New Luxury Hotel on Easter Island
We just posted a review of the new luxury hotel on Easter Island: Explora Posada de Mike Rapu. It’s also known as Explora en Rapa Nui, which makes more sense. My guess is that most people will just end up calling it Explora Easter Island. (Or “that hotel on Easter Island that doesn’t suck.”)
This is from the same people who opened the Explora hotels in Chile (and the architect also involved in Remota—Germán del Sol) and lead tours in Patagonia. These hotels have set the Chilean standard for mixing local elements with a strong sense of design. Our reviewer says, “It’s stylish but at the same time rough and ready, with thick stone pillars of volcanic rock and unpolished, unpainted wood.”
This remote island has a reputation for terrible food, so it’s encouraging to hear that the cuisine here is top-notch. Rates are priced accordingly, with everything wrapped into an all-inclusive package. But why not splurge? This probably is a true “once-in-a-lifetime experience.” Who goes to Easter Island twice?
Unfortunately, Explora hasn’t caught on to the whole global warming and conservation story. There’s a whole lot of waste and not much care about it, again showing us that too many executives think luxury travelers don’t give a damn about the planet. Hopefully those that do will speak up and things will improve on this fragile Rapa Nui island–already wrecked once by short-sighted inhabitants.
February 5th, 2008 at 6:04 am
Explora in Easter Island is a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified building as per the Green Building Rating System, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council. LEED certification for Posada de Mike Rapu is the FIRST in Chile, as well as for the hospitality industry throughout Latin America.
February 5th, 2008 at 6:28 am
Contrary to the poorly researched review, here is the short list of the environmentally focused attributes of explora’s new Easter Island lodge:
• Passive design of the energy, lighting and “skin” of the building, with ample windows to allow in daylight and enhance cross-ventilation of rooms and public spaces
• A sound structural mass with thermal retention for energy storage
• High-efficiency lighting, heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, transformers and appliances
• “Free” cooling and economizer cycles in public spaces for energy savings
• Low flow water fixtures and reclaimed water from air conditioners
• Use of renewable, recyclable and fast-growing building materials
• Landscaping with native and adapted species requiring low or no watering
• A low-waste process that protects the environment during construction and throughout the life of the hotel
• explora encourages guests to join daily guided hikes, bicycle excursions, swims and snorkeling
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System is a benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings. Not only does LEED provide the tools for owners and operators to have an immediate and measurable impact on their buildings’ performance, but it also promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in key areas of human and environmental health. These include: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.
February 5th, 2008 at 6:52 am
Need to do much better research. Explora and Remota have nothing to do with one another other than they have operations in Chile. Really, need to do much better research before publishing such lousy type of “news.”
February 5th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
This review is painfully unqualified. “That hotel on Easter Island that doesn’t suck”??? No need to further comment, just delete this entry altogether. It’s not only bad it’s also totally wrong.
February 7th, 2008 at 10:05 pm
Wow, obviously we hit a nerve on that one! In fairness, you’re right Ben that Explora and Remota do not share the same management–just the same architect. Duly noted now in the original entry.
As for the LEED certification, that only applies to design, not practice. What our reviewer saw in practice is akin to an LEED-certified office building using styrofoam coffee cups and disposable plates in the cafeteria and not recycling its used copy paper and bottled water plastic containers. Just because a building has green design doesn’t mean the staffers or managers are doing anything beyond that to hold down waste and preserve the environment. It’s better than nothing, sure, but it doesn’t end when the building is finished.
As for the other hotels on Easter Island sucking, sorry James, but just read the past few years of travel press stories and the reviews on the likes of TripAdvisor and you’ll see I’m not exactly taking a controversial stand saying that…
February 8th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
I was at the Explora hotel and Chile and found a similar disconnect between the green hype and how the staff actually worked in practice. This is not unusual with luxe hotels anywhere, unfortunately. Unless you go to a true ecolodge, there’s a lot of posturing going on.