Arabella Golf Resort Mallorca has introduced a set of new sustainability measures under its three-year Environmental Strategic Plan, as the Balearic Islands’ largest golf resort works towards a 2050 climate-neutrality target.
The resort, which spans 63 holes across four courses and two five-star hotels, has deployed two GPS-guided autonomous mowers at Golf Son Muntaner, a European Tour Destination venue that hosted the Mallorca Golf Open in 2022 and the Mallorca Ladies Golf Open in 2023. The mowers operate overnight with millimetre-precision navigation, using alternating patterns intended to encourage more uniform turf growth while cutting fuel use and mowing overlap.
Angus Murray
Alongside the mowing technology, the resort has launched a project called Circular Orange, developed with Tirme and Fruita Bona under the FINHAVA programme. The scheme converts organic waste from the resort’s hotels into compost, which is used to feed 1,500 local orange trees; the fruit is then served in resort restaurants. A three-month pilot phase turned 75,000kg of organic waste into 24,000kg of compost, generated 14,547 kWh of green energy and prevented 9.6 tonnes of CO2 emissions, according to the resort.
Sheraton Mallorca Arabella Golf Hotel
The Sheraton Mallorca Arabella Golf Hotel is also nearing carbon-neutral status, through facility electrification, renewable energy integration and energy-efficiency upgrades. To offset its remaining baseline emissions from 2023-24, the hotel has partnered with Bosques Sostenibles on a reforestation project in mainland Spain that has seen 341 native trees planted, expected to capture around 66 tonnes of CO2 as they mature.
Sheraton Mallorca Arabella Golf Hotel
“Introducing these three new initiatives is a crucial step forward as we work towards our interim carbon reduction targets, aiming for 12 per cent total emissions decrease in golf operations by 2028 and a 15 per cent reduction across our hotels by 2029, on the journey to our long-term goal of climate neutrality by 2050,” said Sandra Benbeniste, the resort’s sustainability manager.
All three of the resort’s 18-hole courses hold GEO Certified status, the only courses in Mallorca to do so, and are backed by EMAS auditing and ISO 14001 certification. Both hotels carry Green Key seals. The resort was also awarded the Circular Economy Award 2026 by CAEB, the Confederation of Business Associations of the Balearic Islands.
Angus Murray
“Our vision is to demonstrate that luxury hospitality and environmental stewardship can seamlessly co-exist,” said Francisco Vila, chief executive of Arabella Hospitality España. “Every sustainability measure we introduce delivers a direct, tangible benefit to our guests, whether that is playing on tournament-quality turf nurtured by 100 per cent reclaimed water, or enjoying zero-kilometre gastronomy grown using our own circular organic compost.”
Arabella Golf Resort Mallorca comprises the Son Muntaner, Son Vida and Son Quint courses, plus the Palma Pitch & Putt, alongside the Castillo Hotel Son Vida and Sheraton Mallorca Arabella Golf Hotel.
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