When it comes to staying in luxury hotels, guests are often on the lookout for more value for money.
And these days, more can also come from less, as hotels and resorts look for ways to cut back on things like food and water waste, while maintaining five-star levels of accommodation and amenities.
Market gardens, water and waste recycling, on-site farms and bespoke disposal systems are merely some of the best practices employed at the most eco-conscious hotels in the world.
Here are eight of the best.
Bambu Indah, Bali
The brainchild of jewellery designers John and Cynthia Hardy, this ecologically minded jungle retreat in Bali uses all the natural resources the Indonesian island has.
The property, which is in the town of Ubud, has 10 bespoke rooms, each built using local materials, including plenty of bamboo. The restaurant serves Indonesian dishes using organic ingredients grown in the garden.
The team lives by an ethos of coming “full circle” in nature, which means the resort recycles waste and water, and works to reduce light pollution.
Organised activities include bike rides, hikes, village visits and bathing in the nearby waterfall.
bambuindah.com
Six Senses Zighy Bay, Oman
This resort on the Musandam Peninsula offers a mix of villas, suites and beachfront accommodations, without losing the village feel guests return for again and again.
The resort is by Six Senses, a hotel brand known for its approach to sustainability. The Zighy Bay property strives towards plastic-free and zero-waste goals, recycling 80 per cent of organic and glass waste on site.
Dishes are created using local ingredients, while the resort produces its own bottled water using reverse osmosis.
Staff also grow and produce vegetables, fruits, organic cheese and organic eggs on-site for the ultimate in farm-to-table dining.
sixsenses.com
Jetwing Kaduruketha, Sri Lanka
Jetwing Kaduruketha embraces the concept of “agro-tourism” among the paddy fields between the mountains of Wellawaya, south Sri Lanka.
Modelled after a traditional village, the property's rustic design is simple and uses innovative traditional architectural techniques, such as eschewing air conditioning for cooling rooms using bamboo walls and perforated doors.
Water is solar-heated and the kitchen stoves are fuelled by biogas generated on-site.
jetwinghotels.com
Heckfield Place, England
This Georgian home has been restored using traditional craftsmanship and local materials including English oak and mats handwoven from rushes harvested on the nearby River Ouse.
With six room types in the main house and a church lodge in the grounds, the house, set within 160 hectares of Hampshire countryside, is the first luxury hotel in the UK to achieve biodynamic status, meaning it embraces planting and harvesting using the biodynamic calendar. The calendar lets farmers utilise natural lunar, sun and soil cycles to benefit crop production.
Crops such as wheat and barley are grown on the land, which is also home to livestock including cattle, sheep and chickens.
The restaurant Marle, one of four on-site, holds a Green Michelin Star and allows diners to “experience the excitement and immediacy of food served straight from the earth”.
heckfieldplace.com
Song Saa Private Island, Cambodia
Private beaches, surrounding coral reefs and wooden villas made from local and upcycled materials combine sustainability and luxury in Cambodia.
At Song Saa Private Island, on the Koh Rong archipelago, guests choose between six different types of villas including ocean, overwater and jungle options. There's also a “spa with no walls” that offers sanctuaries across the island providing treatments that embrace the Buddhist tradition of metta bhavana – kindness and love.
The Song Saa Foundation helps care for and maintain the Koh Rong Marine National Park, monitoring and protecting coral reef and marine life, while the resort's irrigation and waste system allows for 100 per cent recycling.
Local fishermen keep the property's two restaurants well stocked, while fruits, vegetables and herbs are grown on-site.
songsaa-privateisland.com
The Post Ranch Inn, the US
This clifftop resort offers stunning views of California's Big Sur coastline from its 40 houses and suites.
The rooms are TV and alarm clock-free, to encourage guests to disconnect from routines and devices, and instead connect with nature.
It is designed using bio-structure architecture to harness natural resources for energy, while reclaimed wood and turf are used to insulate and maintain the properties.
Water is drawn from wells and there is 100 per cent recycling and composting, as well as a ban on single-use plastics.
There are also rare and endangered indigenous plants and species found on the land, so the ranch prioritises habitat protection and conservation.
postranchinn.com
Eremito Hotel, Italy
This boutique hotel in Umbria, Italy, offers guests a unique monastic approach to holidaying.
Situated in the village of Parrano, both the accommodation and the hotel’s ethos hark back hundreds of years with no phones, televisions or electrical appliances in the rooms, which are lit by candles in the evenings.
It is beside a Unesco Biosphere Reserve and here the ethos of “ancient luxury” melds perfectly with its sustainability goals.
Underfloor heating and cooling are utilised with electricity generated on-site using solar panels.
Rainwater provides irrigation for the gardens where organic produce is grown for the on-site vegetarian restaurant.
eremito.com
GoldenEye, Jamaica
When an area is as steeped in literary history as this one, it’s no wonder preservation is at the heart of everything the resort does.
GoldenEye is where British author Ian Fleming wrote all 14 of his James Bond books after purchasing two hectares in Jamaica’s Oracabessa Bay in 1946. He also built his home on the edge of a cliff overlooking a private beach.
As well as the original "Fleming Villa", guests can choose from an array of accommodations including beach and lagoon villas, lagoon cottages and beach huts.
Profits go back into the island to benefit the people of Jamaica via the GoldenEye Foundation, which has created a fish sanctuary, coral reef preservation and sea turtle project, all run by locals.
Food for the restaurants is sourced from nearby organic farms, with the foundation funding initiatives to expand agriculture in the region.
goldeneye.com
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'The Ice Road'
Director: Jonathan Hensleigh
Stars: Liam Neeson, Amber Midthunder, Laurence Fishburne
2/5
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
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MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
Game Of Thrones Season Seven: A Bluffers Guide
Want to sound on message about the biggest show on television without actually watching it? Best not to get locked into the labyrinthine tales of revenge and royalty: as Isaac Hempstead Wright put it, all you really need to know from now on is that there’s going to be a huge fight between humans and the armies of undead White Walkers.
The season ended with a dragon captured by the Night King blowing apart the huge wall of ice that separates the human world from its less appealing counterpart. Not that some of the humans in Westeros have been particularly appealing, either.
Anyway, the White Walkers are now free to cause any kind of havoc they wish, and as Liam Cunningham told us: “Westeros may be zombie land after the Night King has finished.” If the various human factions don’t put aside their differences in season 8, we could be looking at The Walking Dead: The Medieval Years.
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What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.
A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.
Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.
A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.
On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.
The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.
Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.
The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later.
Third Test
Day 3, stumps
India 443-7 (d) & 54-5 (27 ov)
Australia 151
India lead by 346 runs with 5 wickets remaining
The specs
Price: From Dh180,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged and supercharged in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 320hp @ 5,700rpm
Torque: 400Nm @ 2,200rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.7L / 100km
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
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This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
