From off-grid ecolodges to solar-energy-powered luxury resorts—these stays are all about sustainability.
With COP29 now fully underway, and our climate fluctuating in ways that increasingly make us dread the future we’ve created, some of us are looking to scale back on our non-eco-friendly practices, and, instead, turn our heads towards the sexy sustainable.
Lucky for us (and, of course, the environment), the MENA region’s hospitality world is finally embracing tree-saving and community-building practices that will ensure your stay is as guilt-free as it is lavish.
So, without further ado, here are the most spectacular and sustainable getaways across the MENA region.
Six Senses Southern Dunes
📍The Red Sea, Saudi Arabia
As Saudi Arabia’s first LEED Platinum resort, Six Senses Southern Dunes is fully powered by solar energy. The resort was designed to reduce energy consumption by utilising advanced systems, including thermal energy storage, electric transportation options, and smart automation integrated throughout the property.
Feynan Ecolodge
📍Jordan
Fully off-grid, Feynan generates 100% of its electricity via rooftop solar PV panels, only uses essential, energy-efficient appliances, air-dries the guests’s laundry, and uses jift (olive pit charcoal), a renewable by-product of Jordan’s olive harvest, to fuel fireplaces in the winter.
Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa
📍Dubai, UAE
A Bedouin-inspired stay, Al Maha has recently gotten eco-friendly upgrades, such as LED lighting, solar panels, sewage treatment facilities, and efficient water management systems making the resort greener than ever.
Alila Jabal Akhdar
📍Oman
With a full waste composting system and a permaculture garden to sustainably supply fresh produce for the kitchen, Alila Jabal Akhdar is not only focused on conservation, but also community, hiring local suppliers and educating guests on local culture.
Dar Tantora
📍AlUla, Saudi Arabia
Transforming mud-brick buildings to preserve local heritage, Dar Tantora is a boutique hotel that enlists local artisans, who blend traditional design with modern engineering to create a unique, eco-friendly experience.
Ecolodge Agadir Atlas
📍Kasbah, Morocco
With a permaculture garden producing fresh ingredients and a rare phyto-purification system enabling on-site wastewater treatment, this ecolodge gives back to the local community by using a portion of their earnings to support local infrastructure and provide secondary education opportunities for young Moroccan girls.
Adrère Amellal
📍Siwa Oasis, Egypt
Built from kershaf—a mix of clay, sand, and salt—, this eco-retreat relies on gas lamps, candles, and the moon for lighting, and sources all its fruits and vegetables from its gardens, while meat and poultry are sourced from local farmers. It even has a hot-spring-fed pool.
Qasr Al Sarab by Anantara
📍Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Having replaced plastic water bottles with biodegradable corn-based bottles that fully decompose in 80 days, the resort also installed solar panels to reduce energy consumption by 80%. The resort’s kitchens produce compost for an onsite greenhouse supplying organic ingredients, while greywater irrigates the gardens, and materials like cardboard, oil, paper, and soap are recycled.
Nov 24, 2024
