Give Back to the Locals It's easy to think of the world's most luxurious resorts as high-end hideaways for the privileged, complete with 1,000-thread-count sheets and exotic spa rituals, but many of these resorts are about much more. Whether located close to home or in beautiful, far-flung locales, these retreats are working diligently not simply to provide excellent service to tourists but also to improve the health and well-being of their communities.
FIJI In the early 1990s, Richard Evanson, owner of Turtle Island, a private island resort in Fiji, started closing his resort for 10 days every year to host medical clinics after one of his guests, a California eye surgeon, mentioned to him that many staffers had cataracts and damaged corneas from the glaring sun of the island. The surgeon had offered to return the following year to correct the vision of Evanson's workers, and in time dentists and other health practitioners followed. Turtle Island has since begun offering year-round free clinics and in 2002 opened the island's first secondary school. Prior to the opening of the school, teens from the surrounding seven villages had to travel to mainland Fiji to further their education, and many were simply unable to go. From $2,289 per night all inclusive
Hualalai Spa in Hawaii features an apothecary stocked with local ingredients.
HAWAII Hawaii has thousands of years of culture and tradition that predate its statehood, and in an effort to help native Hawaiians preserve that heritage, many resorts in the Islands have Hawaiian cultural experts or historians on staff. These people not only educate guests about Hawaiian customs but also help ensure that nothing the resort is doing infringes upon local custom or tradition. At the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, for example, local experts in the on-site cultural center provide lessons in Hawaiian culture, language, and history as well as lei making and hula dancing. From $725 per night
A guest room at Soneva Gili in the Maldives.
MALDIVESSoneva Fushi and Soneva Gili (both Six Senses properties) support screening for thalassemia, a genetic blood disease that is more prevalent in the Maldives than anywhere else in the world. (Eighteen percent of the population is a carrier of the disease.) The resorts also host visiting ophthalmologists and provide financial assistance to families forced to seek medical treatment abroad. Soneva Fushi, Six Senses' flagship property, contributes to the environment by offsetting guests' air travel, funneling 2 percent of every bill to a wind turbine charity in India. From $780 per night including tax and carbon offsets
SEYCHELLESFrégate Island Private, a private island resort, has long been known for its fresh, organic produce, which can be found both on the restaurant's menu and on the spa's treatment menu. But beginning this year, Frégate is also supplying the local orphanage with a weekly donation of organic fruits and vegetables (3.2 tons per year). Last year, the resort supplied every school-aged child in the Seychelles with a backpack filled with school supplies. From $1,645 per person per night all inclusive
Views of the South African Bush from Rock Lodge at Ulusaba.
SOUTH AFRICA Sir Richard Branson's five-star Ulusaba Private Game Reserve in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve set up its Pride 'n Purpose initiative five years ago to help the communities that border the reserve. At present, Ulusaba supports 29 orphans by providing weekly food delivery, drinking water, trips to the medical clinic, and clothing. Five houses have been constructed in the nearby village of Dumphries to house the orphans and unemployed members of the community, and recently two nursery schools were opened. Ulusaba guests may take tours of the communities and participate in some of the projects. From $437 per night
THAILAND Extreme poverty in many Thai villages often forces families to "sell" their daughters into city brothels. But where most simply feel bad about the plight of the poor, Claire Chiang, wife of Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts Chairman Ho Kwon Ping, took action. For the opening of Banyan Tree Phuket, Chiang commissioned a group of women to produce colorful pillows for the hotel, spa, and retail gallery. Enamored with the caliber of their work, Chiang helped the women form cooperatives to sell their wares, allowing them to earn income and keep their daughters home. Banyan Tree sells the handicrafts in its retail galleries and online. From $1,250 per night
U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDSFlorian Villa, on St. John, helps wounded soldiers and firefighters as well as the families of firefighters and soldiers killed in action. The villa is run by Deborah Bernstein, a yoga teacher, and Scott Wahlen, a fire captain in Boston. For every five all-inclusive vacations booked at the villa, Bernstein and Wahlen donate a weeklong vacation for a wounded veteran or the family of a fallen firefighter. The couple also conducts yoga retreats to help veterans and their families overcome trauma. From $395 per night all inclusive
It's easy to think of the world's most luxurious resorts as high-end hideaways for the privileged, complete with 1,000-thread-count sheets and exotic spa rituals, but many of these resorts are about much more. Whether located close to home or in beautiful, far-flung locales, these retreats are working diligently not simply to provide excellent service to tourists but also to improve the health and well-being of their communities.
