Mondi Lodge is an eco-friendly tropical resort located in Bándabou where guests wake up every morning in a colorful palapa to the beautiful sounds of singing birds. Our big, tropical garden is filled with beautiful flowers and local fauna such as iguanas, (tree) lizards, hummingbirds, parakeets, and land crabs. The initial idea for the Mondi Lodge was conceived by the parents of the resort’s owner and founder, Danita de Haseth. They had been wanting to run a bed and breakfast their whole lives but never had the means. When they heard about Danita wanting to move back to Curaçao from the Netherlands, they offered her and her ex-husband a job to set up a new ecolodge. A few months later they took a family trip to Rome, where they discussed the details and after many (solo and group) brainstorming sessions, we started building the lodge and the rest is history. We chose to start this business in Curaçao mainly because we already had the property. Mondi Lodge is situated on family grounds, Danita’s grandparents built their home here many years ago. She grew up here, so the area is very special to her. And her happiness in running the resort infects all of us who work there. The feeling that we are operating a sustainable business, making people happy on a daily basis and the positive feedback we get from guests also keep us highly motivated. And, of course, another source of motivation for us is the recognition we have received for our business model, which includes winning the Gladys van Dal McKenzie award for running a sustainable business. Moreover, our previous guests keeping in touch with us, sometimes even after many years, are also highlights that we treasure in our work. Our plans for the future include being certified as an official ecolodge by the Rainforest Alliance, creating an edible garden, switching to green energy, and giving back to the community in different forms. We also look to make our company even greener, invest more in art and come up with creative solutions to involve the customers in doing some charity work on the island.
