Green Issue Highlights Sustainable Hotels

ISSUE NO. 28 - 2016A HOTELIER’S BIMONTHLY INSPIRATION - THE GREEN ISSUE
Great
Britain

7
VOICE WITH THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
CONCIERGE A HOTELIER’S HELP DESK
PUBLIC REPORT STR GLOBAL
Q & A GREEN GOALS
Talking with NH Hotels’ Monica Chao, Environment and
Sustainability Corporate Manager.
THE BEST:
Landscape–Conscious Hotels
Desert Resorts
Garden Suites
PROFILES:
ONE WORLD
Barry Sternlicht’s 1 Hotels Group is a brand on a mission.
COSTA RICA’S LAPAS RIOS ECO-LODGE
Sustainability starts with community.
SWITZERLAND’S ROCKRESORT
The heights of green living.
SPAIN’S MAS SALAGROS
Creating a family-friendly green hotel.
DENMARK’S GREEN SOLUTION HOUSE
Fifty shades of green at this experimental conference centre
and hotel.
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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS:
BOYD FARROW, SUZANNE WALES, ETHAN GELBER
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INSIDE
ISSUE NO.28 THE GREEN ISSUE - 2016
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Take for example Denmark’s Green House Solution,
featured in this issue. Its construction and operations are truly
pioneering, making the hotel feel a bit like a mere excuse for a
cutting-edge sustainability experiment, not that we’re complaining.
Starwood Hotels’ new brand, 1 Hotels (also featured this issue),
is a more mainstream approach to green hospitality, although
it too is breaking moulds and challenging traditional business
models. The people behind both projects claim that they hope to
be imitated and thus make a far-reaching impact on the industry.
We’ll be doing our part too, anxiously following the
changes in our industry and, hopefully, inspiring our readers with
ideas worth imitating.
Over the years, Hotelier International has covered
many eco-friendly hotels and innovative sustainability
approaches, both in our annual Green Issue and in other
articles. In putting together this year’s edition, I was struck
by how much our coverage of these issues has changed.
Not long ago, a door tag asking guests to hang towels
was the only visible commitment to conservation in many
hotels, and several of our articles addressed the issue of
‘how to go green without turning off guests.’
Now, of course, there’s not a serious hotel group out
there without a loudly touted sustainability plan and goals of
reducing its carbon footprint. The hotel industry still has a long,
long way to go to reach true sustainability, but our expectations
are certainly more exacting than they’ve ever been before.
S I N C E R E LY,
SARAH ANDREWS — EDITOR-IN-CHIEF —sarah.andrews@intmediagroup.co.uk
THE VOICE

