Great green getaways!
Long, mid or short-haul – pamper yourself at one of these hip eco-hotels
THE SCARLET, CORNWALL
Want mod cons and a clear
conscience close to home? Then head to The Scarlet, a soon-to-open hotel and
a real eco-treat in Mawgan Porth. Perched on a cliff top, its 37 ultra-luxe
bedrooms (from the 'just right' with walk-in showers to 'indulgent' with
masses of private outdoor space) all boast stunning sea views. In the
on-site restaurant, guests can enjoy a three-course meal cooked by
Michelin-starred chef Ben Tunnicliffe for a bargainous £40. Behind the
scenes, solar panels and biomass boilers do their bit for the planet, while
guests can do theirs by making use of the chemical-free pool, a lantern-lit
tented spa and an outside log-fired hot tub (pictured above).
PLANET-SAVING
POINTS: 8/10
TELL ME MORE: Opening in September, B&B
at the Scarlet (Scarlethotel.co.uk) costs from £90 per person
JETWING VIL UYANA, SRI LANKA
Sri
Lanka's a biodiversity hot spot aiming to be carbon neutral by 2018. And way
ahead of its time is this 25-room eco-retreat perched in a private nature
reserve, where part of the land is given over to regrowing paddy fields and
reforesting trees. You'll stay in a chic hut with a king-size bed and plunge
pool. Wooden walkways, nature tours and a spa make it both sustainable and
sumptuous.
PLANET-SAVING POINTS: 7/10
TELL ME
MORE: Prices start from £419 per person with SriLankan Airlines
(Srilankan.aero) who have a green policy. B&B at the Jetwing Vil Uyana
costs from £120 for two per night (Jetwing.com).
THE
MUJIB VALLEY, JORDAN
If you want to do eco-warrior in style,
head to the lowest-altitude nature reserve on earth - 410m below sea level -
on the Dead Sea. The 15 chalets have air-con and the nearby showers and
toilets always have solar-powered hot water. Float in the Dead Sea, or hike
one of the five local trails - some of which you reach in the reserve's
solar-powered boat.
PLANET-SAVING POINTS: 7/10
TELL
ME MORE: Royal Jordanian (Rj.com) flies from London Heathrow to Amman -
return prices start from £818. Entry to the reserve costs around 85p, with
chalets around £56 per night, B&B. See Rscn.org.jo.
HOOPOE YURT HOTEL, SPAIN
Here's a fun place for adults only -
no kids allowed, hurrah! These five colourful yurts (a circular tent covered
in felt) sit on a wooded hillside with mountain and valley views.
Eco-measures include a separate shower and composted toilet hut for each
yurt, solar power and organic food flavoured with herbs grown in the garden.
The yurts' owners can organise massages and yoga, and there are beautiful
surrounding walks.
PLANET-SAVING POINTS: 9/10
TELL
ME MORE: Jerez airport is the nearest, although several are within a
two-hour drive. Ryanair (Ryanair.com) flies to Jerez from Stansted from £56
return. A yurt sleeping two costs from £130 a night, including breakfast.
Book online at I-escape.com/the hoopoeyurthotel.php.
COTTAGE LODGE, NEW FOREST
The 16th-century Cottage Lodge is
five minutes' walk from Brockenhurst railway station - and those travelling
by train get free tea and cake on arrival as a reward for using public
transport! You can explore the stunning forest on foot or horseback, by bike
or the New Forest Tour Bus (Thenewforesttour.info), a hop-on/hop-off link
between villages and towns. The cottage's eco-credentials include recycling
waste, using environmentally friendly cleaning products and low-energy light
bulbs and serving up locally sourced food for breakfast.
PLANET-SAVING
POINTS: 8/10
TELL ME MORE: Rooms cost from £60 per night on a
bed and breakfast basis. Visit Cottagelodge.co.uk or call 01590 622296. For
more information on the New Forest, see Thenewforest.co.uk.
TITANIC SPA, YORKSHIRE
The UK's first eco spa is housed in an
old textile mill in Huddersfield, which has been converted into a slick
modern retreat with luxury apartments. Powered by rooftop solar panels, all
the water comes from a local spring via the spa's own bore hole. The
apartments have recycling facilities and all the laundry is washed in a
special system that uses less heat and water. Treatments range from massages
to facials and use Decléor products, which all come in recycled packaging.
PLANET-SAVING
POINTS: 9/10
TELL ME MORE: A day pass costs £65 and
includes lunch and use of all the spa's amenities. For more information on
treatments visit Titanicspa.com.
