2024 Editor's Choice Eco-friendly Hotels
Editor’s Choice Eco-Friendly Hotels
The Scarlet - 'Slow Scarlet' Special Offer
Mawgan Porth
A spa with a difference, the Scarlet relies on natural weeds and algae to cleanse the outdoor pool, its roofs are lined with sea thrift to encourage native plants and insects, and electricity is sourced entirely from renewables. The boiler is biomass, and solar panels help to provide energy.
The Torridon
TORRIDON
Biomass energy for this hotel is sourced from sustainable local timber, chipped on-site. There is a bore hole for water. Single-use plastics have been eliminated, and food waste from the restaurant is composted or used as animal feed on Torridon Farm.
Hart’s Hotel
Nottingham
Sustainability drives this hotel, from the design of the building, with its thick insulated walls and thermal rendering to reduce carbon emissions, to its low-energy light bulbs. Nearly everything is recycled, toiletry containers are refillable, and housekeeping uses environmentally friendly cleaning products.
Currarevagh House
Oughterard
This 180-acre Galway estate proudly guards its status as a wildlife and environmental sanctuary (it is a European Special Area of Conservation). Populations of threatened species include Atlantic wild salmon, lamprey, hen harriers and golden plover. Food is carefully sourced from local suppliers that share the owners’ values.
Pale Hall
Bala
Well ahead of the environmental game, this grand country-house hotel has a completely carbon-neutral source of electricity, produced by its own hydro-electric generating plant. There is free EV charging, and the restaurant has a green Michelin star for its sustainable practices.
Thyme
Southrop
This Cotswold manor house and farm was restored with sustainability in mind. In additional to careful insulation, the property is heated by ground-source heat pumps and wood-chip boilers. The spring-water swimming pool uses a chlorine-free filtration system, and food is home-grown and responsibly sourced.
2023 Editor's Choice Eco-friendly Hotels
Editor’s Choice Eco-Friendly Hotels
The Scarlet - 'Slow Scarlet' Special Offer
Mawgan Porth
They don’t come much greener than The Scarlet, a cliff-top, adults-only hotel in harmony with its marine environment. There’s the chemical-free outdoor pool, the solar-heated spa pool, an EV-charging service, the sea-thrift roof… Forget single-use plastic sachets, just ring if you want tea or coffee, and take your locally made soaps home with you.
Hart’s Hotel
Nottingham
Green from the ground up, Tim and Stefa Hart’s city hotel was built with sustainability in mind. Designed to stay cool in summer and warm in winter, under a stainless-steel roof, it has floor-to-ceiling windows to make the most of the daylight. Plastics are out, food waste is minimal, toiletries are refillable, recycling is routine, and they sponsor a community garden.
Currarevagh House
Oughterard
Henry and Lucy Hodgson’s country house sits amid a classified wildlife and environmental sanctuary, home to hen harrier and golden plover, brook lamprey and sickle moss. Water comes from the well (it’s treated without chemicals), there is minimal waste, and the car that collects you from station or bus stop is hybrid electric.
Dorset House
Lyme Regis
Vegans are as well served as omnivores at Lyn and Jason Martin’s B&B in a Georgian house renovated with an eye to the environment. Eco-friendly touches include aerated shower heads, heating with smart controls, LED lights on timers, water in washable glass bottles, refillable toiletries, local sourcing, and a £5 discount if you arrive by public transport.
Thyme
Southrop
A love of nature and conservation informs everything at Caryn Hibbert’s manor house, farm and hotel. Restoration was achieved with the environment and future in mind. Initiatives include heat pumps and boreholes, sophisticated ventilation and insulation, a chlorine-free spring-water swimming pool, home-grown ingredients and as little waste as possible.
The Yan at Broadrayne
Ambleside
Old stone farm buildings have been repurposed as an eco-friendly, family-run contemporary hotel and bistro, where green initiatives include biomass and hydro schemes, EV charging and LED lighting. Eggs are from the ducks and hens, honey from the hives; produce is home-grown or locally sourced.
