2009 World Savers Awards

Travel has an enormous opportunity, and some would say responsibility, to improve our planet. With that in mind, Condé Nast Traveler Magazine recently announced the winners for their third annual World Savers awards, honoring the airlines, cruise lines, city hotels, resorts, hotel chains, and tour operators that are dedicated to saving their communities and our world (Hooray!). Their 21 judges—academics, CEOs, and philanthropists—looked at five types of initiatives: education, poverty alleviation, wildlife conservation, cultural and environmental preservation, and health.

A major winner was The Haciendas, a group of five luxury hacienda hotels in Yucatán and Campeche: Haciendas Santa Rosa, San José, Temozón, Uayamón, and Puerta Campeche (www.thehaciendas.com).

A bit of background about The Haciendas from Conde Nast Traveler’s World Savers Awards website: When Luis Bosoms and his wife, Marilú Hernández, discovered five old haciendas—former sisal plantations, each in a down-on-its-luck company town—scattered across the Yucatán, they saw an opportunity to do well and do good. They turned the haciendas into chic resorts—juxtaposing sleek pools and colonial furnishings with a semi-industrial aesthetic—and hired local people who had been earning a meager income from the infertile land. They employed villagers, whose Mayan ancestors had built nearby Chichén Itzá, as workers, waiters, and accountants, and helped others start businesses, including folk art and massage cooperatives. Says Hernández: "The Haciendas project was born with a social conscience." A side benefit: women have been empowered. "When the men saw their wives bringing money into the household," says Hernández, "everything changed."

Santa Rosa, a small hacienda in the heart of the Yucatán, recreates the belle époque of the Mexican southeast. The 11 rooms and suites are conditioned with exquisite details and located in the main 18th century building. San José Cholul is a smaller, more private hacienda located southeast of Mérida, with 15 rooms and suites. Temozón is a superb residence with 28 rooms and suites in a 16th century building. Uayamon, not far from the city of Campeche has 12 rooms and suites. Puerta Campeche, a 17th century colonial building, is strategically located in the historical city center of Campeche, recognized and protected by the international patrimony of UNESCO, has 15 rooms and suites in the main 17th century building. All five hotels are surrounded by beautiful gardens.

The Haciendas came out winners in the “Poverty: Learning about it. Fighting it. Eradicating It” category. Judge Laurie David, Trustee, Natural Resources Defense Council; and co-producer, An Inconvenient Truth, said, "I was thrilled by The Haciendas' approach. The company's dedication to the environment and the surrounding community's health proves that you do not have to sacrifice luxury to protect natural resources."

The judges also loved The Haciendas in “Education: Promoting it. Funding it. Improving it.” They invest in a mobile children's library, upgrade schools, and help create computer-equipped libraries; and in “Health: Encouraging it. Providing it. Testing it.” They run medical centers in seven communities to combat diabetes, cancer, and high blood pressure. And The Haciendas came out with the highest overall score in the “Doing It All” category. As the judges said, “This Mexican company seems to be doing everything right.”