advocacy groups, a speakeasy, a rooftop bar and a social club, all surrounded by captivating, mostly-modern art. Eaton DC also offers a wellness program, ranging from yoga, meditation, sound baths, breathwork and an infra-red sauna.

Gros Morne Inn, Western Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Focus: Low impact and access to nature

For those with a rugged wilderness retreat in mind is the Gros Morne Inn in Newfoundland, Canada. This delightful retreat, nestled in the hills of Gros Morne National Park, allows visitors to experience the area’s rugged coasts, thick forests, and awe-inspiring fjords while treading as lightly as possible on the destination itself. The Inn features beautiful outdoor cedar hot tubs, each room boasting views of either forest or ocean. The on-site restaurant, 'Taste', serves up local produce from both sea and land and is certified by the non-profit Ocean Wise for serving sustainably sourced seafood.

Owners, Ian Stone and Rebecca Brushett, have made it their mission to offer a comprehensive sustainable tourism and local hospitality option in their corner of the world. Their charming boutique hotel executes the basics with a sense of luxury and comfort, all while being as carbon-neutral as possible. It adheres to a circular business model by composting unused foods, transitioning towards electric and hybrid vehicles, eliminating single-use plastics, and utilizing renewable energy sources like solar and hydroelectricity. Whatever carbon footprint the 15-room hotel currently can’t offset it donates in kind to a local non-profit resulting in Gros Morne Inn being Sustainable Tourism Gold Certified by Green Step.

Photography: Gros Morne Inn, Playa Viva, Eaton DC