Four Bali Hotels That Prove Sustainability Is the New Luxury

Lights blinked on amid Bali’s tropical dusk, then wavered across the rice paddies facing Buahan, A Banyan Tree Escape, a 16-room hotel that opened near Ubud in 2022. These were not glaring bulbs. Walking downhill from my open-sided villa, I saw instead the glow of tiny fireflies, luminescent among green shoots of young rice. Buahan recently opened a firefly sanctuary called Lentera Bumi – it means “lantern of the earth” in Bahasa – as a haven for the insects, which are threatened worldwide by habitat loss and light pollution. It’s part of the hotel’s efforts to support biodiversity and resilience in the surrounding landscape, initiatives rooted in the principles of regenerative travel.

“A regenerative hotel is really about helping ecosystems to shine, and having a positive impact,” says Alessandro Inversini, an associate professor at Switzerland’s EHL Hospitality Business School who studies regenerative hospitality. Along with fireflies, Buahan is introducing owls for pest control and building soil health using compost. Chefs at its zero-waste restaurant collaborate with local farmers to source organic ingredients, a community-minded outlook that Inversini says is essential to successful regenerative practices, since “staff know the place; they know the nature; they know the community.”

“We’re working in harmony with nature, and helping the community is part of that process,” adds Puspa Anggareni, Buahan’s resort manager. That philosophy places Buahan among the vanguard of Balinese hotels and resorts whose regenerative practices – which range from environmental rehabilitation to waste management – make them industry leaders. It’s perhaps unsurprising that the global trend is flourishing in Bali. Renowned for its abundant natural beauty, in recent years the island has faced grave environmental problems, including water shortages and plastic pollution. And because tourism accounts for 68 percent of Bali’s economy, hotels are uniquely positioned to envision a greener, more resilient future.

Regenerative strategies are as varied as the properties themselves. Wrapped in rice paddies with views of the sacred volcano Mount Batukaru, 48-room Soori Bali has innovated its own water-purification system, ensuring that the island’s limited groundwater remains untouched. In 2019 the seaside Alila Villas Uluwatu established an on-site Sustainability Lab to transform resort waste into reusable amenities – then two years later, it eliminated all single-use plastic.