One promising sector that has also seen increased activities is Tourism, and Vietnam is firmly taking the middle-to-upper luxury segment, and is pursuing it with a vengeance. A spate of development along its beautiful coast is witnessing high-end hotel brands coming in.

Among them is the new Six Senses Resort & Spa on Con Dao Island. A gorgeous villa compound that is introducing the latest in eco-consciousness, through green architecture and hotel operations that practices responsible tourism.

The 50 spacious villas, single and duplex style, each have their own private infinity pool and unobstructed views of the South China Sea. They sit up along a mile of sandy beach, sheltered by the green forested hills behind. The main restaurant offers world class food and wine, the chefs using fresh, locally grown and sourced ingredients. The center of the resort resembles a Vietnamese market with a traditional Vietnamese open kitchen and a Deli, offering guests the chance to browse and try local delicacies. Surrounded by tropical gardens, Six Senses Spa offers 4 indoor treatment rooms, one Thai therapy room, three outdoor treatment salas, a Yoga and Meditation pavilion, a Juice Bar and changing facilities.

Bangkok-based Six Senses Resorts & Spas is a hotel and spa management company that has built a reputation on eco-friendliness from its inception. Ensuring that all its hotels bring positive impact to its immediate community and environment. This approach is embodied in their core purpose on: Social and Environment Sustainability Policy:

To create innovative and enlightening experiences that rejuvenate our guests’ love of SLOW LIFE* 

True to its commitment to supporting and protecting the environment, Con Six Senses Resort & Spa Con Dao has been built with the very lightest ecological footprint.

All building materials are from natural, sustainable sources and local where possible. The teak is reclaimed from the Vietnamese interior and includes more than a thousand beautifully carved antique panels.

Location: Con Dao is a 16 island archipelago within Ba Ria–Vung Tau Province, in south east Vietnam. It is famed for its crystal clear blue-green waters, soft golden sand beaches, lush mangrove forests and beautiful coral reefs. Six Senses Con Dao is nestled in a beautiful secluded bay 8 km from Co Ong airport. The resort has a magnificent beach, a beguiling 1.5 km strip of golden sand with sloping dunes leading to turquoise waters, and dramatic Elephant Head Mountain as a backdrop.

Con Dao is approximately 230 km from Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) which is served by many of the world’s leading airlines. The transfer flight to Con Dao takes approximately 45 minutes.

Climate: Located close to the equator, Con Dao enjoys a warm tropical climate. The average temperature is 27 degrees Celsius. Sea conditions are calm, certain times of the year, throughout the archipelago which makes for excellent swimming, snorkeling and diving all year round. The island also benefits from abundant shade provided by evergreen trees.

Con Dao was recognized as a nature reserve in 1984 and became a national park in 1993. The total protected area of the park is 20,000 hectares, including 14,000 hectares of sea and 6,000 hectares of forest. Con Dao National Park encompasses oceanic and coastal ecosystems such as mangrove forests, coral reefs and sea grasslands. The park is the most important egg-laying area in Vietnam for sea turtles as well as being home to rare dugong, dolphins, and varieties of orchids found nowhere else in the country. In addition, the island has large and diverse coral reefs.

Soneva Kiri Eco Resort by Six Senses is an absolute gem of a resort. Not merely because of how it looks amid the natural setting overlooking the bay, but because of the revolutionary promise of what an eco-conscious resort can look like. From the organic flow of bamboo and how it coils into shape at the resort’s Children Center, to the unusual option for guests to dine in a lofty woven Tree Pod perched 16 feet off the ground. And as if that wasn’t already cool enough, all of the food and beverages arrive courtesy of a flying waiter via a zip line.

Soneva Kiri is located on Koh Kood, a pristine and untouched island on the east coast of Thailand. It comprises 42 pool villas along the beach front and on the hillside, overlooking the Gulf of Thailand. Each pool villa offers living areas and air-conditioned bedrooms surrounded by water features. Several villas feature private spa suites. Three restaurants present a range of dining experiences. In addition to many leisure facilities, the resort will feature a Six Senses Spa village and a celebration pavilion. Honeymooners will be pampered with a complimentary Soneva honeymooner benefits.

