When we speak, it’s an October morning in New York. “It’s a beautiful day, blue skies. I love when the leaves change. I would get so cranky working in California in the fall and missing the turning of the leaves,” says Sarandon, who is well known for her activism on a range of causes including environmental protection. Born in New York on October 4, she says she associates the East Coast’s dramatic autumn foliage with “rebirth”.

“No matter what’s happening, nature keeps trucking along,” she says in her unmistakable husky voice. “Unless we mess it up so badly that it stops.”

Recently, Sarandon was made a global ambassador for Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, which she praises for its sustainability efforts, citing Fairmont Maldives for its coral reef conservation programme, although her favourite Fairmont property, of course, is The Plaza in New York.

“What I like about these iconic hotels that have been around forever is that they’re now addressing their conservation efforts,” she says. “It’s easy for new hotels to see what the neighbourhood is doing. But it’s harder, when you have these magnificent old hotels, to find a way to do that.”

There are two things the 75-year-old actress considers when choosing hotels: sustainability and impact on the community. “How [a hotel] treats their workers and the community that surrounds the hotel are really important,” she says. “You want to make sure that you’re a welcomed presence.”

Susan Sarandon's Travel Picks 

Best place for food?

Italy. Pretty much everywhere you eat in Italy is good except the Vatican. I went there once for a conference on refugees, and the food was pretty disappointing. 

Favourite trip to Asia?

I went on an Indonesian sailing ship called Silolona through the Ring of Fire, which was just extraordinary. It was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of trip that I took with a few friends. I slept on deck, watched the sunrise and sunset, and went snorkelling with whale sharks.

Travel must-haves

A sleeping aid of some sort. I’m terrible with jetlag. Other than that, a moisturiser, sunblock, a good book and pictures of my kids.

Most underrated destination?

Portugal. It was very relaxed and the food was great. They also have something called fado, a style of singing that happens spontaneously and emotionally in restaurants or cafés. It’s specific to Portugal; that was quite something.