2023 Editor's Choice Eco-friendly Hotels
Editor’s Choice Eco-Friendly Hotels
The Scarlet - 'Slow Scarlet' Special Offer
Mawgan Porth
They don’t come much greener than The Scarlet, a cliff-top, adults-only hotel in harmony with its marine environment. There’s the chemical-free outdoor pool, the solar-heated spa pool, an EV-charging service, the sea-thrift roof… Forget single-use plastic sachets, just ring if you want tea or coffee, and take your locally made soaps home with you.
Hart’s Hotel
Nottingham
Green from the ground up, Tim and Stefa Hart’s city hotel was built with sustainability in mind. Designed to stay cool in summer and warm in winter, under a stainless-steel roof, it has floor-to-ceiling windows to make the most of the daylight. Plastics are out, food waste is minimal, toiletries are refillable, recycling is routine, and they sponsor a community garden.
Currarevagh House
Oughterard
Henry and Lucy Hodgson’s country house sits amid a classified wildlife and environmental sanctuary, home to hen harrier and golden plover, brook lamprey and sickle moss. Water comes from the well (it’s treated without chemicals), there is minimal waste, and the car that collects you from station or bus stop is hybrid electric.
Dorset House
Lyme Regis
Vegans are as well served as omnivores at Lyn and Jason Martin’s B&B in a Georgian house renovated with an eye to the environment. Eco-friendly touches include aerated shower heads, heating with smart controls, LED lights on timers, water in washable glass bottles, refillable toiletries, local sourcing, and a £5 discount if you arrive by public transport.
Thyme
Southrop
A love of nature and conservation informs everything at Caryn Hibbert’s manor house, farm and hotel. Restoration was achieved with the environment and future in mind. Initiatives include heat pumps and boreholes, sophisticated ventilation and insulation, a chlorine-free spring-water swimming pool, home-grown ingredients and as little waste as possible.
The Yan at Broadrayne
Ambleside
Old stone farm buildings have been repurposed as an eco-friendly, family-run contemporary hotel and bistro, where green initiatives include biomass and hydro schemes, EV charging and LED lighting. Eggs are from the ducks and hens, honey from the hives; produce is home-grown or locally sourced.
2022 Editor's Choice Eco-friendly Hotels
Editor’s Choice Eco-Friendly Hotels
The Scarlet - 'Slow Scarlet' Special Offer
Mawgan Porth
This eco-spa uses reeds and algae instead of chemicals to filter the water in the outdoor pool, and sea thrift to line the roofs, which sustains local insects. Heating is provided by biomass boiler and solar, and the plumbing recycles used ‘grey water’ from the showers to flush the loos.
Hart’s Hotel
Nottingham
This chic urban sister hotel to Hambleton Hall hopes to help Nottingham be the first UK city to achieve carbon-neutral status. The modern building was built with sustainability in mind to decrease the need for both heating and air conditioning. It operates a broad recycling policy and refills toiletry bottles.
Dorset House
Lyme Regis
Lyn and Jason Martin have used VOC-free paint in this B&B’s interiors, installed aerated shower heads to reduce water usage, and only use 100% British green energy suppliers, along with energy-efficient boilers. They operate a strict recycling policy and even polish the furniture with environmentally friendly wax.
Thyme
Southrop
This Cotswold hotel and cookery school, fashioned out of a cluster of stone buildings, was restored with sustainability in mind. Ground source heat pumps and wood-chip boilers conserve energy, and the swimming pool uses a chlorine-free filtration system. A no-waste policy in the kitchens ensures efficient composting.
2021 Editor's Choice Eco-friendly Hotels
Editor’s Choice Eco-Friendly Hotels
The Traddock
Austwick
The gorgeous Yorkshire Dales setting of this creeper-clad hotel has inspired the Reynolds family to do everything they can to minimise its impact on the environment. That includes recycling, energy saving, woodland restoration and organic food.
Argyll Hotel
Iona
It may be in the Hebrides, but this hotel still aims to dry as much laundry as possible on the lines, after washing it with biodegradable products. Their goal is to protect the pristine island by cutting food miles and upgrading insulation.
