Six of the best sustainable hotels in the Indian Ocean

Heritage Le Telfair Golf & Wellness Resort is a glamorous five-star resort with a style that’s reminiscent of a French plantation estate of the early 19th century. The palatial Mauritian retreat sits in the Bel Ombre region which was once dedicated to sugar cultivation. It’s now a place where nature flourishes. 

Together with its sister resort Heritage Awali, Heritage Le Telfair has been awarded the Green Key eco-label for its commitment to sustainable hospitality. A key measure includes appointing a Sustainable Development Executive to implement eco-friendly projects across Heritage Resorts. 

Heritage Le Telfair excels at eco-luxury. Energy-saving strategies and eco-friendly cleaning products are used throughout. Single-use plastic is limited, and its 12 restaurants create Michelin-star quality dishes with predominantly organic and locally sourced ingredients. 

What makes it sustainable: 

• Heritage Le Telfair offers guests carbon neutral stays with carbon captured through local reforestation programs and offsetting projects
• The resort runs a ‘Now for Tomorrow’ program which promotes sustainable development in Mauritius 
• Surplus hotel food is distributed to those in need through the NGO Foodwise 
• The resort has created a Heritage Training Academy program which recruits people within its local community
• Regional and organic ingredients are used throughout its menu – no Atlantic salmon served here!
• The resort owns a 13,000-hectare nature reserve in Bel Ombre which you can explore by quad biking, 4x4 tours, trekking and picnics!

Positioned beside the shimmering white sands of a 2km private beach, Constance Belle Mare Plage is a luxury resort that’s perfect for eco-conscious families. 

A Gold member of the prestigious Green Globe certification, Constance Hotels & Resorts focuses on four key sustainable areas throughout all resorts in its portfolio. These are: Environmental, Socio-Cultural, Quality, and Health & Safety. 

Constance Belle Mare Plage was the first hotel in Mauritius to receive the Blue Oasis Certification accredited by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council. The standard covers all aspects of sustainable tourism with over 100 criteria to be met. 

What’s more, the resort regularly does beach and reef clean-ups. Together with Constance Prince Maurice and local communities, it collected 10 tons of waste in 2021. 

What makes it sustainable: 

• Constance Belle Mare Plage is a Gold member of Green Globe Company Standard, a certification which holds tourism businesses to the highest sustainability standards
• The resort has four key areas of sustainability focus: Environmental, Socio-Cultural, Quality and Health & Safety
• Constance Hotels & Resorts tracks its sustainability initiatives through its detailed action plan
• Constance Belle Mare Plage was the first resort in Mauritius to receive the Blue Oasis Certification 
• The resort participates in the Pledge on Food Waste certification program 

Nestled on a private island, Amilla Maldives Resort & Residences is focused on protecting its lush surroundings. It’s dedicated to reef conservation and it has its own coral frame planting programme where it gives life to coral fragments that have broken off parent colonies. 

Across the resort, sustainability is considered at every turn. In the kitchen, the resort sources all meat from responsible suppliers and you can visit the affectionately named on-site chicken coop ‘Cluckingham Palace.’ As many fruits and vegetables as possible are grown in the gardens to cut down on the carbon footprint of imports too. 

Sustainability is nothing without people and Amilla has taken this philosophy a step further in its pioneering inclusive travel initiative. From the airport to activities, Amilla works with UK-based accessible travel experts to ensure everyone’s needs are met. 

What makes it sustainable: 

• Amilla is the world’s first IncluCare certified resort which means it can accommodate guests with a range of physical and sensory disabilities
• The resort has achieved a silver EarthCheck Certification for two years running 
• It purchases from local and cruelty-free suppliers to reduce its carbon footprint and help support the local community 
• The resort works to support the regeneration of local coral reefs through coral frame planting 
• Amilla uses reusable recycled products throughout the resort such as food boxes and bags made from ocean-bound plastic
• The resort grows fresh produce in its gardens and makes as many products in-house as part of its Homegrown @ Amilla and Homemade @ Amilla programmes

Since opening its doors in 2021, Patina Maldives, Fari Islands has gained a reputation as one of the top sustainable hotels in the Maldives. Its social and environmental impact has been an integral part of the hotel since its inception. 

