Bali’s world-renowned natural beauty, pristine beaches and welcoming people have made it a buzzing tourist destination, but it’s easy to forget that travel often comes with a high price tag for the local environment. The island produces a shocking 1.6 million tonnes of waste each year, including 330,000 tonnes of plastic waste, much of which ends up in rivers and eventually in the ocean, threatening Bali's ecosystem, the livelihood of its communities and the tourism industry on which it depends.

Consistently voted as one of the top 50 hotels in the world, Desa Potato Head is proof that sustainability and luxury, when given the proper consideration, don’t have to be mutually exclusive. No aspect of waste management has gone unconsidered here, from waterfall showers sourced from in-house purified seawater to plastic recycling in their on-site waste lab. The only thing better than being greeted at the airport after a 20-hour journey with a cool jasmine-scented towel and a bottle of freshly-made coconut water is knowing that it’s possible to access this level of comfort without contributing to the damaging tourism that is blighting the island.

Led by their ethos of ‘good times do good’, Desa Potato Head has expanded from its humble beginnings as a beach club to become less of a hotel and more of a small village. Featuring 226 rooms, six restaurants and bars, two clubs, a spa, a library and co-working space, an infinity pool, and an endless list of sustainable workshops and activities – from candle-making to ayurvedic consultations – it’s difficult to stay here for a week and run out of things to do and eat without even leaving the resort. But most impressive of all is that it has managed to do all this while boasting a 0.5% waste status, making the hotel a world leader in regenerative tourism.  

Potato Head has achieved near-zero waste status as a result of their pioneering Community Waste Project, which has tackled not only their own waste but that of other hotels and businesses in the area too. The project transforms trash that would usually end up in Bali’s overflowing landfills into products designed for the hospitality industry: plastic is turned into innovative but stylish soap dispensers and chairs, wine bottles are upcycled to create candles, and food waste is turned into natural dyes which are then used to make sustainable merchandise. 

Later this year, the hotel will open its Good Times General Store, a permanent retail space constructed from locally sourced natural materials that hopes to challenge the idea of what a commercial space can be, inviting visitors to slow down, connect with materials, and understand the process behind how things are made. Not only is every product made using recycled or natural materials, but the store will also function as a cultural hub where guests can participate in workshops about weaving, natural dyeing, repair, upcycling, and plastic crafting. 

The truly impressive thing about Potato Head is that none of this impacts the standard of luxury you would expect from a high-end hotel: the people in charge have taken care of all the logistics so you can spend your stay doing nothing except drinking coconuts (which will find new life as compost or hanging plants) in the infinity pool, if you so choose, or eating the delightfully squidgy cookies stocked in your fridge while luxuriating in your king-size bed.

Morning people have the option of starting the day with a sunrise meditation or yoga followed by a breakfast of fresh tropical fruit and Indonesian Jamu by the pool. Everyone else can end a long day of lounging by watching the sun set over Petitenget Beach from the rooftop bar, where classic cocktails are reimagined with local ingredients such as dragonfruit. If you’re still not ready to call it a night after dinner in one of their four restaurants, consider heading to Klymax Discotheque, a state of the art club designed in partnership with DJ Harvey that has hosted a range of world-class DJs from Ben UFO to Theo Parrish, alongside local residents. 

If you prefer a more relaxing experience, the on-site spa offers a variety of massages, facials, and alternative treatments using natural ingredients and traditional Indonesian techniques – including the ‘After-Sun Soother’ for guests who have fallen asleep on the daybeds and forgotten to reapply sunscreen.

Alternatively, if you’re lucky enough to be staying in a room with a bath, you can arrange to have one run for you at an hour of your choosing: the staff will kindly fill up your giant wooden tub, sprinkle it with flowers, and even mix you a drink from your in-room bar. It’s never been so easy to do good while doing so little.