LANZAROTE | HOTEL OF THE MONTH
Sustainable luxury holiday on a volcanic island Lanzarote’s volcanic beauty is a Biosphere Reserve. The whole island is a habitat that has managed to maintain complete harmony between man and nature. The island is home to protected ecosystems and man-made artistic creations that enhance the atmosphere and the island’s culture. TEXT: NOELIA SANTANA | PHOTOS: RUBÉN ACOSTA
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or many years, the population of the island has worked hard to keep alive this harmony. They adapt their lives to the richness of the landscape, to use the natural resources of the island to their advantage, but always in a respectful way.
Luxury can be sustainable Blending in with Lanzarote’s volcanic landscape is La Isla y El Mar, an adults-only, 30 | Issue 12 | February 2020
five-star hotel in Playa del Carmen, by the Martínez Hotel Group. It is the next generation in boutique hotels, a pioneer in eco-tourism and the first hotel in the world to be certified as ‘Biosphere-Smart’. It is working towards preserving the environment through the use of smart technologies and a rigorous sustainability approach. Doing everything it can to live up to its ethos: “Our environment, a source of life”.
Its approach to sustainable luxury means that it takes every step towards creating an enjoyable and deluxe environment but with the right practices. “Because of the way the hotel is built and the way the energy is managed, it consumes four times less energy and four times fewer carbon emissions than any non-sustainable building of the same size,” says Marga de Luis, corporate director of the Martínez Hotel Group. Just like the population of the island, it has made use of the natural resources to create energy. For example, the air conditioning systems work thanks to the seawater running through the pipes along the corridors. Although actually, air conditioning is rarely