Six Senses to manage world's first energy-positive hotel

The move also marks a brand debut in Scandinavia for Six Senses as it plans the opening of what’s tipped as being a world first, setting a new standard in carbon-neutral hospitality development.

Operating completely off-grid, Six Senses Svart will open in 2024 at the foot of the Svartisen glacier in northern Norway, just within the Arctic Circle.

The 94-room hotel is built on poles above the waters of the Holandsfjorden, a move aimed at ensuring minimal land impact and seabed disruption.

“Sustainable properties call for extraordinary creativity, and Six Senses Svart takes us to a whole new level in terms of pushing boundaries,” said Neil Jacobs, chief executive of Six Senses.

“The project will provide a futuristic showcase for what can be achieved in terms of sustainability and energy solutions, and therefore a blueprint within our hospitality industry and the development sector in general.”


“Building a unique environment through cutting-edge design and superior craftsmanship comes with clear obligations. Creating a sustainable destination through an optimised resort operation requires us to collaborate with the right partner,” added Ivaylo Lefterov, Svart’s development director.

“Six Senses shares the same ethos and ambition, to redefine bespoke travel through technological innovation, carbon-neutral approach, ground-breaking design, and an exceptional guest journey.”


Six Senses Svart will harvest enough solar energy to go back into the system, covering the hotel, adjacent operations, boat shuttle, and the energy needed to construct the building – rendering it independent from the power grid.

It will have its own waste and water management and recycling systems and will work with existing sustainable fishing and farming operations and engage local like-minded suppliers for the restaurants and bars.


“To enhance the vision of Svart, we have established a Net Zero Lab, a vehicle for developing and taking to market the technology created by us in a joint effort with Six Senses in order to reach the common goal for net-zero travel,” said Jan-Gunnar Mathisen, CEO of the project’s owner and developer.

“This means the guest journey will have zero environmental impact from start to end. The mission is to achieve common ground for all stakeholders pushing the technology to the next level to benefit the resort and the industry at large,” he added.

The brand’s key pillars such as Eat With Six Senses, Sleep With Six Senses and Grow With Six Senses will all be in place too and Six Senses Svart will have an Experience Center.

The Alchemy Bar will highlight regional healing techniques, while the Earth Lab will serve as the sustainability outreach space, showcasing “lifecycle living” initiatives on and off the property.

The hotel will also feature Marketplace, a zero-waste dining venue, where the lines between food storage, preparation and dining are “blurred to create an inviting and active environment”.

Six Senses will filter and bottle its own drinking water in plastic-free bottles and the hotel will also take the brand’s “wellness DNA” a step further using the Svart Touch concept to “adapt the room to the guest’s state of mind and health”.


There will also be a Svart Design Lab, acting as an “incubator for innovation and education”, so guests can also understand how new technologies can bring the sector closer to carbon neutrality.