Traveling sustainably is about to get a whole lot easier—and more luxurious. Small Luxury Hotels of the World has announced the launch of the Considerate Collection—the world’s first collection of actively sustainable boutique luxury hotels.
“We know that taking small steps can make a big difference, but we also know that we can do much more,” reads the SLH website. “This is why we’re launching the Considerate Collection, a new ethos-driven green and ocean blue standard for boutique hotels that go the extra eco mile. To help our guests make carefully considered travel choices. To cut through the confusion over certification, and to cut out greenwashing. To make travel count before check-in and beyond check-out.”
SLH says that ‘staying small’ is inherent to traveling sustainably. “‘Small’ has always been in our name, and thinking global, acting local has always been in our nature,” the company says. “Most of our hotels have no more than 50 rooms, they are all independently owned and many have been in the same family for generations. From a biodiversity-promoting rainforest lodge in Costa Rica to a culture-preserving Provençal château, they are often repurposed or renovated properties—reinvigorated and revived—rather than large scale new-builds. People are the heart of our hotels. They champion their local community, and cherish their culture and environments.”
The Considerate Collection
The Collection was developed in partnership between SLH and the sustainability consultancy, The Considerate Group. The bespoke toolkit helped member hotels demonstrate their strengths and identify ways to support hotels to continue to “walk all this sustainability talk,” the brand says. SLH also worked with legendary former hotelier Hervé Houdré, who’s worked with The InterContinental chain as well as the Hôtel Plaza Athénée Paris, among others. Houdré is now a sustainability consultant for hotels.
Hotels in the collection either meet criteria established by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council or passed a Sustainability Advisory Panel assessment, which must then be reviewed by the GSTC. Hotels are vetted on three pillars: Community Minded, Cultural Custodians, and Environmentally Conscious. The hotels are also vetted for their overarching sustainability management systems.
“We’ve carefully curated the Considerate Collection to spotlight luxury boutique hotels exemplary in their sustainability efforts, making it easier for customers and the travel trade to make better-considered choices,” Daniel Luddington, VP of Development, Small Luxury Hotels of the World, said in a statement. “Staying in small, independent hotels goes hand in hand with traveling sustainably and all SLH hotels are already steeped in the many facets of sustainable hospitality, so we haven’t had to look far outside of our portfolio for the launch collection. We also have an exciting pipeline of new hotels to add in the coming months,” Luddington says.
“Small is beautiful and a better way to travel.”
-Daniel Luddington, VP of Development, Small Luxury Hotels of the World
“SLH has impressed us with their dedicated support of their member hotels, and we’re delighted to collaborate with them to devise a robust framework, consistent with GSTC measures but uniquely matched for all luxury boutique hotels. We are sure it will be a huge success,” said Randy Durband, CEO of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council.
There are 26 hotels across 16 countries currently in the Collection, and standouts include the biodiversity-promoting Tabacón Thermal Resort & Spa in Costa Rica, the Gangtey Lodge, an all-suite outpost overlooking Bhutan’s Gangtey Valley wildlife preserve, and the culture-preserving Domaine de Manville in France.
SLH says its approach to sustainability is holistic; it’s a long game for the brand, which boasts 520 hotels across 90 countries. As part of its commitment, it has also updated its hotel inspections to include a 50-point Considerate model aimed at improving front of house initiatives.
And SLH says it has also incorporated sustainability initiatives internally, with best practices in its offices as well as volunteer days for staff and a partnership with social change and reforestation charity, TreeSisters.
The new Considerate Collection isn’t an effort to create a new brand under the SLH banner, says Luddington, but to further emphasize the brand’s commitments and values that have been paramount to its success over the past 30 years. It’s a new path forward, and focus, he says, is on the “independent spirits, community-centric, questioners, storytellers and the ultimate belief that Small is beautiful and a better way to travel.”
The Hotels
- Bhutan Spirit Sanctuary, Shaba, Bhutan
- Columbia Beach Resort, Limassol, Cyprus
- Domaine de Manville, Les Baux de Provence
- Domaine des Etangs, Massignac, France
- FORESTIS, Brixen, Italy
- GAÏA Riverlodge, Cayo District, Belize
- Gangtey Lodge, Phobjikha Valley, Bhutan
- Grove of Narberth, Narberth, United Kingdom
- Heritage le Telfair Golf and Wellness Resort, Bel Ombre, Mauritius
- Hotel Arima & Spa, San Sebastian, Spain
- Hotel Nantipa, Santa Teresa de Cobano, Costa Rica
- Hotel Rangá, Hella, Iceland
- Keemala, Phuket, Thailand
- La Sultana Marrakech, Marrakech, Morocco
- Le Domaine d’Ablon, Ablon, France
- Lefay Resort & Spa Dolomiti, Pinzolo, Italy
- Lefay Resort & Spa Lago di Garda, Gargnano, Italy
- Petit St. Vincent, Petit St. Vincent Island, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Pimalai Resort & Spa, Lanta Island, Thailand
- Storfjord Hotel, Skodje, Norway
- Susafa, Polizzi Generosa, Italy
- Tabacón Thermal Resort & Spa, La Fortuna de San Carlos, Costa Rica
- The Dylan Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- The Fortress Resort & Spa, Galle, Sri Lanka
- The Racha, Phuket, Thailand
- Torre del Marques, Monroyo, Spain
View the full Considerate Collection here.
