Sustainable luxurious journey with Six Senses in India

India has all the time attracted international travellers searching for wellness, knowledge, and surprise. Now it additionally attracts these on the lookout for sustainable luxurious throughout their Indian odyssey. Few international manufacturers embody this higher than Six Senses, who seamlessly handle to mix indulgence with accountability at each one in every of their resorts.

They launched refillable ceramic dispensers for toilet facilities and changed single use plastic water bottles with glass bottles approach earlier than it turned ‘modern’ to take action. In truth, they’ve solely ever used refillable ceramic dispensers since they launched in 1995 and their resorts have been freed from single use plastic bottles since 2003. However the Six Senses dedication to sustainable practices implies that their sustainability journey is way from over as they proceed to be “thoughtful custodians of the locations the place they reside”. Waste and water administration programs have been developed to cut back impression, while a number of initiatives have been launched to guard the encompassing habitat and help native communities. Expansive on website gardens have allowed them to supply fruit and veggies to be served of their eating places while the superb ‘Eat with Six Senses’ philosophy locations meals on the centre of wellbeing with inventive and progressive menus that nourish and delight while respecting the planet. They’re at the moment working in the direction of 40% of all menus being plant based mostly as a part of this planet pleasant initiative. Sustainable luxurious journey with Six Senses is an ever growing dedication that the majority definitely leads from the entrance and continues to set requirements for the trade.

Their two distinctive resorts in India display precisely how these commitments work in apply. Six Senses Fort Barwara in Rajasthan is a transformed 14th century fort that oozes historic historical past whereas providing each trendy consolation. Six Senses Vana in Dehradun is a contemporary sanctuary the place silence, bushes and classy design invite friends to decelerate and recharge. Travellers usually cross by Jaipur on their approach to Barwara, and Rishikesh when heading for Vana. Each cities are locations in their very own proper, Jaipur with its color, chaos and bustling streets, Rishikesh with its yoga, meditation and river rituals. Each are really distinctive locations that present the right gateways to those really distinctive resorts.

Our expertise at Six Senses Fort Barwara

We had waited years to step by the majestic gates of Six Senses Fort Barwara. First there was the last decade lengthy restoration and growth of the fort itself, then our personal journey delays across the pandemic. By the point we arrived our anticipation was excessive however the first glimpse of the monumental partitions rising from the panorama didn’t disappoint. Nor did the nice and cozy welcome, full with a blessing and smiles from the hospitable group. The transformation from historic fort to luxurious resort had clearly been delivered with nice care. Authentic stonework and centuries previous domes stand proudly beside trendy areas that by some means mix respectfully. Courtyards open onto quiet corners while swimming pools shimmer beneath the arches.

At night time the fort glows with lanterns casting shadows onto the traditional partitions. Service all through was skilled but private, the type that makes you’re feeling each cared for when required, but left alone to benefit from the peace at different instances. It was straightforward to neglect time right here with our days passing approach too shortly between pool time, spa remedies, culinary explorations and easily wandering by the fort in amazement. We had anticipated equal measures of historical past and luxurious, which is strictly what we skilled throughout our keep at Six Senses Fort Barwara.

Eat with Six Senses at Fort Barwara

Meals performs a starring function in all of our vegan journey adventures and that was most definitely the case at Six Senses Fort Barwara. Our days began with lengthy and lazy breakfasts at Cortile with every thing from smoothie bowls and coconut chia puddings, to masala dosa and idli that reminded us we had been in India. We loved baked greens that had been wealthy, smoky, and comforting and pani puri with their crispy shells stuffed on the desk with spiced water and chutneys that had been scrumptious.

Every thing was ready with care with fruits, greens and herbs sourced responsibly both from the on website backyard or native farmers the place attainable. We beloved that our meals was not solely about style but in addition about decreasing impression. Plant based mostly dishes had been definitely not facet notes, they had been entrance and centre, to be celebrated. Consuming extra crops is not only wholesome for us, it can be wholesome for the planet and this is likely one of the causes that Six Senses have dedicated to increasing their veggie, vegan and plant based mostly choices as a part of their Eat with Six Senses philosophy.

Farah Condor, director of Eat with Six Senses talked about “menus taking a cleaner and easier strategy to preparation, specializing in high quality, stability and recent complete meals constructed from scratch” and “endeavouring to develop as a lot produce as we will inside the partitions of our lodges and resorts, be that by Six Senses’ natural gardens, mushroom huts or utilizing hydroponics.” We by no means as soon as felt restricted by consuming vegan meals throughout our keep, in actual fact fairly the other with our remaining night time off menu vegan thali platter proving precisely that. It was fairly merely one of many most interesting Indian thali we’ve ever had the pleasure to eat, thanks Chef Charul!

Sustainable initiatives at Six Senses Fort Barwara

Sustainability is just not a field ticking train at Six Sense Fort Barwara. It’s a part of every day life on the resort and likewise of their efforts to help the encompassing villages and communities. While water is purified and bottled on website for friends, water purification programs have additionally been put in in an area authorities hospital and faculty. While natural fruit and greens are grown on website, they’re additionally grown in partnerships with native farmers earlier than being bought to be used on the resort. This demonstrates how accountable and sustainable tourism can have a number of advantages for not solely friends, however the neighbours and native communities alike.

