This Beach Club in Colombia Has Scuba Diving, Horseback Riding, and an Award-Winning Sustainability Program

When choosing a beach vacation, recycling may not be front of mind for every guest, but it’s what Portia Hart — the British-Trinidadian owner of Blue Apple Beach — wants to talk about. “It’s not a very catchy topic,” she says with a laugh. “But it excites me.” This summer, Hart’s foundation won a $50,000 grant in recognition of the hotel’s glass-recycling operation. “It’s huge for us,” she says.

That project is just one of the innovations at the 11-room hotel on Isla Tierra Bomba, 20 minutes off the coast of Cartagena, Colombia. With pulsing poolside DJ sets, a scuba center, and an outdoor cinema, Blue Apple is undoubtedly a good time. But the hotel also has serious sustainability cred (it’s a certified B Corp): 50 percent of the hotel’s energy is solar-generated, and kitchen waste is composted or fed to the property’s livestock.

T+L sat down with Hart to learn more about Blue Apple’s sustainability efforts.

What brought you to Colombia?

I’d been living in the south of France and came here to learn Spanish in 2014. I never left.

What makes sustainability a challenge at Blue Apple?

Our location. There’s no bridge or tunnel from our island to the mainland, plus no public transportation, running water, or paved roads. So we rely on boats, which run on gasoline and diesel. I’m always asking: How can we minimize fuel and use carbon offsets?

How can small hotels like yours create more positive impacts in their communities?

Don’t feel like you can’t do it. I stopped overthinking and decided to act with one small change, and then another and another. Here, we turn glass waste from around the country into sand for use in construction, or we repurpose it into artwork.

Does being a woman of color impact how you run Blue Apple?

I’ve lived an incredibly privileged life, but I also know what it’s like to be dismissed. Our team is young, BIPOC, queer, female, didn’t finish high school, or a combination of all of these. I love that we employ people who may not have the same opportunities elsewhere.

What’s one thing that should be a part of every hotel experience?

I always think of xenia, the ancient Greek concept of hospitality, which meant welcoming a stranger into your home and making them feel safe and comfortable. For me, if you don’t have a human connection with those hosting you, it isn’t hospitality. It’s a transaction. I want to connect with the person serving my drink, making my bed, or greeting me at the front desk.

A version of this story first appeared in the October 2023 issue of Travel + Leisure under the headline “Change Agent.”

Source : Travel Leuiser