Facilities are powered by Swimsol, an energy provider specialising in marine offshore solar panels. Plus, during construction, locally sourced, biodegradable and reusable materials were used wherever possible – including FSC-certified timber.  

The Patina Maldives philosophy is deeply rooted in nurturing the next generation’s commitment to the environment. It has a pioneering kids club, Footprints which is entirely run on solar energy. Young inventors can also turn recycled ocean plastic into models using 3D printing at Footprints’ Fab Lab. 

The hotel offers cooking classes that promotes the benefits of local and organic ingredients and children are invited to sign up for free diving lessons to learn about the marine environment. 

What makes it sustainable: 

• Patina Maldives Fari Islands is built using locally sourced, biodegradable and reusable materials 
• All drinking water is produced and bottled in-house 
• Facilities are powered by Swimsol, a company specialising in marine offshore solar panels
• Free PADI diving certifications are offered to local Maldivian children to help raise next-generation marine awareness 
• 1% of gross operating profits goes towards funding charitable causes and initiatives in the local communities

Silhouette Island is the third largest island in the Seychelles and 85% of it is a nature reserve. As the only resort on the island Hilton Seychelles Labriz Resort has taken its environmental responsibility to heart. 

The resort works in harmony with its natural surroundings rather than dismantle it. Here, villas have been built around the trees rather than the other way round. That’s why you won’t find a straight line of villas anywhere on site. 

One of the resort’s biggest achievements to date is eradicating single-use plastic bottles by installing a water bottling plant on Silhouette Island’ largest peak, Mount Dauban. Water is filtered and poured into reusable glass bottles. Plus, guests are gifted a reusable stainless steel bottle on arrival.

What makes it sustainable: 

• Hilton Seychelles Labriz Resort & Spa has partnered with the International Fund for Agricultural Development to minimise imports as much as possible. Over 80% of its vegetables are sourced locally
• All food waste is turned into fertiliser and used organic farms and native plant nurseries
• The resort has tackled plastic pollution from drinking water by installing a water bottling plant which only uses reusable glass bottles
• It works with the Island Conservation Society to protect the flora and fauna of the Seychelles including forestry, marine conservation and the Seychelles bat 

North Island Seychelles is an exclusive five-star resort that benefits from complete and utter privacy thanks to its secluded position in the far reaches of the Seychelles archipelago. The private island resort prides itself on its commitment to sustainable tourism. 

A key focus of the resort is restoring the island to its former glory after it was used (and subsequently abandoned) for the coconut industry. 

It has its own Conservation team which works to turn the island into a sanctuary for rehabilitated wildlife. One famous resident is Brutus, a turtle of approximately 160 years old with a weight of about 2000 kg. His snoozing habits on the path have led him to acquire reflective stripes to keep him safe from golf carts. 

Other animal species include the Hawksbill and Green Turtle which have both made North Island critical nesting sites. Every morning the Conservation team patrol the beaches for signs of turtles and resort guests are invited to take part. 

What makes it sustainable: 

• North Island Seychelles is committed to conserving its biologically diverse location. Local community projects include protecting the Magpie Robin and maintaining the island’s nesting site for the Hawksbill and Green Turtle
• Since 2015, the resort has worked on the North Island Forest Restoration Project to plant trees and restore the island’s ecologically natural landscape
• The resort is working to make North Island an Ecological Marine Reserve. It’s monitored daily by the resort’s resident environmentalists and the Dive Centre
• North Island Seychelles is a multi-award-winner for its sustainability efforts. Awards include National Geographic World Legacy (2017), Gold at African Responsible Tourism Awards (2018), Top 100 Sustainable Destinations (2019)