This year, the ASEAN recognized ten of our country’s hotels and resorts for advocating environmentally friendly and sustainable practices, awarding them with the prestigious ASEAN Green Hotel Award. You bet that when you patronize any of these establishments, you help support responsible tourism – enjoying the luxurious treatment without hurting Mother Nature in the process.
These hotels use sustainable materials and resources, employ solid waste management and air quality management, and offer livelihoods to the local people giving the immediate community the most advantage of the business. We all yearn for a break, especially now that it’s summer time. If you haven’t made concrete plans yet this summer, hope this list inspire you to go for an eco-friendly vacation.
Here are the ten hotels and resorts that garnered the 5th ASEAN Green Hotel Award certificate and plaque given in Manila. The certificate is valid for three years. The ceremony is held every two years, with the previous one in Malaysia in 2014.
Let’s get to know each of them!
Baguio offers a cool respite during summer when the heat in the rest of the country is but unbearable. If you’re not frolicking by the beach and pool resorts to refresh your body and soul, you certainly are heading to a mountain resort, and in Baguio the better choice would be The Manor at Camp John Hay.
Amidst the western styling of its architecture and landscape, The Manor is truly a wonder on its own. It was a no-brainer for the resort to embrace eco-friendly and sustainable initiatives being situated on one of the most blessed locations in the entire country.
The Manor adopted environmentally-friendly and energy-efficiency measures, and by 2014, it earned its first certification as ASEAN’s Green Hotel. Continuing its advocacy for protecting and preserving the environment, The Manor remains in the list of Green Hotels as per ASEAN’s standards.
Bellevue Resort in Panglao could be the most luxurious of all resorts in this list, being complete with all technological amenities and furnishings. And yet, the resort made it to the 5th ASEAN Green Hotel Standard.
The Bellevue Resort in Bohol is expansive. It has more than 150 well-appointed rooms and suites, all fitted with modern conveniences you can imagine. Outside guest quarters, there are plenty of recreational facilities for kids and adults alike – indoors or outdoors.
But the best part of it all is that Bellevue Resort did not just strive for perfection in the luxury department, it also challenged itself to promote sustainable operations and to involve the local community whenever possible. And its environmentally friendly initiatives were acknowledged, as proven by the award the resort just earned from the ASEAN on January 22, 2016.
Pearl Farm Beach Resort transitioned itself from a pearl farm to an island vacation destination fit for royalty. Established in December 1992, the resort has been cited by local bodies including the Department of Tourism (DOT) and Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTTA). Its latest and perhaps most prestigious recognition yet is that given by the ASEAN for meeting the Green Hotel Standard.
For 24 years now, Pearl Farm has always been conscious of its immediate environs. Its facilities and rooms are designed to preserve the ethnicity of its location, blended with modern amenities and technology for the comfort of guests.
Knowing that the natural surroundings of the resort are its greatest offering, Pearl Farm took to take good care of the environment, to highlight the coast, the beach and sea, and all the flora and fauna that live in them. Pearl Farm also celebrates tribal culture and art by displaying traditional handmade souvenir items from the Mandaya tribe.
Though a destination less traveled, Batanes is simply breathtaking for those who take their time to visit. And what a rewarding experience it would be if guests would choose to stay at Fundacion Pacita?
Far more than the awe-inspiring brick structures and the psychedelic colorful artworks, Fundacion Pacita employs sustainable practices and responsible tourism. You bet that going green is the only way to go for preserving such a beautiful paradise. And it did, and now this quaint resort up north is named as one of ASEAN’s Green Hotels.
The resort is in fact once the home studio of internationally renowned artist Pacita Abad, who is now immortalized through the projects of The Jorge, Aurora, and Pacita Abad Memorial Foundation that supports the education of the Ivatan youth and the preservation of the Ivatan art.
Be charmed by the sceneries and landscapes and be grateful for the friendly service, but be inspired by the eco-friendly program that the resort abides. At Fundacion Pacita, you get the best of nature and art!
Of course, Palawan has an entry in this year’s ASEAN Green Hotel Awards. But it’s not one of the critically acclaimed El Nido Resorts. No. It’s in fact a resort in Puerto Princessa along the jump off point to the world-famous Subterranean River.
For Daluyon Beach and Mountain Resort, getting the ASEAN Green Hotel recognition isn’t something new. It’s their third time in a row. In 2012, Daluyon was only one of two Philippine resorts who bagged the award, and now it’s consistently making the list.
For Daluyon, a family enterprise established in 2007, going green was more of a necessity being only 15 minutes away from the Underground River. The resort started with gas absorption chiller and heater technology that uses LPG, resulting to 60% cost savings and substantial carbon emission reduction.
The hotel rooms are equipped with solar-powered lighting, natural lighting and ventilation, and are made of sustainable and locally sourced materials. Laundry washing is done mostly with harvested rainwater. Overall, Daluyon consumes more than 50% of less energy than other comparable resorts.
