Six Senses Laamu
Eco-friendly and accessible island oasis
- 97 beach and water villas
- Swimming pool
- Gym
- Spa
An inter-island flight from Malé Airport and a short boat ride takes you to this tropical playground, and with 97 beach and water villas, Six Senses Laamu is the only resort in the Laamu Atoll. Sustainability is central to this eco-conscious resort’s operations, and several programmes are implemented to uplift the local community and protect the surrounding ecosystems.
The villas have been tastefully constructed using sustainable materials and all have large private balconies with sun loungers, so you never have to leave the comfort of your island home. The villas also encompass a private outdoor shower and an upper deck for romantic sunset dinners.
Various dining tastes are taken care of on this privately-owned island, with local and international cuisines on offer in an array of settings, including inventive meals at an eatery perched above the garden, Japanese favourites at a live kitchen station, overlooking the sea and 40 flavours of ice-cream in an alfresco parlour. Many of the dishes are created using organic ingredients grown in the island’s gardens, recycling practices are carried out and single-use plastic is banned.
The waters surrounding the Laamu Atoll are wonderful for diving, with schools of tropical fish and colourful coral waiting beneath the surface. There’s an on-site Marine Team at this resort that seek to educate guests about the importance of protecting the marine environment.
As well as the wealth of water sports on offer, other activities such as movie screenings in the jungle, deluxe spa treatments, sunset dhoni cruises, sand dune dining and yoga and aerobics classes are available.
Sustainability strategy
Laamu’s sustainability strategy ‘Local Sensitivity, Global Sensibility’ includes initiatives around energy saving, seagrass conservation, waste reduction, reef protection, and wildlife conservation. The high density of seagrass in this part of the Maldives, can support up to 80,000 fish and is a vital form of food for sea turtles — to date this resort has recorded 107 green and 93 hawksbill turtles. Laamu’s six marine biologists continually update its visitor’s understanding of this rich biodiversity and work towards the long-term goal of turning the 19,200-acre atoll into a Marine Protected Area.
Community programme
This resort partakes in quarterly meetings with the island and atoll councils, run through the ‘Eku-Eky’ (together) community programme, which focuses on awareness of environmental issues, including waste management and sustainable fishing. Since creating the country’s first-ever Dolphin Watching Code of Conduct in 2014, Laamu has taken pride in weaving responsible travel practices into the guest experience.
Manta ray conservation
Since 2014, the Manta Trust has been working in Laamu to study the local manta ray population and to educate guests and the local community about the importance and vulnerability of manta rays in the Maldives.
Partnership with the Blue Marine Foundation
This resort supports the sustainable management of vulnerable grouper fisheries through a partnership with the Blue Marine Foundation. The on-site team has identified grouper spawning aggregation sites and sizes at maturity for key species. This data has been used to lobby for changes to size limits that are currently inadequate. BLUE is now working towards a network of locally-managed marine protected areas in consultation with community leaders, part of the global goal to put 10% of the world’s oceans under protection by 2020 and 30% by 2030.
Drinking water projects
50% of water sales in all the resort’s restaurants goes into a fund specifically for projects providing clean, reliable drinking water to local communities in need. This fund has donated a reverse osmosis water plant to the regional hospital, 30 household water filters to a local island and larger water filters to all 23 schools and pre-schools in the atoll.
The Long Run
The Long Run is a membership organisation of nature-based tourism businesses committed to driving sustainability. Here at Jacada, we’ve signed The Long Run Charter – a document that advocates for a 4Cs approach to sustainability. By focusing on our impacts across the different areas of Conservation, Community, Culture and Commerce, we hope to make a positive impact across the globe with our trips. The Long Run’s Global Ecosphere Retreats are hotels and lodgings which are centres of excellence in sustainability, and Fellow Members are properties committed to achieving the highest standards in sustainability by positively impacting the conservation of nature and improving the wellbeing of local communities. At Jacada, we’re working with a number of these properties to help increase the positive impact we’re striving to create through travel. Find out more about The Long Run here.
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