Flights from Bangkok take 60 minutes by the resort’s own lightplane, then 2 kilometres by motor boat. Round trip BKK airport transfer (land/boat) from USD380 per person, excluding. tax & service charge. Prices are subject to change.

Soneva Kiri’s Environmental and Social Sustainability Policy
We care for a better environment and our place with the local community!

Soneva Kiri, Six Senses Spa and the hosts are committed to improving the ecological and carbon footprint from activities associated with the resort and spa industry namely providing accommodation, dining, excursions, spa, sports and aquatic activities. We are committed to developing a sustainable environment by using the indictors highlighted below. We will continuously monitor our performance and sustainable activities against the targets and goals set by Six Senses, which will be adjusted, amended and acted upon wherever appropriate, and we will continue to submit performance data to Six Senses.

Social Responsibility
Soneva Kiri Resort and Spa’ philosophy is to give something back to the local community in which we operate. For this reason, we set aside funds for social and environmental purposes following the Social and Environmental Responsibility Fund: – 0.5% of the revenue

Inspiration: Lux Interior Designs, Architecture-View

The celebrated resort is a favorite spot for romance, honeymoons and weddings. It’s a great choice for families who want to combine breathtaking surroundings and superb dining with a wide range of eco-friendly activities such as snorkeling, a day of ecological awareness or a trip to the rain forest capped off by a dip in a gorgeous freshwater jungle pool.

Jean Michel Cousteau Fiji Islands Resort is a gorgeous little resort on peninsula next to some amazing diving and snorkeling in a marine reserve. Traditional Fijian architecture coupled with an organic garden, a plan to restore the surrounding eco system, and a community foundation that gives back to the local people are just a few of the factors that make this resort special.

• Full-time, on-site Marine Biologist
• Aware-winning Cultural Host
• Each day of the week is devoted to making guests aware about a different aspect of our culture and environment
• First recycling program on Savusavu
• Organic garden that grows many vegetables, herbs and fruits for our guests
• Edible landscaping
• Protecting the Namena Marine Reserve
• New waste water system using coconuts and recycled bottles to product clean water in picturesque lagoons
• Local involvement with our environmental efforts through the community and schools
• Fishing outside the reef, in the deep ocean where fish are plentiful

The Resort is a partner of Ocean Futures and The Good Night Foundation, a non-profit organization that builds on the concept that a guest’s Resort night can contribute to doing good in the community and beyond. In partnership with leading hoteliers and caring guests, The Good Night Foundation raises funds to support local and global programs that help make all parts of the world safe, healthy and desirable places to live and visit.

At Good Night Foundation partner hotels, a four dollar (FJD) charitable donation is added to each Bure per night. The Good Night Foundation addresses global challenges by funding programs focused on improving health, education, poverty and the environment, including the Savusavu Community Foundation. In this way, guests know their contributions benefit each community they visit. Guests who do not wish to participate may opt out by contacting the Resort front desk at any time.

As no garbage collection is available for the resort, waste management is a high priority because the resort has to deal with it all themselves. Plastic and metals are recycled by facilities nearby on the island, while paper is collected and then transported to another island. The resort operates a community foundation that raises money to help support the local community and it also employs locals from the nearby village and offers job training.

The resort only buys fish that are sustainably caught by local fisherman, which has created a sustainable market in the area that encourages environmentally friendly fishing habits.

The school is constructed out of two large steel spans that cross the bridge and smaller steel supports and framing. Local materials and wood were used to create the facade, interior furnishings and school furniture. While the steel is very modern, especially in the context of a rural village, the material will last a long time while creating a structurally-sound school. The use of local materials helps the building blend texturally and aesthetically with the rest of the village.

