Readers’ Choice Awards: Top 10 Best Eco Spas
- Published: Saturday, April 6th 2013
- in Travel & Play
- by Kate Phillips
Top 10 Best Eco Spas
By Kate Phillips | April 6, 2013We’ve shared with you nine easy ways to lead an eco-friendly life at home, in the office, and in your community, and here’s one more: for your next vacation, book a trip to a spa resort that celebrates being green! Scroll through our slideshow of the Top 10 Best Eco Spas from our 2012 SpaFinder® Wellness Readers’ Choice Awards to get some ideas.
The Living Spa at El Monte Sagrado – Taos, NM
Eco enthusiasts know this luxury resort in Taos, New Mexico, and for good reason—its Biolarium and The Living Machine eco-structure have generated plenty of press after all, and its eco-conscious Living Spa celebrates all-natural, organic products, including its own private label, Sagrado.
Image courtesy of El Monte Sagrado
Fivelements, Puri Ahimsa – Bali, Indonesia
Fivelements’ eco-architectural design esthetic complements the uncomplicated beauty of the enveloping forested hillside and cascading waterfalls, and spa treatments utilize nature’s organic, plant-based, wild extracts, including petals, harvested flowers, spices, and herbs, freshly garden picked and prepared in the spa’s laboratorium.
Image courtesy of Fivelements, Puri Ahimsa
Kamalaya Koh Samui, Wellness Sanctuary & Holistic Spa – Koh Samui, Thailand
Preservation is key here, as the architectural initiative for Kamalaya paid close attention to sustaining the natural setting. “Environmental care extended to the transplanting of over 150 trees, which were relocated one by one to a nearby nursery until construction was finished, and they could be brought ‘home’ to Kamalaya,” the wellness sanctuary says.
Image courtesy of Kamalaya Koh Samui, Wellness Sanctuary & Holistic Spa
Lefay Resort and SPA Lago di Garda – Gargnano, Italy
Every element of this resort spa is devoted to respecting the surrounding landscape, including its interior design: Guest rooms showcase natural materials like olive wood parquet flooring, national walnut furnishings, and textiles and bed linens crafted from natural cotton fiber.
Image courtesy of Lefay Resort and SPA Lago di Garda
Mandala Spa & Villas – Boracay Island, Philippines
A component of Mandala Spa’s green initiative is “The TREEtment Project,” where the property plants a tree for every spa treatment or room night booked. Founded in September 2009, the project has racked up a total of 10,000-plus planted trees (and counting!).
Image courtesy of Mandala Spa & Villas
Mohonk Mountain House – New Paltz, NY
Mohonk uses progressive environmental technologies, including an eco-sound geothermal system, encompassing nearly 50 480-foot-deep wells that exploit the earth’s temperature to heat and cool the Spa, the New Paltz property says. As well, a spacious “green roof” garden terrace hosts seasonal fitness, yoga, qigong, and meditation classes.
Image courtesy of Mohonk Mountain House
Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs – Ojo Caliente, NM
The mineral springs resort’s geothermal system utilizes the energy from the hot mineral water once it’s run through the on-site pools to heat and cool the buildings, which “requires one-tenth the energy of conventional systems,” Ojo Caliente says.
Image courtesy of Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs
Rancho La Puerta – Tecate, Baja California, Mexico
The non-profit Fundación La Puerta, founded in 1977 by the Szekely family and former GM José Manuel Jasso, in partnership with Rancho La Puerta, supports environmental, social, and educational programming and awareness in the Tecate and border area, with projects categorized under urban planning and conservation, environmental education, and cultural and recreational, the Ranch says.
Image courtesy of Rancho La Puerta
Spa Eastman – Quebec, Canada
Spa Eastman has promoted sustainable development since 1977 as well—dedication to 100-percent organic gardening, proper waste management, purchase of organic foods and wines, and support given to local food producers are among its proactive campaign.
Image courtesy of Spa Eastman
The Farm at San Benito – Batangas, Philippines
Send your friends pics during your stay at The Farm— a unique healing center for holistic wellness in a sublime, eco-friendly ambience—and they’ll surely be feeling green…with envy, that is!
Image courtesy of The Farm at San Benito
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Kate Phillips
About the author: Kate Phillips
Spafinder Wellness 365 Editor and self-proclaimed Starbucks fanatic, Kate is an avid enthusiast of writing, all-things-travel, and fashion magazines. Before SFW365 she was a freelance contributor to Time Out New York and the online editor for Chemical Week magazine, where she penned articles on chemicals found in beauty products. She spends her downtime testing out spa and beauty products on her mom and sisters, including her identical twin.