Daluyon and its sister establishment Puerto Pension Bed and Breakfast are partners with World Wide Fund for Nature Philippines, so that each night stay allows guests to donate $1 to support environmental trainings for elementary students in the area.
Crimson Resort and Spa in Mactan is actively seeking recognition not only in the country but internationally – and it works so hard for it. A few months after awarded the ASEAN Green Hotel certificate, it is now seeking the World Luxury Spa recognition for its Awum Spa. The resort has several awards under its belt, including World Luxury Hotel 2014.
For what it’s worth, Crimson wants to stay ahead of the game, offering guests the best service possible and the local community an economic boost all without compromising Mother Nature.
Three years ago in March 11, 2013, the resort hosted an environmental awareness seminar for its employees, preparing and equipping them to the 3R (reduce, reuse, recycle) philosophy that the resort was then mulling to embrace. The “Crimson Goes Green Conference” three years ago was a success because right now, the resort is a certified ASEAN Green Hotel. Indeed, a resort can be luxurious and green at the same time!
Bluewater Maribago is a strong advocate of healthy cooking and eco-friendly tourism. As one of two resorts in Mactan, Cebu awarded by the ASEAN, Maribago is perhaps the most surprised.
Maribago, although a small resort, has always been conscious of its carbon footprint and waste disposal. It has conducted several environmental projects including coastal and underwater cleanup drive they call Project Blue, which it does so regularly.
The resort has also been spearheading mangrove forest rehabilitation, efficient use of energy and water, recycling wood, and growing a sustainable vegetable garden for use at the resort’s restaurant. Speaking of vegetables, Maribago has held eco-friendly cooking workshop to celebrate Earth Day and vegan lifestyle. Way to go!
In this list of ASEAN Green Hotels, Baguio Country Club has definitely gone a long way. Established in 1905, BCC has been accommodating guests for more than 100 years, offering luxurious exclusive leisure to club members. But it was only in 2008 that BCC finally embraced responsible tourism with the formation of a corporate green committee.
Since then, the club has never looked back. It conducts trainings on global ecological crises, zero-waste management, power and water conservation, and even imposes smoke-free Mondays for everyone within the club, staff and guests.
In addition, BCC turned to biodegradable containers for takeouts and paper bags for its pastry products, only serves guests drinking water upon request, uses eco-friendly products, uses solar energy, and runs a sewage treatment facility to reuse gray water.
The change led to remarkable results for the business. BCC realized 10% energy and water savings in five years of implementing eco-friendly practices, and is now a certified Green Hotel. BCC achieved so much for transforming itself into a green resort, a greater achievement indeed for efforts done in less than a decade!
Another resort in Bohol achieved the coveted ASEAN Green Hotel Standard – the Amorita Resort also in Panglao. A project of One of Collection, Amorita or “little darling” is a testament to the hotel management group’s advocacy for environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and heritage preservation.
One of Collection started its Project ECHO, employing a sustainability platform that painstakingly transforms boutique resorts in the Visayas into sustainable leisure destinations. The project on Amorita did not disappoint, for the resort was immediately recognized as a Green Standard Hotel by no less than the ASEAN.
The Amorita made good use of acres of land, turned them into lush gardens, verdant landscapes, and cozy accommodations atop a limestone cliff offering perfect views of the blue Bohol sea and the nearby Alona Beach.
Initially built as a retirement home for homegrown Boholano couple Atty. Lucas Nunag and wife Atty. Ludichi Yasay-Nunag, Amarela Resort in Panglao, Bohol is now a multi-awarded green resort, and the first to receive the ASEAN Green recognition.
Amarela, the Portuguese term for yellow, embodies the color of sunshine and the happy, cozy resort with yellow walls fronting the white beach of Libaong. The Nunags repurposed wood from dilapidated structures and kilns, and preserved Boholano artworks, which are displayed so proudly in the art gallery and just about everywhere. Sophisticated latticework is evident everywhere from the window frames and wooden flooring to altar tables and carved ventilators.
The resort is also fitted with solar panels for water heating, refillable soap dispensers to do away with plastic sachets, and wastewater treatment using reed filtration, which uses the root system of reeds to clean water contaminants and surfactants. They carefully planned the resort’s construction so as not to disturb the wildlife living in the area, particularly the birds.
Whoa! That was a long read right here, huh? But we can’t be any prouder. Ten of our resorts and hotels bagging the esteemed ASEAN Green Hotel Standard awards, and we get to see these eco-friendly resorts scattered across the Philippines from Batanes to Davao. So wherever you are in the country, you’re sure to find a resort that’s not just devoted to keeping guests happy, but keeping Mother Nature happy, too!
Summer is here, and many of your folks are surely itching to have that vacation. Why not go for a resort that’s environment-friendly? Share this list to your circle of friends so they’ll know the best places to stay for a holiday!
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