1) Six Senses Hideaway - Zighy Bay, Oman

Being the first Six Senses Hideaway to open in the Middle East, the resort is indeed a true “Hideaway”. Located on the Musandam Peninsula in the very North of Oman, the SixSenses Hideaway at Zighy Bay is beautifully set in one of the secluded bays between the crystal clear Gulf of Oman and the Hajar Mountains. The resort was designed to blend with the natural surroundings of Zighy Bay and the Musandam and was built according to old Omani traditional style. To ensure their operations are also in line with the environment and its immediate surroundings, they have an environmental management system in place which is based on the Six Senses’ Holistic Environmental Management Programme. Zighy Bay‘s food is essentially Arabic and so they buy or even grow what they can locally. The resort also does not import water - they purify the water themselves and offer it in reusable glass bottles to their guests. Every resort villa has their own bikes and even the hotel staff travel around the resort on bikes. The villas are so well ventilated and insultated that guests have not to use air conditioning, which I think is wonderful. Finally, Zighy Bay also supports their local community by example teaching local children English.

2) Six Senses - Soneva Kiri, Thailand

Exclusively and luxuriously appointed, Soneva Kiri offers Intelligent Luxury together with an unparalleled reputation for excellence and cutting-edge eco-concepts. The resort is situated on a 41-hectare or 102-acre site on the Island of Kood. Known for its spectacular tropical landscapes, crystal clear waters and white sandy beaches, the location is one of the most pristine and untouched islands of Thailand. Their new Ecological Suite, ‘The Eco Villa’ is a prototype zero emissions suite built at Soneva Kiri as the pioneering project to the forthcoming zero emissions Six Senses Evalution brand. It showcases of a range of environmental technologies incorporated into a bio-climatically designed structure made from locally sourced and non-toxic building materials, creating an entirely new experience for guests. Among these are:

- Low embodied energy materials and building techniques
- Site sourced stone, mud and timber
- Non-toxic adhesives and wood treatments
- Excellent insulation, insulated glass and green roof
- Highly efficient lighting, and active and passive cooling
- Rainwater harvesting, storage and filtration
- Energy autonomy via hybrid wind turbine, solar PV and micro-hydro applications
- Reed bed for waste water and septic tank effluent and reused for
landscape irrigation (biological filtration)
- Natural swimming pool using plants to clean the water
- Electric vehicle

I love it!