While doing some research for ecotourism efforts and environmentally friendly hotels in my favorite destinations, I came across some very startling information. According to The Best Green Hotels website, the most ecofriendly hotel in Thailand is the Royal Cliff Beach Resort located in Pattaya. I was quite surprised that a resort hotel of this nature would exist in Pattaya, one of the most polluted and eco-unfriendly resort destinations in all of Thailand. Not only is Pattaya an environmental cesspool but as one of the world’s most popular sextourist destinations, it is a moral cesspool as well. Going through the heart of the resort area, almost all the vegetation and greenery has been stripped to accommodate the uncontrolled tourism development, where loud open air beerbars, strip clubs and girlie bars, cheap hotels, shops, restaurants dominate the landscape. Not only that, but air and water pollution is a problem as well - swimming at the beach is not recommended here. Pattaya has very few redeeming qualities, one of which is the aforementioned Royal Cliff Beach resort. Next time I pass thru Pattaya, I will have to visit “this green resort”.

Located just south of town, Royal Cliff is one of the greenest hotels in the world with its comprehensive environmental friendly policies. The hotel’s green actions include Xeric landscaping, water conservation, eco-friendly food, guestroom recycling bins, compostable disposables, donation to charity and cotton towel/sheets. As someone who markets ecotourism and environmentally friendly travel, I truly support their efforts towards make this world a greener and better place.

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 29th, 2008 at 10:05 am and is filed under Commentary, Thailand, travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.