The Old Rectory
Boscastle
Sally and Chris Searle live the real Good Life here. They grow fruit and veg, collect eggs and cure bacon. Waste goes to the wormery and old carpets become weed suppressants. They have solar panels and an electric car, too.
Y Goeden Eirin
Caernarfon
Alongside a warm Welsh welcome from Eluned Rowlands, guests at this B&B receive recycling instructions in bedrooms that are big on local slate and timber. There are solar panels and dimmer switches;
and electric cars can be charged onsite.
and electric cars can be charged onsite.
The Pierhouse
Port Appin
Towels aren’t tumble-dried at The Pierhouse: a pulley system is employed instead. Using everything from eco-friendly cleaning products to a septic tank for waste, this Lochside hotel has been awarded a gold award for Green tourism.
Whatley Manor
Easton Grey
You can tuck into Michelin-starred meals with a clear conscience at this eco-friendly hotel, which uses a company to turn food waste into fuel. Though with Niall Keating cooking, we doubt there will be much left on your plate.
Thyme
Southrop
Most of the food you eat at this country estate is farmed on site. What’s more, heating comes from a ground source heat pump and wood pellet boiler. Even the bin liners are paper and the hotel is looking to introduce wooden key cards.
2020 Editor's Choice Eco-friendly Hotels
Editor’s Choice Eco-Friendly Hotels
The Scarlet - 'Slow Scarlet' Special Offer
Mawgan Porth
Plaudits pour in from readers for this seaside hotel that impresses not just for its striking modern architecture and views, but also its commitment to rain- and grey-water harvesting, it's biomass boiler, and its roof constructed from local sea thrift - popular with insects and butterflies.
Kylesku Hotel
Kylesku
Fishing boats land on the slipway outside this remote Highlands hotel so 'it’s more about food metres than food miles', say owners Tanja Lister and Sonia Virechauveix. The lobster and crab on their menus are creel caught, scallops are hand dived. Wild venison comes from the surrounding hills.
Underleigh House
Hope
There are nest boxes in the garden, newts in the pond and buzzards flying overhead at Vivienne and Philip Taylor's Peak District B&B. Eco credentials are boosted by an electric car charging point, solar power and locally sourced breakfasts.
The Old Vicarage
Newtown
Take time to wander around the lovely wildlife pond in the garden of Helen and Tim Withers's former vicarage-turned-B&B. Salad leaves, herbs and vegetables are all home grown, and breakfast eggs are produced by their own hens. Guests arriving by electric car will find a charging point for their use.
Y Goeden Eirin
Caernarfon
Eluned Rowlands, your hostess at this welcoming B&B near Snowdonia, works hard to support the environment. You'll find solar panels, recycling instructions in your room and locally-sourced (and delicious) food at breakfast, some of it from Eluned's garden.
The Old Rectory Hotel
Martinhoe
The building might be ancient, but the LED lighting and thermal insulation at this Exmoor hotel are emphatically not. Owners Huw Rees and Sam Prosser go the extra mile: staff are trained in 'green thinking', there's minimal chemical use in housekeeping and grounds, and guests are encouraged to explore using public transport, hired bikes or good old Shanks's pony.
2019 Editor's Choice Eco-friendly Hotels
Editor’s Choice Eco-Friendly Hotels
The Scarlet - 'Slow Scarlet' Special Offer
Mawgan Porth
Guests glorying in the sea views at this adults-only hotel may be unaware that the prefabricated building has been positioned to make the most of the light and warmth of the sun, that the insulating sea-thrift roofing is a haven for butterflies, that sustainability governs every decision. No hospitality tray or in-room fridge? Too wasteful! Just ask and they’ll make you complimentary tea and snacks.
Battlesteads
Hexham
From a carbon-neutral heating and hot-water system, to home-grown fruit and vegetables from the polytunnels, from wormeries that turn food waste to compost, to locally sourced organic toiletries, eco-friendliness is a part of the ethos at this pub-hotel. And in this unspoilt part of Northumberland, free from light pollution, the dark-sky observatory is a revelation.
