Hotel Online  Special Report

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New Hotels Move Trees
Rather Than Remove Them

 
MIAMI, May 1, 2003 - From South Carolina to Belize, new resorts are investing thousands to preserve the natural beauty of their locations.  These efforts to preserve and protect are part of a growing trend in tourism in which consumers are seeking more responsible resorts and hotel owners are adopting more eco-sensitive and sustainable practices.

The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island in South Carolina, a 255-room luxury oceanfront resort and spa opening March 2004, invested $1 million to relocate over 300 trees, many of them large live oaks over a century old.

"Aesthetically, we wanted to create a grand entrance that a hotel of that stature deserves.  We want it to be a new hotel with an entrance that seems to have been there for years," said spokesman Matt Owen.  "Environmentally, we wanted to retain as many of the live oaks from that site as possible."
 

The project is one of the largest tree preservation and transplantation projects in the country, according to Tom Cox of Environmental Design Inc., whose company provided the enormous spade for the project.

Costing over $125 million and considered by many the crowning jewel of a resort island already recognized for world-class golf and natural beauty, The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island is the most expensive hotel ever built in South Carolina.  It is also home to the famous Ocean Course, a "Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary," where November's 2003 World Golf Championship will be held.

South of Cancun, Iberostar Paraiso Lindo, opening this November, is preserving much existing vegetation during development.
 


Iberostar Paraiso Lindo
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Iberostar Tucan
Iberostar Hotels & Resorts' commitment to preserving the environment is evident at neighboring Iberostar Tucan and Iberostar Quetzal.  When developing these resorts in the 1990s, Iberostar preserved 80% of the original vegetation and dedicated more than half the property to flora and fauna.

Natural vegetation covers approximately eight acres with an additional six acres of planted gardens at Iberostar Tucan and Iberostar Quetzal.  In addition to preserving the wooded areas, Iberostar installs systems and procedures that preserve the environment and conserve resources, including using recycled water for gardens and using biodegradable cleaning products.

In Belize, Kanantik Reef & Jungle Resort built its 25 beachfront cabanas around existing trees and then planted more to increase the lush privacy that has made the resort popular.  With 300-acres, the owners built only on a small portion of the land, preserving the rest for the wildlife.

To further protect the environment, Kanantik Reef & Jungle Resort installed a Wastewater Gardens(R) septic system that uses plants, microbes, sunlight and gravity to transform wastewater into gardens.  The system removes 99 percent of bacteria and the environmentally harmful Nitrates and Phosphates that damage reefs and wetlands.

"Diving and fishing are top reasons people visit Belize," said Kanantik Reef & Jungle Resort Managing Director Roberto Fabbri.  "It is critical we protect the reefs because if they disappear, so do the travelers."


 
Contact:
The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island
http://www.kiawahresort.com
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Kanantik Reef & Jungle Resort
http://www.kanatik.com
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 Iberostar Paraiso Lindo 
http://www.iberostar.com
Also See: Baymont Inn & Suites Caught Chopping Down Trees to Enhance Motel's Sign Visibility; Offers $36,000 In Amends to the City of Delafield, Wisconsin / Feb 2003
Developers of the $110 million, The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island, Budget $1 million to Move Rather than Remove 100 Oaks and 200 Palmetto Trees / Feb 2003


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