At Fort Barwara we visited Earth Lab, an area the place friends study, experiment, and speak about how we will collectively cut back our impression on the planet. Right here we noticed pure repellents and deodorants being made, with out chemical substances, secure for individuals and secure for the surroundings. It was palms on, making it a enjoyable and informative exercise for adults and youngsters alike. When requested about Earth Lab, Jeff Smith, Vice President of Sustainability at Six Senses, advised us that “discovering enjoyable methods for friends to work together with their sustainability and neighborhood efforts is a vital initiative at every of our areas”. For us, as soon as once more seeing these commitments in motion furthered our respect for the model because it felt like luxurious with a conscience and with out compromise.

Our expertise at Six Senses Vana

If Six Senses Fort Barwara was about experiencing historical past Six Senses Vana was about having fun with peaceable contemplation. From the second we drove by the gates, the world exterior appeared to fall away. Vana was already referred to as one in every of India’s main wellness retreats for a decade earlier than turning into a part of the Six Senses model in 2023, and it now carries that enhanced fame with ease. Every thing right here is designed for stillness and being at one with your self. Telephones are stored away in public areas and all friends put on comfortable cotton kurta, which makes everybody look equal, free from selections about what to put on and learn how to seem. It would sound restrictive, however we discovered it liberating.

Our days took on a rhythm formed by consultations, remedies, meals, and relaxation. Kila, the central hub at Six Senses Vana, was the place we started and ended every of our days, a hanging constructing full of mild and calm with peaceable leisure areas and a library full of inspirational books and publications. The grounds had been fantastically manicured while the encompassing forest was wild and alive. Favorite spots included the reflection pond the place it was straightforward to ponder life and our beautiful Forest Suite the place we may have gazed into the depths of the forest for hours on finish.

By the top of our keep we felt lighter, not simply in physique however in thoughts, it was as if layers of noise and stress had been peeled away to disclose our interior sense of calm and wellbeing.

Eat with Six Senses at Vana

Meals at Six Senses Vana introduced us with two choices, select from the a la carte menu and in depth buffet or observe the dietary plans set following our wellness consultations. When ordering from the menu or choosing from the buffet, the knowledgable workers had been all the time readily available to advise which dishes suited our structure which meant we not often ate the identical dish. One among us was Pitta with the opposite being Vata, so each meal started with a curious have a look at the opposite plate. Typically envy crept in however by no means disappointment as Chef Rajesh and his group managed to ship meals that was each nourishing and filled with flavour each time.

The meals was fairly merely stunning too, a vegetable wrap served on wilted spinach and pumpkin cream with a vibrant beetroot latte, adopted by a small and delicate chocolate dessert that was mild but deeply satisfying. The thali platters had been our favourites, the spherical tray with mini bowls, every of them full of balancing substances according to what our medical doctors had prescribed. What stood out most was the eye to element. Vegan meals was not tucked away on a separate web page or adjusted as an afterthought. It was a part of the material of each menu. Even the buffets had clear labels for every dish, one thing we not often see executed so properly.

The workers knew the solutions once we requested about substances without having to examine with the kitchen which gave us confidence to easily get pleasure from our meals. Parts had been smaller than we often serve ourselves at house, however surprisingly we had been by no means hungry afterwards. It made us conscious of how usually we overeat with out realising. Leaving the desk glad however snug was one thing we needed to hold again house with us.

Wellness at Six Senses Vana

The wellness programme at Six Senses Vana was extensive ranging but private. Our first consultations with Dr Jaya and Dr Sopa had been thorough and intensive, however for all the proper causes. They requested questions on sleep, moods, digestion and even issues we had by no means beforehand thought of to attach with wellness. From these preliminary consultations, our days had been full of yoga, guided meditation, acupuncture, and therapies rooted in Ayurveda and conventional Chinese language medication. Some remedies had been light, just like the muslin potli massages the place heat bundles of herbs had been pressed into the pores and skin and launched rigidity.

Others, like deep tissue massages, had been extra intense however left us feeling alive and rejuvenated. The Ayurveda centre carried an environment of calm and quiet respect while the Bodhi Tree was the right location for yoga and meditation. We discovered ourselves trying ahead to these moments of calm as a lot as any meal. Wellness right here was not one thing separate from the remainder of our retreat, it was a really holistic strategy and it formed each a part of our keep, from the way in which we moved to the way in which we ate and even how we rested.

Staying with Six Senses in India confirmed us two sides of the identical philosophy. At Six Senses Fort Barwara, historical past and heritage got new life with considerate design and conscious dwelling. At Six Senses Vana, silence and ease reminded us of what we actually wanted. Throughout our stays at each of those luxurious resorts, wholesome meals nourished us, holistic wellness guided us, and sustainable practices underpinned our total expertise. Luxurious right here didn’t really feel extreme, it felt significant. For travellers searching for extra than simply consolation and luxurious, however for individuals who need to look after themselves and the world round them, these two unbelievable Six Senses resorts in India provide a really memorable expertise.