Argyll Hotel
Iona
With a Gold rating for green tourism, the owners of this small, informal hotel do all they can to ensure they are not a blot on their beautiful island landscape. They have upgraded insulation, use water flow meters and monitor energy usage. Visitors are encouraged to walk or to use public transport. Laundry products are biodegradable, and whenever possible the bedlinen is hung out to dry. There are bird feeders in the garden, home-grown organic produce for the table, with extensive use of local meat, fish and shellfish.
Underleigh House
Hope
The helpful owners of this friendly B&B clearly love where they live, sponsoring a corporate member of Friends of the Peak District. They take pride in sourcing local produce, and encourage guests to explore the area by bike or on foot (though there’s a charging points for electric vehicles). They have installed a photovoltaic solar system. The garden is a wildlife haven, with bird feeders, nesting boxes, and a pond for Mr Toad.
The Old Rectory Hotel
Martinhoe
From the insistence upon local, organic materials to the use of local staff and contractors, the owners of this Georgian rectory burnish their ethical credentials. Retro-fitted insulation, rainwater harvesting for the kitchen garden, walk-in showers to encourage water-saving, a heat-recovery dishwasher, light dimmers and motion sensors are just a few innovations. Everything possible is recycled. Vegetable waste is composted, while other food waste sets the sheepdogs’ tails wagging on a neighbouring farm.
Grove of Narberth
Narberth
Amid gardens and meadows this 18th-century mansion is as green a hotel as you could wish. A biomass boiler supplies heating and hot water. A tree plantation will provide a sustainable source of logs. There is spring water from boreholes, a water treatment plant and reed beds, havens for wildlife, charging points for electric cars – and waste is substantially composted.
The Pierhouse
Port Appin
There are blue seas and green values at this loch-side hotel, where cycling and walking are actively encouraged, and birds flock to the nesting boxes and feeders. Cleaning products are eco-friendly, a biodisc septic tank disposes of waste water and sewage, towels and bedlinen churn in energy-efficient washing machines, with a pulley system for drying, while everything that can be is recycled.
2018 Editor's Choice Eco-friendly Hotels
Editor’s Choice Eco-Friendly Hotels
The Traddock
Austwick
In a stone-built village ‘in the most beautiful part of the Yorkshire Dales’, this small country house hotel ‘has to be one of the best dog-friendly places in the UK’.
Cedar Manor
Windermere
Readers are effusive in their praise for this ‘truly outstanding’ hotel, in a Victorian villa close to Windermere, with luxurious bedrooms, thoughtful comforts and ‘first-class service’.
The Scarlet - 'Slow Scarlet' Special Offer
Mawgan Porth
Eco values as well as enjoyment are fundamental to this cliff-top hotel, with sea thrift-covered roof, sweeping curves, reed-filtered pool and walls of windows to soak up the light and the seascape.
Battlesteads
Hexham
Dee and Richard Slade’s ‘well-run’ hotel, restaurant and village pub stands out for its ‘laudable’ approach to sustainable tourism.
Argyll Hotel
Iona
Overlooking the sea towards Mull, in a 'fabulous location near the harbour', this hotel on the Hebridean island of Iona has a deserved reputation for its warm welcome, fresh and creative food, and restorative peace.
La Sablonnerie
Little Sark
La Sablonnerie is currently closed. Please contact the hotel to discuss future dates. A horse-drawn carriage conveys you over a dramatic, narrow isthmus 80 metres above the sea to this 17th-century farmhouse on a tiny island with no airstrip, no tarmac road, and no cars.
Underleigh House
Hope
With walks from the doorstep, views of Peak District hills, a peaceful garden, breakfast feasts and restful bedrooms, it’s no surprise that Underleigh wins so much praise.
Strattons
Swaffham
There is ‘an air of a chic curiosity shop’ about this singular hotel with café/deli, centred on a Palladian-style villa, up a narrow lane, where resident cats sun themselves on the front lawn. As the Guide went to press, Stratton’s announced it was being sold.
The Old Rectory Hotel
Martinhoe
In an isolated hamlet on the edge of Exmoor national park, where hog-backed cliffs tower above the Bristol Channel, this hotel, in a handsome rectory dating back to the 16th century, 'goes from strength to strength'.
