A 'Guilt Free Vacation' on the best beach in the Caribbean

Nearly zero-emission hotel leads the way

Eagle Beach has been named the best beach in the Caribbean and the second-best beach in the world by TripAdvisor. Aruba's widest sandy beach is known for its powder-soft, pearly white sand. The Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort has been located in one of the island's most beautiful spots since 1987. Crescenzia Biemans, granddaughter of hotelier and eco-pioneer Ewald Biemans, has developed the resort into the most sustainable resort in the Caribbean. "Some guests come especially to help keep the beach clean," she says.

The Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort now has 45 suites and 59 rooms, certified carbon neutral and in a romantic setting. "We mainly target couples and not groups. It is deliberately an 18+ hotel," says the Aruban native. Founder and grandfather Ewald grew up in Austria on a farm. "There he developed a love of nature that he applied to the development of the resort, in one of Aruba's most pristine spots. From the beginning, sustainability has been central. After the closure of the oil refinery, the island was dependent on tourist development, but this is very different here from Palm Beach, where construction was carried out right up to the beach. The resort was built in harmony with the environment in the 1980s and the use of plastic was abolished in the 1990s. We have started Green Globe certification for sustainable tourism and have been carbon neutral since 2018 - the first in the Caribbean."

Involving guests

The renovation and expansion with new construction achieved LEED Gold certification, the second highest category of a US sustainable building certification. "We have the largest number of solar panels on the island, battery storage for sunless hours and a completely gas-free Bucuti wing. In a tropical climate, cooling is obviously more important than heating; so we maintain a standard air-conditioning temperature of 24 degrees. We also involve guests and staff in the sustainability vision. Guests can volunteer to help with beach clean-up, the equipment in the gym generates energy and this is visible to users; we inform guests about local charities and customs, and provide green loans to staff that can be used to purchase solar panels, for example."

Of course, such a hotel does attract a certain audience, but the sustainability vision is not imposed. "We are also just a romantic hotel because of the beautiful location, and in winter we receive many elderly people who flee the cold elsewhere. 'Peace, quiet and serenity' is highly appreciated by our guests. Everyone is welcome here for a 'guilt-free vacation'."

Sharing experiences

The measurable achievements are huge: Green Globe Platinum, and the highest sustainability score ever measured in the most recent audit. Nevertheless, sustainability has the ongoing attention of management. The five-star resort even has a sustainability manager who guides the steps internally. Soon, the final step will be taken towards Net Zero: an emission-free hotel. "Then we will be completely free of fossil sources. Most of our equipment is already electric or will soon run on biodiesel. We are thinking about every detail, right down to the cleaner's feather duster. There is still a way to go: not all suppliers on the island can contribute to an emission-free product yet, but we are working on that too." 

"We could easily expand to 100 rooms, but we deliberately don't." The staff at Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort are simply convinced of the vision and eager to share it. "We share our presentations and experiences with all other hotels on the island. Almost every hotel these days has some form of sustainability certification, and many come here to check it out. They are always welcome, because we want to preserve this beautiful island."