Phuket luxury beach resort, Chedi Phuket, Thailand

Environment:
Eco-friendly buildings and architectural structures - The property's architecture is mainly focused on creating harmony between hotel facilities and the surrounding vegetation: stairs and walkways are built around plants and trees to avoid cutting them, the rooms are all designed according to a "individual cottages" concept, allowing nature to benefit from enlarged spaces and better air circulation from the sea, and all cottages are built with pure wooden floors and furniture, having their thatched-roofs made from fully natural local materials.

Preserving gardens and exterior areas - Our resort strives to maintain our ancient coconut trees plantation and truly natural surroundings, having green life such as a large trees and flowers variety, ponds, wildlife and planting grass and flowers to cover soil and help developing nature as much as possible. Moreover, our beautiful secluded beach does not have a direct access from outside the hotel, which also helps preserve its cleanliness and the sea ecosystem.

Recycling - Our hotel separates waste like glass, plastic and metal items for recycling, as well as leftover food. We also encourage all employees to re-use printed office paper and provide several stationery items which are made with recycled materials. Moreover, our waste water is collected and used for plants watering and gardening activities.

Using Natural Products - The use of naturally produced items is also one of The Chedi's main environmental concerns. Our kitchens always supply themselves with as many local fresh products as possible, for instance dairy products, vegetables, fruit, meat and fish, which enables our restaurant's menus to meet vegetarian, healthy, spicy and special dietary requirements, as well as to include fresh items in most of our specialties.

Furthermore, we are able to provide fruit (bananas), leaves and flowers from our own garden, in the occasion of special events such as weddings, banquets or buffets. In the rooms and the Spa, naturally created body care products and bathroom accessories are used, as well as natural containers and boxes made from ceramic, wicker or rope, to subsequently reduce the general utilization of plastic materials.

Saving Electricity - Once again, the resort has demonstrated its contribution to the preservation of our planet by recently taking part in the Earth Hour International initiative on a regular basis. Our guests receive information on the date and hour of the electricity extinction and are invited to participate as well.

Reducing the use of laundry machines - By encouraging our guests to use their towels and bathroom accessories several times before having them washed, we aim at reducing the use of laundry products, water and machines. Moreover, our laundry and valet service are outsourced and organized as a fair collaboration with the nearby hotel.

Community:
Our resort not only minimizes impacts on the environment in many ways, but also strives to maximize benefits to the local community, as well as to support social and ethical actions, in order for everybody to harmoniously evolve in an eco-friendly environment and to show our commitment to sustainable and responsible Travel & Tourism.

In December 2004, our resort joined efforts with Thailand's Ministry of Education and the General Inspection Office 10 to support the Propheten Foundation and form the "children of Phuket" initiative. This program aims to offer an exemplar education and guarantee its access for all Tsunami-affected children and families, by raising funds in order to build and develop six International Learning Centres in many districts of the country and to organize various gathering activities with children. Several clothing items can now be purchased at The Boutique for guests to support this initiative as well.

Our hotel also established a solid partnership with Thailand's section of the Red Cross Society, whose aim is to raise money for all people affected by the 2004 disaster, by means of regularly selling Thai Arts & Crafts products in our outlets, keeping people informed about the Society's humanitarian actions and advising our guests on how they can show their support.

Promoting Local Attractions - Besides offering many tour guides and on-island activities directly at our Reception Desk, our resort actively promotes local entertainment groups and cultural exhibitions by giving them the opportunity to regularly perform in front of our guests during various dining evenings and yearly special events in the hotel outlets.

The guests are then invited to discover Thai traditional melodies performed by local musicians in our Thai specialties restaurant, to enjoy the sweet voices of children from Thep Amnuay School in the occasion of our Christmas Breakfast Buffet, or to participate in children and adults monks offerings and listen to their praying ceremony for April's Songkran Festival.

Supporting Charity Foundations - Our hotel has recently decided to support the Soi Dog Foundation by holding an annual Charity Buffet Dinner and inviting not only hotel guests and employees but also the island's various communities and medias, in order to gain attention and raise funds for feeding, sterilizing and treating Phuket street dogs and cats.

At the resort, various maintenance activities such as carpentry, furniture repairing and painting are executed directly onsite, avoiding the use of external services and enhancing the employment and training of local staff.

Hiring and training local inhabitants - The hotel's human resources are composed with more than 60% of Phuket local people and inhabitants of the closest surrounding areas, which enables us to better reflect authentic Thai hospitality, and our training programs are also designed to welcome and give the opportunity to students from local hotel schools to practice and develop their knowledge within our facilities, bringing youth and novelty to the team.

Collaboration is also maintained with local beach therapists who have been working here for years before the hotel's birth, allowing them to use the beach facilities in order to provide traditional massages and body cares at lower costs for our guests.

Using and encouraging local businesses - In order to support local businesses and enhance the island's economy, all our providers and loyal suppliers for housekeeping, maintenance, kitchen and events areas come from regions surrounding the hotel. This comes together with the utilization of markets and small vendors in the vicinity.

Furthermore, all leftovers from food production and consumption are sold to neighbouring farmers and the money collected from this action is directly invested for the staff annual sports day and party's budget.

Applying ethical internal rules and supporting the staff community - The employees' wellness reflects the hotel's wellness, this is why the resort cares much for its staff community.

Not only is yearly free medical check-up provided for every single employee, but a full shuttle service is also available several times a day for the staff to access their working place and avoid generating unnecessary additional traffic.

Finally, the resort has established an internal Staff Committee to improve communication between all levels of the hierarchy and professionally discuss various ideas and developments, and organizes every year an enjoyable Sports' Day followed by a delightful Staff Party.