14 15
CONCIERGE CONCIERGE
ISSUE NO.28 2016 A HOTELIER’S HELP DESK
CONCIERGE
CLEAN
AND GREENBY BOYD FARROW
BATHROOM AMENITIES
GET A THOROUGH
GREENWASHING
As millennials expect hotels to have
some sustainability element built into every
aspect of their hotels’ operations, hoteliers
have embraced the opportunities presented
by their amenities kits. Here, relatively cheap
luxury products can be offered to guests while
bio-degradable packaging and recyclable
cartons can subtly reinforce the hotel’s
philosophy. Indeed, some hotels are giving
so much attention to the list of ingredients
and free-from claims on bottles that guests
are now as likely to find parabens in the
ensuite as polonium in the restaurant.
One industry shift is away from
luxury perfume brands to “pure” or
“virtuous” brands in reassuringly humble or
medicinal packaging. The new green chain 1
Hotels says it tried more than 100 brands of
toiletries before deciding to create their own
natural, paraben-free brand. Another trend
is bigger, refillable amenities bottles. Some
of the hotels using regular-sized shampoo
and gel bottles include The Greenwich Hotel
in New York, the SLS Hotel Beverly Hills and
all Soho House hotels. Meanwhile, Starwood
Hotel and Resorts’ specialty brands, which
include Element and Four Points, recently
installed gel dispensers in every bathroom.
These can reduce waste by up to 70 percent
and also save staff the time that it costs to
replace amenities on a daily basis.
“A lot of research went into making
this decision and really the big question was,
are guests open to using a dispenser for their
bath products?” says Brian McGuinness,
Starwood branding chief. “Through trial, we
found that they’re very amenable to it.” Many
of the hotels that still like to give their guests
individual bottles, such as Travelodge, the
Ritz-Carlton, Hilton, Hyatt and Le Meridien
have joined the sustainable recycling scheme
Clean the World that repurposes soap for
hygiene packs sent to blighted parts of the
world.
- BF
DIRTY LITTLE
SECRET
XEROS’ POLYMER BEADS
ARE SLASHING THE WATER
COSTS OF A HIDDEN
RESOURCE GRABBER—
LAUNDRY
Led lights, check. Efficient
insulation, check. Local cuisine in the
restaurant, check. But in many hotels, there’s
a resource hog hiding in plain sight: laundry.
With laundry responsible for some 20% of
many hotels’ overall water consumption,
the washing machine should be an obvious
target of conservation efforts. Those crisp,
clean sheets and fluffy towels come at a cost
of millions of litres of water a year; in the
UK alone, the hospitality industry uses about
156 billion — yes, billion — litres of water
annually.
In comes Xeros, whose polymer
bead washing system promises to consume
80 percent less water and 50 percent
less energy and detergent than traditional
washing machines, far outperforming even
the most efficient aqueous methods. The
company has a strong presence in the US,
with seven of the 10 largest hotel groups
already using the system, says Global
President of Laundry, Jonathan Benjamin.
“The fit with hotels’ needs and
aspirations is very strong,” Benjamin says.
“Of course these lower water, energy and
detergent consumptions also translate
directly into reduced costs, which can make
a significant impact on the laundry bottom
line.”
Xeros’ polymer beads mix with a
small amount of detergent and water (as
little as 4 litres per kilo), and dirt from the
soiled items is then attracted and absorbed
by the beads.
The Hyatt Regency Reston was one
of the first hotels to adopt the system and
offers high praise: “Xeros has absolutely
delivered on the promises of savings
and superior performance,” says general
manager David Elsenman.
DINING IN
COMPETITION OVER LUXE
ROOM SERVICE OPTIONS
As many hotels narrow their room-
service options or do away with them
altogether, some higher-end properties are
going against the grain by stepping up their
in-room food and beverage options as a
point of differentiation.
Take the city of Chicago, where the
flurry of high-end hotels has made business
ultra-competitive. In-room dining options at
the 611-room JW Marriott include Japanese
bento boxes and a striped bass dish finished
in the room with a miso broth.
Across town at the new Thompson,
guests can have each dining course
brought separately to their room from the
hotel’s buzzy restaurant. Kimpton Hotels &
Restaurants, which InterContinental Hotels
Group acquired last year, also offers guests
room-service delivery from restaurants
adjacent their 60-plus hotels.
At the other end of the spectrum,
Chicago’s ACME Hotel Company has
pioneered a service called Knock & Drop
that lets guests order food and have it
delivered in a brown paper bag with a simple
knock at the door. No need to search for
money for gratuity. Hilton is now following
suit, rolling out an in-room delivery service
from Herb N’ Kitchen, its casual grab-
and-go lobby eatery. At the same time,
brands like Conrad and Four Seasons are
encouraging guests to order “no-signature”
room service via apps, while Aloft Hotels
has introduced an emoji-only room service
menu, enabling the terminally lazy to order
sugar rushes or hangover kits from their
smartphones. Many hotels are also replacing
minibars with fridges, encouraging guests to
purchase sandwiches and drinks in the hotel
to consume later. For a flat fee of $95, the
Fresh Fridge option at The Epiphany hotel
in Palo Alto offers seasonal produce from
Farmer’s Markets, plus house-made power
bars, seasonal house-made salads, local
trail mixes, yogurts and juices. - BF

