7 eco-conscious hotels making waves in marine conservation

Where to celebrate World Oceans Day, every day…

A sunset stroll along a sandy shore, wriggling your toes in the shallows, and simply letting the waves wash over you – these are all treasured moments on any seaside holiday, and it is often the waters surrounding our hotels which make their setting so special. From reef restoration to plant-your-own coral projects, these Considerate Collection resorts are going beneath the surface of sustainability to protect the planet’s most precious natural resource while making meaningful action more than just a drop in the ocean.

1. Amilla Maldives Resort and Residences, Baa Atoll – Maldives

Wherever you lay your hat at Amilla Maldives, you’ll be cocooned in natural beauty – whether it’s swaying in a wave-skimming hammock alongside your over-water sunset villa, waking to the chirrup of the jungle canopy in a magical treetop suite, or burying your feet in the satin sands of a breezy beach villa. Located near the Manta Ray-filled waters of Hanifaru Bay, the EarthCheck Silver certified resort collects invaluable data for the Maldivian Manta Ray Project (MMRP) research into the country’s Manta population, its movements, and how tourism affects their environment.

The Amilla team is also working hand-in-hand with Parley for the Oceans on fighting plastic ocean waste by using refillable ceramic containers for bathroom amenities alongside eliminating plastic straws. Guests can purchase from a range of rash shirts, caps, and clothing made from 100% recycled plastic bottles. The ‘Ocean-R’ collection uses recycled ocean waste to produce bespoke clothing designed especially for the resort. Each shipment contains items made from 3,752 pieces of plastic bottles retrieved from the world’s oceans – just one more step towards helping the oceans to become plastic-free.

2. Petit St. Vincent, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines – Caribbean

Balancing barefoot luxury with sustainable living, Petit St. Vincent goes out of its way to be ecologically conscious and conserve the natural beauty of the 115-acre island. Reef regeneration is a crucial step towards creating a designated marine protected area around Petit St. Vincent. As part of the private island’s coral restoration project, in partnership with the Philip Stephenson Foundation and CLEAR Caribbean, a coral nursery has been constructed using fragments of Elkhorn coral collected from around the island. Once grown, the outcrops of juvenile coral will be used to repopulate nearby reefs on the Atlantic side of the island.

Petit St. Vincent is also home to the Jean-Michel Cousteau Dive Centre. Founded by the son of the legendary explorer and conservationist, Jacques-Yves Cousteau, the state-of-the-art PADI 5-star centre offers diving courses, certifications, and guided trips to some of the area’s best dive sites. The team are passionate about protecting the planet’s oceans, and enabling guests to safely and respectfully discover the dazzling displays of coral, colourful collections of fish, and majestic sea creatures that call the surrounding waters their home.

3. Heritage Le Telfair Golf & Wellness Resort, Bel Ombre – Mauritius

Set on the wild south coast of Mauritius in a protected nature reserve, Heritage Le Telfair takes great care of its pristine beach and the beautifully renovated villas which are sensitively scattered throughout tropical gardens. The resort has partnered with Reef Conservation, a local NGO, on marine ecosystem conservation projects such as the installation of artificial reefs with coral fragments, and with Mauritius Wildlife Foundation to preserve native species present in the forests of Heritage Nature Reserve. Heritage Le Telfair also runs a reforestation programme in partnership with Rogers, its parent company, to restore the Jacotet river banks which in turn promotes a healthier marine ecosystem in the Bel Ombre lagoon.

4. Pimalai Resort & Spa, Koh Lanta – Thailand

A secluded island paradise set against a backdrop of lush tropical forest, Pimalai Resort & Spa sits alongside a vast stretch of sandy beach facing the Andaman Sea. Paddle in the cooling water along the bright white sandy shore with a gentle sea breeze in your hair, before joining one of the resort’s daily dive tours to witness the vast array of marine life from sea horses and ghost pipefish to huge manta rays from a respectful distance. Alongside running an ongoing coral propagation programme, Pimalai Resort works closely with the Thai Fishery Department, and has held the annual clownfish release at Koh Haa for 12 years, a neighbouring archipelago which hopes to soon be recognised as a fish sanctuary.

5. The Fortress Resort & Spa, Galle – Sri Lanka

With every room offering an awe-inspiring view of the Indian Ocean, The Fortress Resort & Spa puts coastline protection front and centre of their agenda. The resort is certified by Green Globe for its exceptional sustainable standards, including its efforts in keeping its coastal environment pristine. The hotel runs its own Relax and Release Turtle Conservation Project to help protect the area’s endangered native sea turtles. Every year from October to April guests can take part in releasing the tiny hatchlings into the ocean – a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience in a very special place.

The resort’s dedicated turtle ranger, Laksiri Perera, grew up in Koggala, a small fishing village just along the coast from The Fortress. He has been taking care of turtles in the area for many years and patrols the resort’s beaches at night to ensure that mother turtles are able to nest in peace and that their hatchlings make to the sea safely.

6. Paradise Cove Boutique Hotel, Anse La Raie – Mauritius

A tropical hideaway overlooking a natural lagoon on the northern coast of Mauritius, Paradise Cove Boutique Hotel is a tranquil as its name suggests. As an active contributor towards the Marine Discovery Centre in Anse-la-Raie, Paradise Cove is dedicated to the protection of the surrounding waters and sharing marine best practices for visitors through educational activities, including regular beach clean-ups and glass-bottom boat tours at the local Voluntary Marine Conservation Area. There is also a dedicated space within the hotel where guests can purchase locally and sustainably made products, including swimwear made using recycled boat sails.

7. The Racha, Phuket – Thailand

Tucked away on the small tropical island of Racha Yai just south of Phuket, The Racha passionately believes that luxury shouldn’t come at a cost for the environment. The resort sponsors a group of volunteers in collaboration with The Reefball Foundation, a non-profit charity that protects and restores the world’s ocean ecosystems, to revive coral reefs damaged during the Tsunami in 2004. Today, 250 reef balls form five man-made reefs around the island, where juvenile clownfish and many tiny marine creatures nest in coral colonies that have made these pH-neutral concrete Reef Balls their home. Additionally, The Racha uses a floating pontoon which can be moved between Batok Bay and Ter Bay, instead of building a concrete pier which would involve extensive damage to the marine ecology of the island.

Delve deeper into the rest of the Considerate Collection by browsing and booking the world’s pioneering positive-impact properties.