The Best New Sustainable Hotels Opening in 2023

By Jude Vargas and Tansy Kaschak on 3.30.2023

At A Hotel Life, we celebrate the most creative hotels in the world, with special attention to those leading the way not only as tastemakers but also as changemakers. For us, a hotel is remarkable for its ways of making us feel at home and cared for, but also for the proofs and reminders, either big or subtle, that it is possible to look good and have fun while also being responsible, careful guests to our planet and our communities. It turns out these hotels paving the way on the social, cultural, and environmental fronts are also the coolest outside-the-box thinkers and makers.

As April is almost here and bringing along a month-long celebration of our Earth, we are excited to present a hot list of the best sustainable hotels opening in 2023, curated with travel designer and AHL’s Sustainable Luxury Editor Jude Vargas.

From sumptuous beachfront resorts to serene mountain lodges and revolutionary campsites, they have great design and architecture and prioritize the future-forward practices we love. We grouped them into three categories: On the higher end, Good value, and Budget-friendly, making sure there is something for every trip and everyone. Bookmark this guide and… Travel on!

Tansy Kaschak
Editor-in-chief, A Hotel Life

On the higher end

TIZKMOUDINE, MOROCCO 

Tizkmoudine is a unique property and concept, part of 700,000 Heures, which sets out to bring the benefits of responsible tourism into lesser-touched areas. The landscape alone is worth venturing into in the far south of Morocco. The simple three houses funded by the Global Heritage Fund are filled with timeless furniture that pops with bright fabrics against the clay walls and floors. When staying here, you not only get to experience the vast beauty of the red land that engulfs the sky, but you also get to meet the community whose lives been uplifted by the economic and social benefits of ‘micro-hospitality’, as coined by Thierry Teyssier, the founder of 700,000 Heures. Proof that real luxury is quality time and meaningful exchanges between two beings. These are priceless!

Tissekmoudine, Morocco
Starting Rate: $2065, inclusive stay of the entire property 
Visit Website

Check out the best hotels in Morocco

STERREKOPJE FARM, FRANSCHHOEK, SOUTH AFRICA

Rest. Stay. Grow. Play. These are the four keywords to describe Sterrekopje Farm in South Africa, And they definitely caught our attention! Connecting with our inner child? We’re here for it. Weaving together chefs, farmers, artists, and practitioners, they have created an incredibly deep and rich community, promoting a real disconnection from our digital tethers to reconnect with nature and ourselves.

From natural mattresses, a regenerative farm with 12+ acres, and a zero-waste kitchen concept to water treatment on-site and educational community programs, they surely understand what it means to be a forward-future property. 

Excelsior Rd, Franschhoek, 7690
Starting Rate: $1300
Visit Website

Check out Hamzeh Alfarahneh’s review of Sterrekopje Farm, and meet Sterrekopje owners who made our Nine Women Reshaping Travel & Creative Hospitality list

&BEYOND PUNAKHA RIVER LODGE, PUNAKHA, BHUTAN

The Lodge will open its doors in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan this September. &Beyond maximized their small footprint with six safari-style luxury tents and two elevated villas. The tents are suspended on traditional Bhutanese timber structures, a more eco-friendly approach to building. They are eliminating the use of plastic bottles, conserving energy, and maintaining efficient water and waste management. Wouldn’t you want to wake up and hike out to Khamsum Yuelley Namgyal Chorten, stop by the community farming projects, and afterward enjoy a relaxing massage? Sounds like the perfect getaway.

Punakha 13001, Bhutan
Starting Rate: $1200
Visit Website

SIX SENSES ROMA, ROME, ITALY

Recently opened, Six Senses Roma is aligned with the brand’s ethos and LEED standards by using responsibility-made materials whenever possible. They even have sustainable custom-made furniture. While designing the rooms, energy and water conservation were paramount. The hotel is supplied with 100 percent renewable energy. Hats off to them! The main building’s façade is UNESCO heritage listed, not something you read every day. It was carefully restored to its original splendor, along with the staircase, which now beckoned you invitingly. Check yourself into a true oasis in the busy city and make an appointment at their signature all-natural wellness spa. A stay here makes perfect sense when in Rome!

