Announcing the Winner of This Year's 50 Best Eco Hotel Award

Desa Potato Head is a hotel and beach club in Seminyak, Bali, with a commitment to sustainability that runs throughout its entire business philosophy including the admirable goal of becoming a completely zero-waste property. Let’s look at why their work earned them the Eco Hotel Award at The World’s 50 Best Hotels, hosted last night in London.

Sourcing at Desa Potato Head: Keeping it local

Desa Potato Head is proud to support local businesses in its sourcing policies, celebrating Balinese heritage and identity in a myriad of ways throughout the property.

The Dome restaurant hosts foraging dinners and talks, while the (farm)acy project explores food as traditional medicine through workshops on ancient remedies, tea and incense-making. By using native and/or endemic plants species wherever possible, the resort supports regional biodiversity. Menus incorporate plenty of plant-based foods; they favour vegan catering for large events, and the property includes a dedicated plant-based restaurant.

The hotel works closely with 163 farmers who have transitioned 393 hectares to chemical-free agriculture, resulting in 100% organic rice and cage-free, humane-certified eggs. Forty-six percent of the produce they buy is now organic.

Past their food offering, Potato Head also supports local craftspeople through its procurement, helping to preserve traditional skills. The hotel's rooms were built using hand-pressed temple bricks, a traditional Balinese method of construction. Local artists are showcased in every suite, including art by Arahmaiani, an artist and environmental activist who makes flags out of discarded linen. 

Social sustainability at Potato Head: A community focus

Desa Potato Head is keenly aware of its position within Seminyak and as part of the wider island of Bali, deliberately using its influence for the good of the local community. For example, the hotel’s Sweet Potato Project distributed more than 38,000 meals to those in need throughout 2024. Staff also take part in farm work, donation drives, beach clean-ups and meal preparation, often working alongside guests to help connect them to their destination in real, meaningful ways that educate and inspire.

A hotel’s community includes its local hospitality network. Working together with nearby businesses, Desa Potato Head opened a collective waste centre in October 2024 (more details below). Not only does this create local employment, but all profits from the sale of upcycled products are reinvested back into the local community. Alongside this, Potato Head offers training to other businesses, helping them to raise their standards in waste management. Combined, these efforts are making a tangible difference to Bali’s environment, building a cleaner future for locals.

The hotel also nurtures its team through Family Feel Good Days with activities such as acupuncture, sound healing and meditation.

Environmental responsibility: Becoming a zero waste hotel

Desa Potato Head is making great strides towards its ambition of becoming a zero-waste property, having already reduced its landfill waste to just 0.5% — despite welcoming more than 1,000 guests daily. A dedicated ‘Zero Waste Chef’, Felix, works across all restaurants to ensure no food goes to waste, and staff take part in weekly masterclasses on zero-waste cooking.

The resort’s water needs are met through a seawater reverse osmosis plant and recycled greywater from an on-site sewage treatment system, and circularity is increasingly embedded into everyday practices. Organic waste is converted into compost or animal feed. Single-use plastics have been banned in the Desa since 2017; all guests receive zero-waste kits on arrival, and suppliers and staff are encouraged to choose natural or recycled materials whenever possible. For example, ingredients are often delivered in banana leaves or reusable crates. Even some of the buildings on site have been constructed from recycled materials, including discarded bricks and plastics. Guests are invited to join a free daily ‘Follow the Waste’ tour to see how materials are sorted, composted or transformed.

Truly unavoidable single-use materials are given a second life through the hotel’s on-site Waste Lab. For example, the team melts used Styrofoam in acetone, then combines it with powdered oyster shells, limestone and shreds of HDPE plastic. This mixture is then reworked into everything from coasters and tissue boxes to food trays and dustbins. Meanwhile, HDPE plastic panels are repurposed as furniture and chopping boards as well as lids for the reusable water bottles gifted to all guests. Old linen bedsheets are used to create aprons and bags, for sale in the on-site gift shop; empty beer bottles find new lives as water glasses.  

Since 2024, the Community Waste Project has greatly extended the hotel’s impact, processing up to 10 tonnes of organic, inorganic and garden waste each day from a network of local businesses. Smart upcycling creates practical products like compost and plastic panels for the hospitality industry, and participating members can purchase these at cost price.

Hotels and businesses are estimated to contribute around 11.5% of Bali’s total waste, much of which ends up in landfills. Community Waste Project is working to change this by cutting waste from participating businesses from over 50% to an ambitious target of just 5%. Getting to grips with waste separation at the source is critical to achieving this, and Potato Head has led efforts on this front, sharing their expertise and offering guidance to their partner businesses on how to sort waste correctly. 

Our Managing Director, Juliane Caillouette Noble, said of the win, “Desa Potato Head is a true leader in sustainable hospitality, demonstrating that responsible practices can go hand in hand with business success in South-East Asia and beyond. A commitment to conscientious design is evident throughout every facet of their operations, from their menus to the materials they use and reuse on-site. Particularly impressive is how they’re amplifying their impact past the boundaries of the Desa itself, with initiatives like their Community Waste Project and Sweet Potato Project creating real, positive change within their local area and further across the island. It’s our pleasure to announce this incredible hotel as the winner of this year’s Eco Hotel Award.” 

Read more about Desa Potato Head on their website. You can learn more about our work with 50 Best here.   

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