Top eco hotels leading the rewilding movement

“Let nature take its course”. It’s common saying, and one which the global rewilding movement takes to heart: restoring the environment, fostering native flora and fauna and letting nature handle the rest with little human intervention.  

With organisations around the world championing the cause, it was only a matter of time before eco-minded hotels joined the charge, transforming hectares of property into wildflower meadows, biodiverse mangrove forests and wildlife corridors where nature can literally run wild. 

It’s a meaningful way for hotels to give back to the land they depend on, and many that have committed to the endeavour have been repaid tenfold with sightings of endangered species, low-impact forested trails for guests to explore. We dive into some of the best places to get involved below.  

Calcot & Spa, England 

With nearly 90 green hectares to play with, Calcot & Spa combines Jane Austen charm with an ambitious rewilding project 25 years in the making. Around the 700-year-old manor, efforts to replant native wildflowers, and the introduction of a 22,000-tree wooded area back in 2012, have borne fruit. The latter, in particular, has made a tangible impact: planted in partnership with The National Trust, the wood forms a crucial wildlife corridor for animals to traverse between habitats.   

What little the hotel takes from the land is carefully considered through organic farming practices, cedar bee boxes for locally sourced honey and the wildest of all lawnmowers: a herd of Belted Galloway cattle. The results? Uncut wildflower meadows and woodlands now teeming with rare butterflies, orchids, deer, owls, skylarks and more, recorded in Calcot & Spa’s regular wildlife surveys.   

Southern Ocean Lodge, Australia 

In 2020, bushfires ravaged a third of Kangaroo Island’s landscape; swathes of wildlife habitats, thousands of animals and 76 per cent of the island’s endangered plant species were impacted by the fires, alongside the Southern Ocean Lodge . But in the wake of this devastation came the promise of something better. As the lodge was restored, it became a project of healing on all fronts: restoring both the community and the nature around it.  

Over 50,000 native fire-retardant plant species, including juniper trees and iron grass, have since been planted to create “buffer zones” to slow the spread of potential future disasters, as well as to feed and shelter native wildlife. Only 1 per cent of the property’s 102 hectares was allocated to the lodge, with the rest promised as pristine land for the landscape to rewild. Meanwhile, eco-friendly practices have been baked into the sustainable hotel to minimise its impact on the newly flourishing environment. 

Laguna Phuket, Thailand 

Sometimes all nature needs is a little push, and while Laguna Phuket’s rewilding efforts are by no means small, the micro rainforests they’ve helped build are now completely self-sustaining. On the doorstep of Bang Tao Beach and Khao Phra Thaeo National Park, Laguna Phuket sees rewilding parts of the resort’s six properties– by introducing native “pocket forests” – as a way of giving back to this area of immense natural beauty.  

In collaboration with SUGi Forest Makers, over 7,500 trees, largely comprising pollinator-friendly medicinal trees, were planted using the Miyawaki Method. This approach relies on planting native fauna, mulching and carefully plotting saplings to echo wild forest topography. As of 2024, the survival rate of these Miyawaki forests is at an encouraging 95 per cent. 

Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge, Canada 

Vancouver’s Clayoquot Sound is steeped in history and natural wonder, as sacred ground for Canada’s First Nations people and a Unesco Biosphere Region. As part of a larger effort to protect the area’s coastal rainforests and colourful cast of animals, the elegant Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge has turned its attention underwater, focusing on the native Chinook salmon population that inhabits the Sound’s fjords and rivers. The species is increasingly threatened, with fewer numbers returning to Clayoquot’s rivers for spawning season. Since 2020, Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge no longer offers salmon fishing activities; it has also cemented its partnership with the local First Nations community and Canadian government to build new salmon spawning channels and reintroduce native stocks to the Bedford Sound, the glistening fjord that adjoins this charming property. 

Song Saa Private Island, Cambodia 

Song Saa has long been a pioneer of marine conservation in Cambodia. Indeed, it was instrumental in establishing the country’s first Marine Protected Area – its own sapphire backyard in the Koh Rong Archipelago. With a dedicated foundation committed to the cause, it safeguards not only its 200m house reef but also the 524-square-kilometre protected zone around it: reintroducing native mangrove species and coral through its in-house nursery, as well as monitoring seagrass meadows and educating the community about sustainable fishing practices. 

It’ll come as no surprise that the environment is an integral part of this tranquil property. Guests are invited to connect with nature through low-impact activities such as birdwatching, mangrove kayak tours and guided rainforest walks, alongside dive tours with the foundation’s marine biologists. 

Rosewood Cape Kidnappers, New Zealand 

Situated on the edge of dramatic limestone cliffs, Cape Kidnappers was once abundant in lush, native New Zealand forest, but over the years has regressed mostly into farmland and the golf course on which the property sits. Through Rosewood Cape Kidnappers’ collaboration with Cape Sanctuary, New Zealand’s largest privately-funded wildlife restoration project, the hotel has worked to restore the land around it, transforming barren fields into verdant woodland by planting native trees and fauna. While there’s more of a human element to this conservation project, it’s all in the name of helping nature heal to a point that it can sustain itself. A 10.6km fence protects Cape Kidnappers’ wildlife corridors from predators to allow endangered species to thrive, with reintroduced native species like kiwis, takahes and shore plovers being translocated to protected zones. 

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