P.za S. Marcello, 00187 Roma RM, Italy
Starting Rate: $1300
Visit Website

Check out the best hotels in Rome

Good value 

LA FANTAISIE, PARIS, FRANCE

Opening its doors in June 2023, La Fantaisie taps into the deep heritage of its address on Rue Cadet in the vibrant Faubourg-Montmartre neighborhood of the 9th arrondissement, paying homage to Jacques and Jean Cadet, master gardeners to the French court in the 16th century. The hotel’s 63 rooms and ten suites, centered around a spectacular courtyard garden, provide a total disconnection from the hustle and bustle of Paris. Drawing on nature, all by Swedish designer Martin Brudnizki. La Fantaisie will adopt a zero plastic and zero waste philosophy also touching the culinary direction headed by the remarkable three-Michelin star chef Dominique Crenn — the first woman to receive the award in the United States — and the holistic and ancient healing rituals in its urban spa. 

24 rue Cadet, 75009 Paris, France
Starting Rate: $583
Visit Website

Check out the best hotels in Paris

UNDER CANVAS NORTH YELLOWSTONE-PARADISE VALLEY, WYOMING, USA

Under Canvas will be launching another eco-friendly stay this June. In keeping with their goals of minimizing energy use and carbon footprint, they have installed pull chain showers, low-flow toilets, and rechargeable battery packs in their tents that have a minimal environmental impact and disturbance of wildlife. With their low level of light pollution, you will be guaranteed to have an incredible experience of stargazing at night. We should all have more of this in our lives!

139 Pine Creek Rd, Livingston, MT 59047, United States
Starting Rate: $419
Visit Website

Check out the best hotels in the US

HOTELITO BY MUSA, GUERRERO, MEXICO

This stunning property has eight rooms and five suites overlooking the Mexican coastline dotted with palm trees. Designed by the team at Andrés Saavedra Design, the rooms are minimal, with clean lines using local hardwood and concrete. The bathrooms are to die for, especially the deep bathtubs overlooking the surrounding mountainous landscape. The hotel is committed to sustainability: sourcing produce from within 10 miles and often from their garden, serving only local fish, reducing, reusing, recycling, cultivating a biosphere pool, and having a closed-loop infrastructure geared towards regeneration. What’s next? A music studio and integrated art programs. If you check in, you may not want to leave.

Rumbo a la playa 79, Loma Bonita, Guerrero, Mexico
Starting Rate: $427
Visit Website

Hotelito by Musa was also featured in our Six New Design Hotels Openings That We Are Excited About, check out the best hotels in Mexico

OCULIS LODGE, WASHINGTON, US

Opening this April, a playground stay with unparalleled luxury domes. Oculus means “eye” in Latin, and all the domes have an expansive view of the cosmos with an opening at the top. Even though these dwellings have 15 ft high ceilings, they were solidly constructed in such a way resulting in 50% of energy being saved for heating and cooling. Each dome has a private sauna and jacuzzi (yes, please!) With seven acres of undeveloped land, there are hundreds of miles of trails for hiking and biking, plus waterfalls and rivers. Don’t you want to stay in a massive dome with a skylight for stargazing and feel like a kid again?!

Glacier, WA 98229
Starting Rate: $359
Visit Website

Check out the best hotels in the US 

Budget-friendly

CAP KAROSO, SUMBA, INDONESIA

Cap Karoso has a beautiful story. At the start of the project, the team reached out to 600 locals to ask for ancestral permission to build the hotel, and they only began once it was granted. They were not only mindful while building, using low-impact and locally sourced materials, but they also are giving back to those around them with an agriculture school on site for the community with a farm run by locals. Bonus: this property is family-friendly, boasting a kids club and open-air cinema, and 50% of their energy is regenerated from solar. This destination is one high on our list!

Pantai Karoso, Ate Dalo, Kec. Kodi, Kabupaten Sumba Barat Daya, Nusa Tenggara Tim., Indonesia
Starting Rate: $225
Visit Website

Check out the best hotels in Indonesia

BIRCH (SELSDON), SOUTH CROYDON, UK

Just 30 minutes outside the concrete London jungle, you’ll find Birch Selsdon in 200 acres of rewilded hills and greenery. Converting a former golf course, it feels like an adult camp with art studios and an interactive bakery. Using existing building structures, they minimized construction waste by repurposing and adapting them. With funky design throughout, a screening room, arcade, wellness space, multiple restaurants, and bars, this hotel is worth venturing out of London for. 

126 Addington Rd, South Croydon CR2 8YA, United Kingdom
Starting Rate: $195
Visit Website

Check out the best hotels in the UK

Have you signed up for our monthly newsletter yet? Never spammy, always bringing you the best and coolest hotels in the world and global lifestyle culture, all through the eyes of industry insiders and local tastemakers. Sign up here!