SUSTAINABLE HOSPITALITY AT ITS CORE
Six Senses Duxton ushers in a new hospitality experience – one that is centered around sustainability efforts and the neighborhood it calls home
Today, luxury travel goes beyond the final destination, and what is more important is the overall experience that an intrepid traveler is able to add to their growing list of once-in-a-lifetime moments. Of course, where a wellheeled traveler stays plays an equally important role, but today, it goes beyond just posh lodgings. Jetsetters, which include DBS Insignia Cardmembers, all know that nothing compares to a five-star luxury hotel experience. But as their focus shifts from room service and spa menus to a list of authentic experiences around the neighborhood instead, you’ll know that attitudes are changing. It comes as no surprise then that when Six Senses Duxton opened, the first city property by the acclaimed hospitality and wellness company, the buzz surrounding it was palpable. And with sustainability at the core of everything Six Senses does, people were even more excited to see what the Singapore property would be bringing to the table.
Welcome to the Neighborhood
To mark its arrival, Six Senses Duxton engaged with the neighborhood it calls home and provided a new level of sustainability, that, has perhaps, never been done in Singapore. According to Mr. Neil Jacobs, CEO of Six Senses, “Six Senses Duxton aims to not only deliver a five-star luxury hotel experience, but to actively improve the surrounding neighborhood and natural environment as we do so. Together with our team, I am delighted to bring our unique new urban Six Senses experience to life in Singapore, and for us to enrich and be enriched by the Duxton and Maxwell communities.” The brand is also known for its commitment to authenticity and community, which is why it chose to occupy a row of traditional shophouses that were re-designed and re-utilized. Through this conservation effort,
the property received the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s Architectural Heritage Award. Beyond the hotel, Six Senses is also focused on enhancing social and economic benefits within the community by supporting local entrepreneurs and businesses before searching regionally for a product or service. From restaurant ingredients to hotel supplies, priority is always given to a local partner. Also notable is Six Senses Duxton’s partnership Long Zhong Tang, a successful traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practice across the road. What resulted were in-house TCM consultation programs, as well as complimentary tinctures found in the in-room mini bar.
Every Little Bit Helps
To ensure that the Duxton property is not just doing its part for its neighborhood, but for the environment as well, the Six Senses Sustainability Program was put in place to measure, monitor, and manage sustainability efforts. Waste management is an integral part of the program, which is a hotel-wide drive to refuse, reuse, and recycle waste. Six Senses Duxton engages its suppliers to reduce the amount of packaging and to purchase items in bulk if possible. Meanwhile, styrofoam boxes used for shipping are sent back for the suppliers to reuse. In addition, the hotel does not use cut flowers for decorative purposes, plastic linings for trash bins, plastic straws, plastic water bottles, and paper cups. In place of bottled water from an external supplier, the hotel treats, purifies, mineralizes, and bottles its own drinking water to mitigate the negative environmental and social aspects associated with water in plastic bottles. The property boasts a stateof-the-art mineralization machine that produces nano-artesian water that has stable quality, as well as zero-carbon footprint. Six Senses Duxton has taken into account Singapore’s heat and humidity, which is why it applied insulated glazing on the windows throughout the hotel to reduce heat and energy required for cooling it. Rooms and suites boast this energy-saving feature too with shutter panels that create shade, thus reducing the need for air-conditioning. Finally, energy efficient LED lights are utilized throughout the property and lights are controlled by dimmer switches, while outdoor lightings are on timers to save electricity. Given the conscious effort that
Six Senses puts in place for the improvement of its neighborhood and the environment, a stay here – whether long-term or for a weekend getaway – results in an experience that is at once unique and gratifying.