Travel in our new COVID-19-worried world is a daunting prospect. While we are all chomping at the bit to breakout of our lockdown lives, at the same time the thought of international travel fills many of us with dread, thanks to that nagging worry of exposure to COVID-19. It is the job of the professional hotelier to make people feel at ease, to anticipate their needs and to cater to them before they are asked for, to mitigate worry with comfort and luxury. In fact, for Secret Retreats the definition of luxury is just that, needs catered for in anticipation of requirement, of not having to ask for something as the hotelier anticipated your need in advance of your request, before you even knew you needed it! This is luxury. This is the Secret Retreats luxury. And it is this that has driven our hoteliers to new heights in concern for guest and staff comfort and safety in this new COVID-19-concerned world.
Working together in consultation with CDC and WHO (not the rock band!) guidelines the Secret Retreats hoteliers created a Clean Care Pledge to provide an assurance to travellers, visitors and the travel trade of their preparedness to welcome guests back, and demonstrate their sincerity in dealing with this new challenge for businesses that deal with and welcome the public. In adopting the pledge, a hotelier is ensuring both the safety of guests and his staff through mitigating and minimizing the risk of infections from communicable diseases such as COVID-19.
For many businesses looking to disinfect and sanitize their properties and public spaces, chemical warfare has been the chosen mantra, a judicious use of bleach and chlorine-based cleaning materials. Judicious and comprehensive as every possible surface and touch point is bleached within an inch of its useful life, like a bad hair day in the ‘80s. And this disinfection is daily, hourly, every time new people enter and touch their way around the property a staff member is there to follow them and disinfect their trace as they go. Imagine the damage to the environment from this mass bleaching, and pity the staff having to work all day with these caustic chemicals.
Secret Retreats properties are pledged to be sustainable and protective of their environment. Each hotel and restaurant is privately owned. They are the homes of the owners and the staff. They do not want to live in a home bleached more deeply than the U-bend in an airport public toilet. COVID-19 free yes, but sterile and dead, no thanks. So we researched environmentally friendly but safe alternatives to be used by our hoteliers, to ensure guest safety, the safety of our staff and the safety of our environment for all of our benefits. We cannot wage war on COVID-19 at the cost of everything else, the cost is too great, as we have seen in many of the reactions from our great leaders around the world. Everything in life needs balance, including disinfection and mitigating infection. The Secret Retreats Clean Care Pledge is a comprehensive set of protocols designed to protect staff and guests from infection and contamination, from the moment a guest is welcomed at the airport by the transfer team to the moment the guest pays their bill on check-out, every detail of the stay has been considered and a protocol and working practice has been refined to accommodate this new situation we all find ourselves in.
The Secret Retreats Boutique Hotels are perfectly placed to welcome guests in this COVID-19-worried world. Free from crowds, designed for privacy, designed as homes, social distancing is easy. The environment is everything and from the clean mountain air at Tiger Mountain Pokhara Lodge or the gorgeous Glenburn Tea Estate in Darjeeling, to sea level at Koh Jum Beach Villas set on a 12km empty white sand beach overlooking the Phi Phi National Marine Park in Thailand or Mathis Lodge set alone within a green valley in Bali overlooking the Lombok Strait, being away from the crowds and set within pristine nature is guaranteed. And not forgetting the Secret Retreats core values of sustainability where we support our local communities by sourcing the freshest produce from our neighbouring farms and small holdings. Farm to table dining ensures healthy eating, supplement this clean dining with ayurvedic treatments and menus at Neeleshwar Hermitage on a quiet beach on the edge of the Indian Ocean to boost your immune system or enjoy an enormous variety of fresh organic produce at Inle Princess or their sister property Inle Heritage set on Inle Lake in Myanmar where the views alone lift your spirit and invigorate the soul.
Post COVID-19 travel doesn’t have to be wrapped in plastic and covered in chlorine bleach. Leave the movie set and enjoy life as it is meant to be lived, sharing with local communities, supporting environmental protection and enjoying experiences that nourish the soul while ensconced within Secret Retreats luxury, where your needs are catered for before you knew you needed them, and COVID-19 worries are something you can leave at the airport.
About Secret Retreats
Secret Retreats is a collection of unique properties and experiences – including boutique hotels, villas, cruises, restaurants and exclusive itineraries – throughout Asia. It is a community built by independent owners and chefs to share resources and ideas. Together, we offer our guests authentic travel experiences that go beyond typical offerings to connect to the very heart of Asian culture and traditions. Secret Retreats Members are vibrant advocates of their surroundings and passionate about sharing special moments with travellers curious to discover the “essence of Asia”. All properties and experiences also emphasize supporting local communities, environments and sustainability efforts in which they are based to ensure continued opportunities for both locals and travellers for years to come.
Learn more at www.secret-retreats.com.
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