World Oceans Day or not, none of us can ignore the plight of our planet’s largest ecosystem – its temperature, level and health affects us all – but for such castaway hotels, it’s a literal and figurative encompassing concern.
Running a sea-soundtracked, beach-fringed bolthole does indeed focus the mind on your environmental responsibilities – so here are nine island hideaways striving to navigate uncharted waters with an Earth-kind compass.
ISLA PALENQUE, PANAMA
The North Pacific nomad
You might be expecting your coffee and bottle of wine Smith Extras with a stay at Isla Palenque, a Chiriqui Gulf outpost, but the chance to plant your own rainforest seedling is a welcome curveball.
This remote idyll of eight jungle-shrouded casitas and an indoor-outdoor villa has planet-friendly hospitality at its heart: a sustainable hardwood build, garden- and boat-to-table fare, educational outreach programs and beach cleans are among its eco credentials – none of which you’ll notice once you’re curled up on a shaded lounger, or ensconced in your private outdoor bath.
PETIT ST VINCENT, GRENADINES
The Windwards siren
A Grenadines institution, Petit St Vincent comprises a scattering of Caribbean-chic stone bungalows across 115 lush and rocky acres fringed by flour-sand beaches.
The hotel has an enduring love affair with the Caribbean Sea, from its origins as the passion project of a couple of sailing friends, to its current eco-sound operations. We could bang on about its 90-per-cent-local seafood supply, its sprawling kitchen gardens, coral nursery project, or state-of-the-art recycling, but we know you’ve got your eye on a rum punch with your toes in the sand…
CORAL CAYE, BELIZE
The Caribbean buyout
Francis Ford Coppola’s timbered beach bungalows at Coral Caye are a desert-island-stay for just eight lucky Robinson Crusoes, supplied with a communal main house, private beach, a chef and butler, on a tiny private caye beside Belize’s Barrier Reef.
While you’re off snorkelling, caye-hopping by boat, or perfecting indolence in a palm-shaded hammock, Francis and Eleanor are ensuring this pristine marine playground stays that way, having incorporated low-profile, sympathetic architecture, zero air-con nor single-use plastic; energy- and water-saving measures, and locally sourced food, furniture, art and bath products.
ISOLA SANTA CRISTINA, VENICE
The lagoon lair
Settled in the fifth-century, Isola Santa Cristina is the only surviving landfall of the original Ammiana archipelago in the Venetian Lagoon, and as such environmentally significant. Thankfully it’s environmentally responsible, too, working towards complete self-sustainability with its own water source, island-sourced fresh produce and lagoon-landed seafood.
Not that you’re here entirely for its eco credentials: a rock-star villa that sleeps 16 for exclusive use – with its own pool, staff, and skippered boat to ferry you about – is your cue to roll out terms such as ‘unique’ and one of a kind’. A ravishingly appointed rare find.
KUDADOO, MALDIVES
The Indian Ocean classic
The Maldives is synonymous with private-island stays, but has an understandably tough time persuading hotel lovers of its Earth-kind intentions. One hotel doing its best to redress this reputation is Kudadoo – 15 Japanese-inspired villas, with private infinity pools and round-the-clock butler service, set over coral-rich waters on Lhaviyani Atoll in the archipelago’s north.
It’s built from sustainably sourced wood, powers itself with a farm’s worth of solar panels, and is engaged with conservation projects to protect the local wildlife. When the Indian Ocean calls, this is definitely of your less planet-compromising options.
KOH RUSSEY RESORT, CAMBODIA
The Bamboo Island bolthole
There’s great-value treasure to unearth in the Gulf of Thailand at Koh Russey Resort, an island hideaway off the coast of southern Cambodia. As well as sleek teak villas set beside serene sands, this contemporary stay shows respect for its pristine surroundings.
Most of its Earth-kind measures check familiar boxes – energy- and water-saving, no single-use plastic, a regional supply chain, and rigorous recycling – but above and beyond this, the hotel was built around the existing plant- and treelife, using sustainable hardwood, as well as upcycled fallen timber and driftwood.
LIZARD ISLAND, GREAT BARRIER REEF
The Reef retreat
Four hundred types of coral, 1,500 species of fish and 4,000 different kinds of mollusc: the Great Barrier Reef is one of Earth’s natural wonders. And Lizard Island’s owners don’t need scientists to remind them how important its future survival is – they’re already working with some of the best minds in reef research and education, at the Lizard Island Research Station.
You can tour the Station while you’re there, although we understand that Scuba-diving trips, hand-feeding potato cod, and downtime at the spa or pool may be higher up your priority list…
VAHINE ISLAND, FRENCH POLYNESIA
The desert-island upgrade
Slip off your sandals and let’s get down to the sand-padding nitty gritty of a barefoot luxury stay in the South Pacific. There are a few to choose from in Smith’s collection, but the ocean’s dominance at lightly-treading Vahine Island – a 10-hectare motu (Polynesian islet) with just nine bungalows make it our pick for World Oceans Day.
Snorkel the motu’s coral garden, or paddle the clear aquamarine waters in a traditional outrigger canoe. Idyllic views across the lagoon to Tahaa are an ambrosial backdrop for somnolent beach days.
LES HAUTES MERS, L’ILE YEU, FRANCE
The Atlantic hideaway
We need to level with you – Les Hautes Mers doesn’t have L’Ile Yeu to itself. But it is the only oceanfront hotel on this magical Atlantic-lapped island. Plus, it’s in France, and not many private-island hotels can say that.
For a boutique stay, this is a place that over-delivers: from Les Domaines de Fontenille stable of stays, it combines sleek, shades-of-seafoam rooms, ocean-to-table dining and a photoshoot-worthy pool with an impressive locale of rugged landscapes, pretty port towns and Riviera-rivalling coves. Its environmental trump card is a hyper-local supply chain – nobody’s quite sure what’s on the menu until it’s been landed that day.
Browse our complete collection of eco-friendly hotels, from coast to countryside