Community
Print
If you’re planning to go on a special trip, whether it’s with your significant other, your friends, or with your family, the last thing you want is to waste precious vacation time searching for meals. Most plant-based folks have their finger on the pulse of their local plant-friendly community, with their regular spots, favorite go-to dishes, and all the 411 on new and upcoming veggie eateries.
When traveling, it’s hard enough for plant-based eaters to find something they’re able to eat at a restaurant, let alone a destination resort. Depending on where you’d like to go, you may be met with a limited number of options. More often than not, few of those options will be creative or exciting, with choices like sides of steamed vegetables or a baked potato – hold everything!
Staying at a resort that you already know has extensive plant-based options will make your trip that much more enjoyable. Especially when you know those dishes have been thoughtfully crafted with plant-based patrons in mind.
Best vegan-friendly resorts
5 – The Farm At San Benito, Philippines
This unique 48-acre resort, set in the lush jungle of Lipa, Batangas in the Philippines, specializes in healing. It’s actually considered to be a medical wellness resort. It focuses on five pillars: diagnose, cleanse, nourish, repair, and sustain. Its main goal is for guests’ bodies to return to their ideal, balanced state and achieve optimum holistic wellness. With unique programs that occupants can sign up for, including plant-based detox programs, postnatal programs, and even programs for holistic cancer care, The Farm really strives to provide an extensive range of health-centered care.
These programs aren’t just limited to medical wellness either. The Farm also offers wellness cuisine courses in which you can learn to prepare plant-based meals with professional chefs and a raw food culinary retreat. These offerings come at no surprise, considering The Farm has two refined plant-based restaurants on the premises. If you decide to stay at The Farm At San Benito, you can experience its healing plant-based foods and practices.
4 – Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort Fiji
Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort Fiji was one of the world’s first resorts to fall under the category of eco-luxury hotels. Every aspect of the resort’s operations and management practices are based on prioritization of the environment.
The resort creates a unique opportunity for travelers to experience the natural wonders that Fiji has to offer, all while supporting the region’s efforts to preserve its beauty for generations to come. There are several exciting off-site activities available from exploring the nearby botanical gardens to snorkeling with the resort’s resident marine biologist.
As far as dining options go, the plant-based menu is extensive and delicious, so you don’t have to repeat a lot of the same meals during your stay (unless of course, you try something so delectable that you can’t help but go back for more). You can enjoy your meals in the main dining room or have them brought to your own private bure. For a one-of-a-kind romantic experience, you can even choose to have a secluded vegan picnic on the resort’s gorgeous private island.
3 – Stanford Inn By The Sea, Mendocino, California
The Stanford Inn is a sprawling historic farm resort built on a coastal hillside overlooking Mendocino Bay in Northern California. Included in every stay is an individually prepared organic breakfast that you can choose from a 100 percent plant-based menu.
After breakfast, you can explore the wellness center, take a trip up Big River in a redwood outrigger canoe, or book a romantic massage in the forest for two. When you are finished with your day’s adventures and thinking about your next meal, you can come back to dine at Raven’s Restaurant. With menus inspired by its onsite certified-organic gardens, the restaurant has received national acclaim for its gourmet plant-based cuisine, including praise from Oprah Magazine.
If you want a taste of that quintessential Pacific Northwest beauty, with gorgeous cliff-side ocean views and rustic wood-burning fireplaces, this is the spot for you.
2 – Koukoumi Hotel, Mykonos, Greece
Koukoumi Hotel currently remains the first and only fully plant-based hotel in Greece. Mykonos is a small island off the coast of Greece, well known for its cosmopolitan nightlife, narrow marble-lined streets, and crystal-clear blue seascapes. Koukoumi Hotel offers attendees the opportunity to discover Mykonos on a deeper level, with guided city excursions to explore the rich local culture and the historical and mythological roots that make it such a unique and beautiful destination.
If you’re looking for a day of pure relaxation, the Koukoumi Wellness Spa has a number of services for detox and stress release, with packages that can alleviate you from the worries and distractions of the outside world for the entire day. Only premium certified organic cosmetics that are 100 percent vegan and cruelty-free are used on the hotel premises.
This sentiment also extends to the hotel restaurant, which is completely plant-based, and run by vegan Head Chef Aggeliki Charami. The fine-dining menu is inspired by Mediterranean ingredients, flavors, and smells, with some influence from Japanese recipes and techniques. The chef enjoys exploring the coexistence of opposing elements in nature to create a unique and immersive dining experience for each and every guest.
1 – Palmaïa, The House of AïA, Riviera Maya, Mexico
And now we come to our number one – Palmaïa is Mexico’s premiere, award-winning, progressive wellness and spa resort. Allow yourself to unplug completely and get lost in this secluded sanctuary, with lush oceanfront suites, an immersive jungle spa, and several gourmet eateries with Michelin-restaurant trained chefs from across the globe.
The house of AïA chefs prepare exquisite daily menus that showcase the immense diversity of flavors that can be achieved with delicious and wholesome plants, exposing those who are not plant-based to a culinary experience they didn’t even know was possible.
Although the superb dining options alone are enough reason to want to visit The House of AïA, there are so many other wonderful experiences to be had. The available holistic healing programs are unmatched by any other resort on Earth, with personal mind and body guides who have built comprehensive personal growth journeys based on an array of ancient rituals and practices.
With a wide variety of mind and movement classes, you can indulge all of your senses and provide your body with a full range of nourishment. From therapeutic yoga, to deep meditation, to powerful sound healing, your options are boundless.
Palmaïa is so much more than just a beautiful, vegan-friendly beach resort – it’s a fully immersive retreat for your mind, body, and soul.
—
* This content is produced in collaboration with Palmaïa. Our commercial partnerships with organizations like this help us to provide our free services to millions of people each week.