Inspiration: Archietcture-View

French designer Matali Crasset’s first venture into architecture blends social and private spaces and keeps cool in the intense sun. Located on a hill on the edge of the Sahara Desert in Tunisia, the Dar Hi borrows from local traditions and materials to create an environmentally sensitive retreat.

Dar Hi is made almost entirely from locally sourced materials and labor. Such a refreshing reflection on the potential for localization in building design. The clay bricks and exterior finishings made with local materials but the structural elements were developed using local building techniques.

The interior woodwork, fabric, and decorations are made with local palm fiber and wood. In fact, a group called Palmlab researches uses for palm in a faculty located within the Hotel. 

The floor plan of the eco resort consists of outdoor shaded community areas, a central spa and bath, and rooms which all take advantage of the immense views while creating privacy and shaded outdoor spaces below. 

Inspiration: Architecture-View

Miraval Spa and Wellness Retreat in Tucon, Arizaona, is more than a mere resort for healing your mind and body, it also working to protect the earth. Developed by Miraval’s master plan Mithun, they add new buildings to the older buildings for wellness, meditation, yoga, outdoor treatments, and guest rooms. With rammed earth buildings, respect for the desert, mindful use of water and energy, Miraval is certainly a place for eco inspiration as well as for your soul.

Accommodations are luxurious, the 118 guest rooms decorated in a contemporary Southwestern style, with all the modern conveniences. Some feature fireplaces and patios with stunning views of the surrounding Sonoran desert and the Santa Catalina mountains.

Meals are included, and the cuisine is suitably health-conscious, using fresh natural ingredients, and cooking classes are available for those who wish to take a bit of the Miraval dining experience home. The focus on health and relaxation brings with it certain austere measures — there’s no smoking allowed, and alcohol is served only after the day’s activities. Children are not permitted, and though there’s no minimum stay requirement, it’s recommended that guests stay several days in order to take advantage of all Miraval has to offer. All in all it’s a remarkably thorough escape — just half an hour from Tucson and two hours from Phoenix, it nevertheless feels a world apart.

Miraval are constructed of rammed earth, which serves as thermal mass keeping the interior cool during the day and emitting heat at night. Clay adobe bricks were made on site with local materials and used to build the outdoor showers, while branches from local saplings were used to screen in the mechanical areas. Decomposed granite paths meander throughout the resort and aid in drainage during the rainy season.

The guest rooms also feature a number of other eco and energy efficient materials like low voltage lighting, high content recycled concrete counter tops, high performance windows, and non toxic, low VOC paints. Landscaping surrounding the guest rooms, like the entire resort, makes use entirely of native plant species that do not require irrigation. The resort also has plans to build an on site treatment plant that will reclaim waste water for landscape and irrigation use. Overall the resort and its facilities tries to highlight the close connection that we have to nature and Mithun worked to do the same in all of the elements they included in their design.

Inspiration: Architecture-View

Designed by New Zealand-based Crosson Clarke Carnachan Architects, this wooden home on the Great Barrier Island north east of Auckland, New Zealand is built on stilts and elevated for flood protection. The sun is used for passive heating, electricity and solar hot water heating, and with its stilt foundation, the home makes a light impact on the site.

The home is built on a beautiful site surrounded with large Puriri trees, Blackwoods and other natives. A foundation of stilts raise the main living area of the home off the ground by one meter and in case of major flooding, the home would hopefully be above the high water mark and remain safe. The home lifts in order to reflect the rise of a hill off to the west of the home and the living area is completely open with large floor to ceiling windows of low e glass.

During the summer, the windows slide open to take advantage of the natural breezes and temperate climate. The winter sun likewise helps the home stay warm as it shines in through the large windows and a beautifully designed fireplace provides some heat when the temperatures drop. A solar hot water system on the roof provides plenty of hot water for the home and its many guests, and a photovoltaic system provides electricity.

