A stay at Aleenta Hua Hin Resort Pranburi easily proves why the co-resort is regarded as Thailand’s ‘Eco-Stay Leader’.
While the green movement has been slowly catching on in the Thailand resort world, the Aleenta Hua Hin Resort Pranburi is miles ahead of the competition, showcasing some amazingly sustainable tourism policies without sacrificing an inch of five-star comfort.
Located just south of Hua Hin, on an empty beach in sleepy Pranburi, Aleenta Hua Hin Resort Pranburi (183 Moo 4 Paknampram/Tel: 032 618-333, 02 514-8112, www.aleenta.com) is at the forefront of the eco-resort scene and has some truly unique earth friendly policies.
Resident Manager James Noble is a former celebrity chef (he was Mick Jagger’s private chef in Mustique) and has turned the Aleenta into a charming oasis that blends into the almost Mediterranean surroundings of lovely secluded Pak Nampran Bay. Noble aims to create as minimal a carbon footprint as possible and has undertaken tremendous steps to achieve this.
The walls of the rooms at Aleenta are made from rock that has been locally sourced within 30 kilometers. The hammocks on the verandahs come from local fishermen who hand-make the netting. The ceilings are constructed from locally sourced cane, and carpenters who live in the community have made much of the furniture with reconstructed local wood. In fact, over 90% of the staff comes from within 30km of the resort, and many have been with the Aleenta since its inception.
As if this weren’t enough to reduce its carbon footprint, the resort divides all of its waste and recycles over 90% of it, with water also being re-used to the same tune, going to irrigate the garden and farm which the resort runs, also a source of immense sustainability.
The Aleenta’s 16-acre organic farm provides year-round fruit and vegetables, has a mushroom growing shed, and even a smokehouse with a solar oven for curing local meat. Guests can pick fruit or produce at the farm for free, paying for it only by having to replant a seed.
All of the farm veggies and smoked meats get transferred to the Aleenta kitchen by bicycle or via a tuk tuk that is powered by fuel made from other local resorts’ disposed cooking oil! Even the restaurant in the resort gets into the act, serving up items liked solar baked cakes, sand baked clams, or clay pot items that have been buried under hot beach sand for cooking!
To top things off, Aleenta is the only resort in Thailand offering guests a free holiday. Yes, that’s right, a free holiday that includes spa treatments, buffets, and a lovely villa by the beach. Of course to receive one has to give, so visitors utilizing this free package have to stay five days during which time they volunteer in a local school, help the staff to prep the kitchen, cook, and generally get a bit humbled by learning first hand just how hard the staff at all these resorts work to provide guests with nice stays.
Not only is the resort one of Thailand’s most popular luxury stays, but also it benefits the surrounding community as well.
