Born in Suffolk, Portia tested the waters before committing to Cartagena, living in Scotland, Japan, France and Monaco. Here, perhaps because of the natural connection to her mother's Afro-Caribbean heritage, she has made her home.
Acutely aware of the difference opportunity makes, she has dedicated the last decade to creating businesses which provide ladders for development and shelters from discrimination.
Blue Apple Beach became the first island resort in the world to certify as a B Corp, and Cartagena's first island hotel to be included in the Michelin Hotel Guide. Her non-profit Fundación Green Apple is the only glass recycling facility in Cartagena, and the collaborative initiative Nuestra Cartagena, we have been told, is the first of its kind in the world.
As well as operating the brands within Hart Hospitality, Portia is a regular, and passionate, speaker on how to profitably put sustainability into practice. She has been a member of faculty at MAD Academy in Copenhagen since 2023, and hosts her own stage at Open House at PURE in Marrakech. She was named by Condé Nast Traveller as one of the people changing the future of travel.
March 2024
Portia Hart on the Caribbean coast of Colombia
Georgina Godwin heads to the Caribbean coast of Colombia to meet Portia Hart, founder of Blue Apple Beach, a boutique hotel and beach club on the island of Tierra Bomba. Hart discusses her regenerative approach to sustainability and explains how aligning best practice in hospitality with environmental and social responsibility is the right thing to do for both business and planet.
April 2023
Enjoy Guilt Free Beach Life In The Colombian Sun
To continue our celebration of our planet Earth this month, Portia humbly and humorously shares her story of creativity through resource sustainability and community belonging, in building her boutique hotels, beach clubs, bars and a not-for-profit foundation, all rooted in the culture of Cartagena.
March 2023
Colombia: A Breath Of Fresh Air
Portia, our second pilgrim, is making a habit of breaking the hotelier mode in Cartagena whilst at the same time taking time out to launch her own foundation. Is the Blue Apple hotel a good place for a party? Well at least one 96 year old thought. Join me in this fascinating conversation with a role model who is cutting her own path in the world of tourism.
