Sol y Luna

“Putting local communities at the heart of the hotel can be achieved in many ways. For those unsure where to start, a good place can be the classroom” – Relais & Châteaux’s Travel Book magazine

It is widely recognised that travel can be a force for good, with more and more hotels understanding that they can, and indeed should, give back to the communities in which they are based, whether that be by promoting social change, funding education efforts, or championing conservation efforts.

In Relais & Châteaux’s latest Travel Book magazine, travel journalist Gabriel O’Rorke handpicks a select group of R&C properties that are leading the charge when it comes to socially and environmentally beneficial travel.

From a lodge in Madagascar dedicated to the conservation of the country’s famous endemic wildlife, to a safari lodge in Zambia that promises to find a job for anyone from the neighbouring villages who has finished high school, and a hotel on the shores of Lake Atitlan in Guatemala that has boosted the local economy by helping to paint 850 homes in the nearby town, these properties have demonstrated that their raison d’etre goes far beyond offering fantastic experiences to their paying guests.

Throw in a Kenyan ranch that goes out of its way to support the local Maasai community via conservation efforts and economic support, and a group of luxury tented camps in India that donates to social and environmental projects near each camp, and you have a fantastic selection of high-end, Relais & Châteaux properties that offer trips of a lifetime whilst also supporting the growing positive travel movement.

And of course, in good company amongst this inspiring collection of incredible properties is Sol y Luna.

When owner Petit Miribel moved with her husband Franz to Peru’s Sacred Valley in the 1990s, she was struck by inequality, poverty and the lack of good education in the area.

As the article explains, “she started volunteering in local schools, before hatching a plan in which her contribution could become even more impactful: “I realized that to make a real difference I would need to open a school,” she says. “But I needed funding.”

“Somewhat unexpectedly, Petit decided to become a hotelier, conceiving a unique business model built specifically to help plug educational gaps in her adopted local community. From the outset, Hotel Sol y Luna’s raison d’être was to provide funds for the Sol y Luna Foundation via guest donations.”

25 years later, the Sol y Luna Foundation continues to provide education, pastoral care and emotional support to disadvantaged children in the Sacred Valley.

“As well as a school for local children (90 percent of students come from backgrounds of extreme poverty)” reads the article, “the foundation supports children with disabilities, runs an orphanage for students who have been abused or abandoned, and since 2022 has been supporting children in further education, with examples of students born into extreme poverty now studying at the best universities in Lima.”

““For me, it’s not an obligation to help,” says Petit”, the article goes on. ““It’s an emotion that comes from your heart. It’s part of the balance of life.” Projects like these contribute to the concept of travel as a force for good – an approach that’s fundamental to Relais & Châteaux’s own future, and which also serves as a model for the wider travel and hospitality industry to emulate.”

The Foundation is an incredibly inspiring organisation that guests at Hotel Sol y Luna are welcome to visit. After all, its main source of funding, along with private donations, are profits from the hotel itself.

“Set in 25 acres/10 hectares of gardens brimming with flowers and buzzing with hummingbirds, with a ranch breeding Peruvian paso horses and a backdrop of the Andes Mountains, Hotel Sol y Luna became the Sacred Valley’s first hotel– an ideal stopover for tourists passing by on their way to Machu Picchu – and the foundation has been empowering young people ever since.”

The Foundation was founded by Petit and Franz in 1998, with a small primary school that could educate a handful of young children, including their own. No-one could have foreseen that 25 years later, it would have grown to support 200 children from kindergarten age up to young adults.

But with the ongoing support of donors and Sol y Luna guests, and the hard work and dedication of Petit, Franz and their growing team, the Foundation has grown from strength to strength.

“Scattered across the planet, these properties and others within Relais & Châteaux are united in their aim of protecting their environments and supporting local communities” finishes the article.

“Part of the joy is that they are planting seeds – literally, in some cases – without being sure exactly how the crop will turn out. Their commitment is to carry on watering.”

If you would like to support the Sol y Luna Foundation, please do donate here, or get in touch with the Sol y Luna team to organise a visit and see it all for yourself!.