In This Issue: Sandals Grande Ocho Rios Beach and Villa Resort Tokoriki Island Resort Loisaba Wilderness, Kenya Le Meridien Bora Bora Maya Ubud Resort and Spa InterContinental Bora Bora Resort and Thalasso Spa    Subscribe to our travel newsletter.   With Thanksgiving just days away, this month we're highlighting romantic resorts that also give back to their communities. There are fabulous options for every destination, so you have choices: you can stay with resorts who help build schools for local villages, who do the right thing to protect the environment, who help rescue injured or endangered animals...or you can help Paris Hilton on her next shopping spree--it's up to you. Stay tuned--we're about to announce a new way you can "green" your honeymoon with carbon offset "green tags". In the meantime, here's some of the resorts we love who give back to the world we all live in. -- Michael
	Sandals Grande Ocho Rios Beach and Villa Resort   Hurricane relief, and both financial and mentoring support for schools In August, Sandals donated $500,000 to a school and a health center in Montego Bay for repairs resulting from Hurricane Dean. More details here. And earlier this month, they announced a mentoring program for 100 children chosen from four schools and a girls' home in St Ann and St Mary. Sandals actually supports many, many community service projects all around the Caribbean, but tends to be quiet about it, doing the right thing because it's the right thing--not for the publicity value. 5 nights from $845 per person Tokoriki Island Resort   Building a school for children from the local village Tokoriki Resort owners Andrew and Yvonne Turnbull decided to build a new school facility at Yanuya village. Construction of this new school means the sons and daughters of Tokoriki Island Resort staff will have much improved education opportunities, which in turn will raise learning standards and provide a much greater range of career options. As well, other kids from neighboring villages will be able to attend Yanuya School, making this project becomes a Mamanuca Group regional initiative. More info on this program and their environmental initiatives as well can be found here. 7 nights from $3298 per person Loisaba Wilderness, Kenya   Scholarships, healthcare, and clean water projects and local nursery schools The Loisaba Community Trust (LCT) is a charitable trust registered in Kenya, and helps set up the community-owned Koija Starbeds tourism facility, a women's group craft-making and a cultural manyatta. I saw their projects in action myself in October of 2005 with a visit to the Samburu village that they support. The LCT attempts to ensure that the traditionally marginalized Laikipiak Maasai and Samburu people are both healthy and educated--they've granted 26 scholarships to secondary schools since its inception in 2000. In 2003 they built the Ewaso Health Centre, which serves 400 patients a month in this previously ill-served area. They also sponsor 5 local nursery schools, which all need assistance or complete payment of teachers as well as learning materials of all kinds. 5 nights from $2000 per person Le Meridien Bora Bora   Saving injured hawksbill and green sea turtles The Turtle Sanctuary at Le Méridien Bora Bora is a renowned effort to help save the magnificent hawksbill and green sea turtles. The only one of its kind in French Polynesia, the sanctuary offers educational presentations to spread knowledge of these beautiful and all-too-threatened creatures. Guests can also swim with the turtles in the picturesque lagoon or even "adopt" turtles in an ongoing effort to return them to their natural habitat. Learn more about their program here. 7 nights from $3598 per person Maya Ubud Resort and Spa   Tree planting program in Bali The Maya Ubud Resort and Spa has been very concerned in preserving and protecting the environment surrounding the resort. They've introduced a program inviting guests to plant a tree along the resort's riverside nature walk. A small fee is charged with the proceeds being donated to an environmental protection agency in Bali. The resort is located high above the banks of the legendary Petanu River, across from charming historical villages of Bedulu and Pejeng and within walking distance of the vibrant artist center of Ubud. 7 nights from $1844 per person InterContinental Bora Bora Resort and Thalasso Spa   Using cold, deep-sea water instead of electricity for their airconditioning Used for the first time anywhere in the world to aircondition a hotel, their system is revoluntionary. Cold sea water at 41 degrees F is drawn from the ocean's depths and fed into a cooling station, then sent through a pipe system parallel to a closed circuit of fresh water that travels around the entire establishment. The sea water cools the fresh water which, in turn, cools the resort's bungalows and other buildings. Not only does this system save 90% on electric power consumed by air-conditioning, it is durable, totally clean and free of any environmental impact. More details are available here. 7 nights from $4946 per person
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