Inspiration: Architecture-View

The Hotel Aire de Bardenas is a four star hotel with 22 rooms including four deluxe suites, piercing alongside the Bardenas Reales National Park and Biosphere Reserve in Tudela, Spain. The restaurant invites you to sit and enjoy authentic savory dishes in the middle of nature. The chefs cultivate the same products served to your table. Vegetarians will find themselves in paradise with the vegetables from the Ribera of Navarre, their speciality. Each room combines comfort and well being with simplicity and naturalness. Some of the rooms include a private patio with an exterior bathtub.

Anantara Veli Resort & Spa, Maldives, is a sensual island living over a turquoise lagoon that will put you in a natural mood for romance in one of 50 over water bunglows. This stunning resort is only a 35-minute speedboat ride from Male International Airport, yet the white sands, endless blue sky and lush foliage seem a world apart.

Walk hand in hand on idyllic sands. Cool down in the crystal clear waters that lie just beneath your luxury private bungalow. Contemplate the oceanic light as it evolves from morning glow to dusk, savouring time that is luxuriously well spent in between.

For that extra treat pamper yourself at the Veli Garden spa retreat, lounging at the ocean side infinity pool, or cruising on a dhoni at sunset alongside dolphins. Then freshen up for an evening of fine dining where international cuisine is served at your table – a highlight being the best Thai cuisine, set out over the water where ocean and lagoon converge.

36 over water bungalows luxuriate in the contemporary decor of your spacious 63-square metre bungalow on a pristine stretch of tropical paradise with hardwood floor and a coconut thatch roof and king-sized beds fitted with Egyptian cotton linen.

Another 14 deluxe over water bungalows 92 square metres of relaxation under the charming coconut thatch roof, your deluxe accommodation is a sanctuary overlooking the vast seascapes, with a spacious open-air bathroom and a tub along the tiered sundeck. Unwind on a daybed or lounger on the sundeck. There is no more place idyllic than this spot of paradise to enjoy leisurely quality time with your loved one, including all the luxurious amenities of your luxury over water bungalows.

Between the temptations on offer at Anantara Veli and those of Anantara Dhigu, an array of casual and fine dining destinations is yours to savour. 73 Degrees, Dhoni, Baan Huraa or the Geckos are some of the eateries on offer to tickle your taste buds. Photos: Anantara Hotels & Resorts.

If you think the design looks like something from a sci-fi movie set, that’s because the location itself is quite unusual. It’s Eater Island, the world’s most isolated island. Rapa Nui, as it is called in Polynesian, is the most remote inhabited island in the world. And it has some very strange remnants from the past, a testament to the ancient culture that once thrived on the island.

Easter Island is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean. A special territory of Chile since 1888, Easter Island is famous for its 887 monumental statues, called moai, created by the early Rapanui people. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with much of the island protected within Rapa Nui National Park.

Santiago-based Architecture Firm AATA Arquitectos Asociados designed the Morerava Eco Cabins on Easter Island. Their eye-catching design are the result of forward-thinking ec0-consciousness, to give minimal impact on the site. And what better way to do that then build the cabins off-site and transport them in pieces and assemble them! Morerava Eco Cabins are pre-fabricated structures.

These Prefabricated Cottages are put on the terrain with the aim of transforming the land as less as possible. In it’s design special attention was given to sun light and cross ventilation to avoid the usage of mechanical systems to achieve thermal and luminance comfort.

AATA Architects are experienced with the building of eco-friendly cabins. The cabins are comfortable and well appointed and are meant to be as eco self sufficient as possible, so as to not damage the delicate ecosystem on the island. The cabins collect and purify their own rainfall, use solar panels and are built so they will do no damage when moved.

The Cabins have a rainwater collection system which stores and treats the water for the re-usage in the cabanas. Water from the network is only used in case this supply runs out . This avoids the over consumption of a resource which is rare on the Island. 

The cabins were designed with special attention to sunlight and cross ventilation to avoid the usage of mechanical systems to achieve thermal and luminance comfort.

Hot water comes from solar heating tanks to the solar panels located on each cottage’s roof, avoiding the use of gas or electricity (which in the island is generated from petrol) for this purpose.