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Six of the best eco-hotels
Solar-powered luxury in Mauritius and a hotel in Portugal that's clad in cork.
This beautiful resort is "set beneath swaying palms on the west coast near to lively Grand Baie and Port Louis... on one of the island's best beaches", says The Times. "While the hotel features all the usual Mauritian highlights large rooms, great views and lush gardens the added eco touches set this hotel apart.Forget that your plane has guzzled fossil fuels to get here and instead celebrate how the resort recycles water, uses solar power for its heating and has its own desalination plant to eke out Mauritius's precious drinking water."
"Located off the coast of exquisite Borneo, Gayana Eco Resort rests at the edges of a lush jungle forest on a coral reef island," says Stylist. There are52 "seriously luxurious overwatervillas, all with views of beautifulMt Kinabalu on the horizon".
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The resort is focused on marine conservation and "aims to protect and regenerate" the surrounding area. There is an on-site Marine Ecology Research Centre, where staff "restore natural coral reefs and hand-rear the endangered giant clam". There is also an ethical fish farm that supplies the hotel restaurant.
This boutique Soho hotel is super stylish and modern with 86 rooms. "Each has high ceilings and stunning full-length windows". It was built with sustainable materials and uses energy-efficient technology, says Stylist.
"There's a vegetable garden on the roof of the hotel which provides food for the restaurant and guests are offered bikes to make use of while in New York to go towards helping reduce car usage."
Screw-top wine bottles may make life easier, but spare a thought for the cork growers. Portugal traditionally provided cork for wine bottles around the world, but now it is having to find alternative uses for its forests of cork oak. Enter Ecorkhotel.
"This pioneering new eco hotel on the outskirts of Evora is clad entirely in cork, which is great for insulation, and heated by solarand geothermal energy," saysJoanne O'Connor in The Guardian. There is also a pool, spa and restaurant serving traditional Portuguese cuisine.
Double rooms cost from £100 per night, Ecorkhotel.com; 00 351 266 738 500.
The Scarlet Hotel, Cornwall
Keep the travelling to a minimum with a stay at an eco-hotel in the UK. The Scarlet is a delightful spa hotel set on a cliff top with beautiful views of the Cornish coastline. The 37-bedroom hotel "is built to the highest eco standards, using grey water to flush toilets, harvesting rain water and installing state-of-the-art insulation, eco-toiletry products and even a chemical-free reed filtered pool", says Stylist.
The award-winning restaurant "serves up seriously delicious locally sourced and home-grown produce and only offers locally made beer, cider and cocktails".
The Albergo Diffusoin the Apennines won travel agent Mr & Mrs Smith's Eco Award last year. Indeed, it's "more than a hotel; it's a whole new accommodation concept built around restoration and sustainability," says The Independent."Spread around the buildings of what was an abandoned villagethe project hasn't just created a unique place to stay, it's reinvigorated an entire mountain village that would otherwise have been lost to history."
Prices start from £83 per night, www.sextantio.it; 00 39 0862 899112.
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Ruth Jackson-Kirby is a freelance personal finance journalist with 17 years’ experience, writing about everything from savings accounts and credit cards to pensions, property and pet insurance.
