Las Islas Hotel committed to sustainability

They have found possibilities to survive thanks to the conservation and rehabilitation program that leads this luxury accommodation located in the Colombian Caribbean Marmosets are not the only animals that have made this hotel their refuge. Raccoons, tigrillos, anthills and even coyotes, share this natural paradise attracted by the survival possibilities offered by the ecosystems that converge here: mangroves, tropical dry forest and coral reefs. Hotel staff monitor them through cameras and motion sensors to record their daily activity, without harming them. Without any kind of confinement. 

But in this area close to the Corales del Rosario and San Bernardo National Natural Parks, there are some species that are more sensitive than others. Here the corals are dying. Overfishing, pollution and global warming are its main executioners. A global catastrophe, brought to the local, considering that corals are the habitat of countless marine species, they protect the coasts from floods and the beaches from erosion. 

Reasons for these distinctions are superfluous: The hotel was conceived taking into account its surroundings and designed to respect the environment. In fact, not a single tree in the area was felled for construction. Its 55 bungalows (23 at sea level, 32 in height with ocean views and internal gardens) are strategically located for the conservation of the native ecosystem, both maritime and terrestrial.

Use recycled and organic materials. The evidences are not only in the use of certified wood for its construction, but in the reused glass bottles that are used to supply water to guests. Also, in constant training to the staff on the non-use of single-use plastic.

Commitment to the community

When Mariela Zuñiga heard 10 years ago that a fabric could be colored, she thought she was being teased.

Of course, the social contribution of the property is not recent. Since before its construction, it has fostered the growth and well-being of the premises with the generation of more than 500 jobs. Today 90% of the staff working in various areas of this luxury hotel project are residents of Barú. Each one trained through the alliances that the hotel makes with entities such as the National Service of Learning, Sena.

A town that suffers from water supply

Once a month a boat arrives in Barú from Cartagena to bring them water. The baruleros buy it by tanks that they mobilize to their houses in wheelbarrows or motorcycles. This is how the water service works in one of the most touristic islands in Colombia. It is that this Afro-descendant community, of approximately 4,000 inhabitants and that began living on this island more than 200 years ago, has never had an aqueduct and sewerage service.