ALEDIA DA PEDRALVA, COSTA VICENTINA, PORTUGAL
Presenting a
whole village-worth of eco-goodness! Aldeia da Pedralva, near Vila do Bispo
on the Algarve's secret west coast, had only nine inhabitants left. Now, it
has been transformed into a tourism project and 32 traditional houses have
been turned into delightful self-catering holiday homes with fully equipped
kitchen, living room and bathroom, plus a restaurant and shops, providing
jobs for locals. What's more, the schoolhouse has a new lease of life as a
learning centre, where visitors can pick up skills such as photography.
Surfing, cycling, trekking and jeep safaris are available nearby.
PLANET-SAVING
POINTS: 9/10
TELL ME MORE: From 85 euros (approx. £72)
per night for two sharing a one-bedroom casita (house) with twin beds. Two
and three bedroom houses also available. Visit aldeiadapedralva.com, or
email surfhotels@vodafone.pt or call +351 918 780 198. Monarch flies to
Faro, a 90-minute drive away, from Birmingham, Gatwick, Luton and
Manchester, from £85.99 return, monarch.co.uk. For more info,
visitalgarve.pt.
SANDELE BAY ECO RETREAT, GAMBIA
Sandele
Bay Eco Retreat was built by a British couple and the local community of
Kartong using local craftsmen and materials. The six suites, with fans and
composting toilets, are about 100m from the beach. There's no swimming pool,
but there are three plunge pools, and the restaurant uses fresh, local
produce whenever possible. Eco-activities on offer including bird-watching,
bush walks and village visits see local artisans at work.
PLANET-SAVING
POINTS: 7/10
TELL ME MORE: A seven-night winter-sun
holiday costs from £1,095pp, and that includes full board, flights from
Gatwick and transfers. Call The Gambia Experience on 0845 330 2087,
www.gambia.co.uk.
THE RESURGENCE, NELSON REGION, SOUTH ISLAND, NEW ZEALAND
No
smokers and no children under 18 are allowed to pollute the air at this
back-to-nature, 5-star eco-lodge in New Zealand's beautiful Abel Tasman
National Park (top of the South Island). The multi-environmental
award-winner, in 50 acres of wilderness, practises everything from recycling
to composting, using eco-friendly cleaning products and local suppliers to
keep their carbon footprint light. And to offset your long flight over, they
even plant a CO2-absorbing native tree for every couple who stay. There's a
range of accommodation, pool, spa, massages and 3km of bush walks, too.
PLANET-SAVING
POINTS: 9/10
TELL ME MORE: From 445 New Zealand dollars
(approx. £171) per couple, per night, minimum two-night stay,
www.resurgence.co.nz. Air New Zealand flies to Auckland from London 12 times
a week via Hong Kong or Los Angeles, and flies to 27 towns and cities around
New Zealand. International fares start from £1,021, but check out
www.airnewzealand.co.uk for special offers or call 0800 028 4149. More info:
www.newzealand.com.
SONEVA FUSHI, KUNFUNADHOO, MALDIVES
Who
says you can't be eco-friendly and lap up some luxury? Pay for two weeks at
Six Senses' five-star Soneva Fushi (www.sixsenses.com/soneva-fushi) on the
otherwise uninhabited island of Kunfunadhoo and you get another two weeks
FREE - all you have to do is spend four days doing community projects, such
as teaching at local schools, hospital volunteer work or working on local
farms, while you're out there. The resort has 65 rooms and villas, loads of
white sand, an organic food restaurant and lots of eco measures, including a
carbon offset levy on each guest of 2 per cent of the room rate.
PLANET-SAVING
POINTS: 9/10
TELL ME MORE: 28-night Eco Season packages,
from £4,075pp, are on offer between now and 22nd December 2009 but must be
booked three months in advance to arrange the community work. The price is
room only but includes flights and transfers. Call Bailey Robinson on 01488
689 700, www.baileyrobinson.com.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING: WENDY GOMERSALL, SUSAN RILEY PHOTOGRAPHY: CORBIS PRICES BASED ON OCTOBER 2009 TRAVEL. PRICES CORRECT AT TIME OF GOING TO PRESS
This article has 1 comment
We saw an interesting article in your mag about unusual places to stay in the uk. It was about cabins called akorns in the lakes. We are wanting to book some time in one and cannot find website. Please could you help us out?? I think the mag was either in june/july. The article showed other places to stay in inc. gypsy caravans,yurts in wales etc.
By louise hill. Posted August 10 2009 at 6:59 PM.