The Pierhouse
Port Appin
On the shores of Loch Linnhe, with views to Lismore and the mountains of Moven, this former pier-master’s house is a lovely hotel with stylish bedrooms and a varied menu, long on fish, served in the sea-view dining room.
2017 Editor's Choice Eco-friendly Hotels
Editor’s Choice Eco-Friendly Hotels
The Scarlet - 'Slow Scarlet' Special Offer
Mawgan Porth
Eco values as well as enjoyment are fundamental to this cliff-top hotel, with sea thrift-covered roof, sweeping curves, reed-filtered pool and walls of windows to soak up the light and the seascape.
Battlesteads
Hexham
Dee and Richard Slade’s ‘well-run’ hotel, restaurant and village pub stands out for its ‘laudable’ approach to sustainable tourism.
Argyll Hotel
Iona
Overlooking the sea towards Mull, in a 'fabulous location near the harbour', this hotel on the Hebridean island of Iona has a deserved reputation for its warm welcome, fresh and creative food, and restorative peace.
The Old Rectory
Boscastle
With romantic Thomas Hardy associations, this Victorian rectory is run today as a B&B with traditional bedrooms, original features, lovingly tended garden, and home-grown produce at breakfast.
Underleigh House
Hope
With walks from the doorstep, views of Peak District hills, a peaceful garden, breakfast feasts and restful bedrooms, it’s no surprise that Underleigh wins so much praise.
The Old Vicarage
Newtown
In the rolling mid-Wales countryside, this Victorian red-brick vicarage is a welcoming base from which to explore a ‘wonderful but little-visited part of the world’. The bedrooms are pleasingly styled, with contemporary fabrics and furnishings. Evening meals can be taken (Tues-Sat) at The Dolfor Inn.
Bingham Riverhouse
Richmond-upon-Thames
You can paddleboard on the river, stroll to see the deer in Richmond Park, and feel a world away from central London at this smart, multifaceted Thames-side hotel.
Hotels chosen in 2016
Editor’s Choice Eco-Friendly Hotels
The Green Park
Pitlochry
Traditional as Burns Night and bannocks, the McMenemie family’s Victorian country house hotel stands in lawned gardens sweeping down to the shores of Loch Faskally.
Y Goeden Eirin
Caernarfon
Kindly hostess Eluned Rowlands welcomes guests to her B&B – a stylishly renovated granite cowshed on the edge of Snowdonia –with tea and Welsh cakes, supplies bedrooms with fresh fruit and sherry, and serves a good Aga-cooked breakfast.
Augill Castle
Kirkby Stephen
With its towers and battlements this Victorian-folly castle, in 15 acres of grounds, looks imposing yet 'you actually feel like it is your castle'.
Having a wonderful holiday and taking care of the environment while you do it do not have to be mutually exclusive. Equally, you don’t need a big hotel group to be environmentally friendly as a hotel. Increasingly, the UK’s hotels, bed and breakfasts and restaurants-with-rooms are going to great lengths to make sure they are being as sustainable as possible.
Choose from an ultra-chic boutique hotel in a former Victorian warehouse in Clerkenwell with newly built areas created with timber from sustainable sources and ambitious recycling pledges, to an award-winning adult-only spa hotel, perched on the Cornish coast where they harvest rainwater, have a biomass boiler and its roof incorporates sustainable design, constructed from local sea thrift making it supremely popular with insects and butterflies. Or maybe you will enjoy the country house hotel vibe with solar thermal water heating and Solar PV for electricity and a a Green Tourism gold award for their efforts.
A retreat on Exmoor where they compost vegetable waste and harvest rainwater for use in the kitchen garden, a 17th century coaching inn serving seafood caught moments from the front door are just some of the eco-friendly experiences that are available. Nest boxes in the gardens, solar panels, home grown produce, wildlife ponds, electric charge points, recycling and an acute awareness of food miles are a few of the initiatives that hotels are bringing into their daily operations to make them increasingly green.