If eco-lodging conjures thatched roofs and anemic LED lighting, it's because until recently there's been little in the way of sophisticated alternatives for conscious travelers.
The Indonesia-based hotel group Potato Head has lately become the standard-bearer of what founder Ronald Akili calls "modern sustainability," which is radicalizing earth-friendly aesthetics with uncompromising design. In November, next door to its fabled Seminyak beach club and Katamama hotel, the brand is opening the Desa Potato Head. Designed by Rem Koolhaas's OMA, the 168-room structure, built from recycled brick and poured concrete cast in reclaimed driftwood, floats on stilts to minimize its footprint and is a paean to the brand's zero-waste ethos. Interiors are made of ocean and landfill plastics, bioplastics, and natural materials created by local craftsmen, while furniture is shaped from recycled waste by international designers like Max Lamb and Faye Toogood.
It was an equally unorthodox idea for an urban retreat when Starwood Capital Group CEO Barry Sternlicht launched his 1 Hotels in 2015 to “capture the beauty of nature in a hotel,” as he put it. Since then, well-heeled guests in Brooklyn, Miami, and L.A. have been sleeping in rooms lined in upcycled wood and sipping negronis under vertical gardens. (Cabo is in the pipeline.) Expect the same protocols—at a gentler price point—this winter in London with the launch of little brother Treehouse, a naturally constructed, nostalgia-tinged clubhouse for the torn-jeans crowd, with nooks filled with toys, books, and games.
Nostalgia is certainly a lure at the newly formed Ted Turner Reserves, 1.1 million acres of pristine private wilderness spilling across the map of New Mexico. This gargantuan patchwork of three ranches owned by media mogul Ted Turner has long drawn adventurers with its trout fishing, epic nature hikes, and frontier ghost towns—even seasonal elk hunting. But now those more interested in saving species than shooting them can meet with staff conservationists about projects including bison management or take safari-style rides to spot mountain lions. At night they'll sleep like, well, entertainment royalty—at Casa Grande, the graceful mansion built for a 19th-century newspaper magnate who required a billiard room in the wild; or at the rustically elegant ranch house at Ladder reserve, decorated by Turner's ex-wife Jane Fonda.
Seriously hands-on conservation-focused safaris in Africa have lately been getting a lift. High-quality, low-footprint pioneer Singita launched Safari With a Purpose trips last year to take guests behind the scenes at the 350,000-acre Grumeti Reserves in Tanzania during stays at one of the brand's impeccably run lodges. The now-thriving landscape is once again vulnerable to poaching. The five-day program brings people into the heart of anti-poaching ops at the Grumeti command center. Some guests have even collared elephants (for a near-$20,000 fee), flying in a helicopter alongside a vet to dart and tag the gentle giants. Meanwhile, Africa's exploding population means socioeconomic sustainability is equally key; in response, most safari brands have set up programs for education, health care, and job training, while preserving traditions through tourism. A standout is Cottar's Safaris, which has been in the business for a century. They're planning to add 40,000 acres to the Olderkesi region of the Masai Mara to secure elephant corridors and have pledged to go net-positive on energy by 2024.
Proving that boats can do better too, in July, Norwegian cruise operator Hurtigruten debuted the MS Roald Amundsen, a hybrid expedition ship partially powered by electrical propulsion, which shaves off oil consumption and CO2 emissions from sailings through the Northwest Passage. And next year, Silversea—known for navigating some of the most remote regions while staffed with both private butlers and resident scientists—is launching an all-suite ship, the Silver Origin, to the Galápagos. The traditional anchor has been replaced with a dynamic positioning system to protect the seafloor. The vessel will be plastics-free too, in line with the company's leave-no-trace philosophy.