This Private Island Oasis in Panama Raises the Bar on Sustainable Design Retreats

At most luxury resorts, a mini-civilization is created under the guise of “vacation,” missing the purpose of what travelers come for in the first place: an escape. Modern comforts are in abundance from the TVs, high-speed internet, air-conditioning units on full blast, food imported from other countries, and furniture and decor sourced to emulate an elevated version of your home. There’s a disconnect between the traveler and the destination, and with so much uniformity, getting away doesn’t really feel like it.

Let’s strip it back to the basics. Imagine your own private island: 400-acres of lush rain forest with a rich archaeological history and secluded beaches accessible by foot from a beachfront casita. At Isla Palenque, a small private island on the western Pacific shore of Panama, this is exactly what guests are treated to: a sustainable and intimate escape that is the ultimate expression of barefoot luxury. A plane, an automobile, and a boat ride are the minimum requirements to get there, but once you arrive, allow the tide to kiss your feet while you sip a fresh fruit juice at sunset on a beach you have completely to yourself.

As a natural paradise rooted in sustainable luxury, only 5 percent of the island is developed, with the rest kept as a nature reserve. “It’s 400 acres of unspoiled jungle, lagoons, mangroves, and beaches that create intimate connections between the land and the traveler,” notes Benjamin Loomis, the architect and developer behind Isla Palenque Resort. From the people to the food to the design materials, everything is sourced locally (most even coming directly from the property). “A big part of the sustainable design is seen in the use of local materials like the thatched roofs and the wood furniture, sourced from fallen wood and crafted at our workshop on the island,” says Hans Pfister of Cayuga Collection, the hotel group that manages the resort. The property also features its own garden and planted fruit trees in order to locally source its ingredients, while also banning single-use plastics in favor of reusable bottles and natural papaya-stem straws. As far as the resort’s more technical practices, no details are overlooked. Loomis adds that cross ventilation, good use of natural light, showers that are heated with solar panels, and treating all black and gray water to reuse for irrigation are also highly important sustainable efforts put in place throughout the property.

Loomis’ appreciation for nature and solitude was what propelled him to pursue this project in the first place. He discovered the island more than a decade ago, and spent many years sleeping in a hammock before developing it into a resort. His experience living on the island was important, notes Pfister, as he had incredible firsthand insight on the best vantage points and the way the tide would roll in, determining the design of the casitas and the property. Pfister agreed that Isla Palenque offered something special with regards to its geographical and environmental significance. “What’s more unique than a private island? People don’t come to just eat and sleep here, they come for otherworldly experiences,” he says.

Panama’s richness in biodiversity alone makes it an idyllic getaway, but still it’s considered an untapped paradise, with rival neighbors Costa Rica and Colombia attracting much of the tourism. “We always love a challenge by opening in a market that hasn’t been explored, as was the case in Panama,” adds Pfister. “We don’t like things presented on a silver platter; it’s no fun that way.” While the resort relies heavily on the property’s vast natural landscape, there are many initiatives that go into maintaining the beauty and ease in order to present the experience as a fusion of sustainability and luxury. For Loomis, being socially responsible has always been the core value behind his design philosophy. “If we don’t take care of the land and nature, we won’t have beautiful places to appreciate,” says Loomis.

Isla Palenque is the type of luxury vacation that resorts ought to be striving for—the kind that lets nature take the lead and never works against the tide. While high-speed internet and air-conditioning are, in fact, available in each room, waking up to the sunrise from your bed as the sea breeze blows through your curtains makes you forget about them. And have you ever taken a bath in the middle of the jungle? Once you do, there is no looking back.