Luxury and Eco on Holiday – Getting the Balance Right
Luxury and Eco on Holidays are precious and let’s face it, we all fancy a bit of luxury to indulge our senses in. But for the eco-conscious traveller, the challenge is to find a destination that achieves the balance between luxury and environmentally friendly. The ‘green’ part really needs to be seamlessly integrated into the experience.
It’s not hard. Guests can be traveling ‘green’ without really knowing it at some resorts. Take Eco Beach for example, on Western Australia’s remote Kimberley coast. This eco wilderness retreat boasts the 2 key ingredients of 1.Location and 2.Experience. The green part of the recipe can then be very simply integrated and just like a green smoothie, you don’t even know you’re drinking kale or spinach! It’s the right combination of Luxury and Eco on Holiday.
Passive solar architecture is a subtle, effective way to increase guest comfort without detracting from luxury and decreases the need for power hungry air-conditioning: elevated villas and tents that facilitate cooling airflow; long eaves for shade; reflective rooves ; higher angled roof pitch that decreases the surface area exposed to the midday sun; lightweight building materials that drop heat quickly; double glazed windows and orientation of buildings to capture the sea breezes. These clever initiatives are like a dash of spinach in amongst the raspberries and bananas – hidden wonders.
The top of the list green feature is the resort’s computerised hybrid renewable power system. Every villa and tent is equipped with solar arrays that gather energy from the Sun to store in a large battery bank. The grid-based solar system allows excess power generated to be diverted to areas requiring power or to be stored in the batteries. So, energy is used on a ‘needs only’ basis. This is indeed combining Luxury and Eco on Holiday
Other green initiatives include: a unique energy-monitoring system that enables both management and guests to check energy usage; circuit breakers to restrict the use of large power-drawing electronic devices; LED lights; louver windows to maximise the airflow; thermostatically controlled Chromogen hot water systems; multi-head split system air conditioners in the villas; sustainable bamboo floor boards; eco-decking – a composite, renewable material that combines polyethylene and organic rice husks and reduces the need for deforestation; recycling in the office and around the resort; low flow taps, toilets and showerheads; biological micro-organism sewerage treatment plant and bio-degradable cleaning and bathroom products.
In the garden: grey-water is used to water the gardens; 5,000 native plants reduce irrigation needs; over 1km of elevated boardwalks protect the natural bush floor and an organic vegetable patch in season supplies 70% of the resort kitchen’s fresh produce needs – from edible marigolds, to beans that rival those of any fairy-tale. Kitchen scraps are composted and fed to the chickens that kindly lay some 20 eggs a day – a poignant example of the ‘great circle of life’, and a reminder that we are all interdependent. Another great example of combining Luxury and Eco on Holiday.
Going green actually creates more guest comfort and more delicious meals! And guests can sleep soundly in their premium King Beds (minus the peas under the mattresses!) under a million stars, knowing that they are supporting the sustainability of the planet. It’s surely a win, win situation, taking a Luxury and Eco on Holiday.
Find out more about Eco Beach Resort Broome and book online.