16 17
CONCIERGE CONCIERGE
IF YOU CAN’T
BEAT THEM…
BOUTIQUE HOTELS JOIN
THE LISTINGS ON AIRBNB
AND SIMILAR SITES
Readers of the American business
magazine Fast Company were recently
shocked to discover that small boutique
hotels are advertising their properties
on Airbnb, the website for people to list,
find, and rent lodging in 190 countries.
Indeed, the article created quite a buzz in
cyberspace.
For independent hoteliers who
have just a few rooms to fill, using Airbnb
makes a lot of sense. Managers say they use
the platform similarly to the way they use
booking services like Expedia and Priceline,
which typically charge hotels a 10% to 25%
fee per reservation. Airbnb, by contrast,
charges hosts a 3% fee.
Many properties are in a grey area
where B&Bs blur with small hotels. Fast
Company highlighted The Box House Hotel
in North Greenpoint, Brooklyn, which offers
apartment-style suites, for example, and The
Riff in Manhattan, which recently converted
from hostel to hotel, and which lists one
private room in a “hipster hotel/hostel”.
Larger and less ambiguous
examples are easy to find simply by
searching for lodgings for a few people who
each require their own room. The Hotel du
POSTCARDS
FROM THE EDGE
OF YOUR NOSE
HOTELS USE VIRTUAL REALITY
TO INSPIRE REAL TRIPS
This year many of us will travel
around the world without leaving home as
augmented reality headsets are increasingly
used as part of hotels’ marketing campaigns.
Marriott was the first hotel brand
to step into the world of virtual reality
with #GetTeleported, its partnership with
experiential marketing agency Relevent
and Oscar-winning VFX studio Framestore.
Inside the “teleporter”—a phone-booth-like
glass structure—several curious people
got to wear an Oculus Rift virtual reality
headset and wireless headphones, while
simultaneously being subject to various
sensory elements such as heat, wind and
mist.
This type of “destination sampling”
has ramped up with Shangri-La Hotels
introducing Samsung Gear VR headsets to
all global sales offices. The hotel group has
produced immersive VR videos for more
than a quarter of its 94 hotels and resorts,
with plans to complete the set by mid 2016.
Example videos include seeing the views
from Beijing’s tallest building, Shangri-La’s
China World Summit Wing.
Steven Taylor, the company’s
marketing chief, said in a statement: “Not
only will Shangri-La’s immersive videos
provide travel experts a better understanding
of the Shangri-La product and experience,
but there are many creative applications”.
A travel planner, say, could virtually walk a
CEO through a function room prior to a big
product announcement.
Several hotels, such as “hub”, the
tech-driven brand from the UK’s Premier Inn
chain, are starting to use augmented reality
to enhance guest experience. Each hotel
room at “hub” includes a wall map of the
surrounding area. Travellers can point their
smartphone at it and view information about
local points of interest.
Other hotels are developing
capabilities into their apps that would enable
guests to “point their phones” and discover
the nearest tube station or what streets
looked like in different periods.
.
Collectionneur Arc de Triomphe is just one
Parisian four-star hotel advertising in this
way.
Many hotel analysts believe that a
whole slew of independent hotels will begin
testing the channel in 2016. Smaller chains
should soon follow and—“within 18 months”,
says Del Ross at Noctober Value Partner—
at least one major chain will be listing a
significant inventory on the site.
At the same time, many hotel
chains are spying other opportunities in the
accommodation website sector. Wyndham
Hotels has just taken a stake in Love Home
Swap, a sort of Match.com for vacationers.
This comes hot on the heels of Hyatt Hotels
Corp.’s $40m funding of Onefinestay, a
London-based competitor.
- BF
- BF

18 19
CONCIERGE CONCIERGE
ALL IS NOT LOSTBY SUZANNE WALES
THANKS TO SOCIAL MEDIA
AND ONLINE TOOLS, IT’S
EASIER THAN EVER TO
RECOVER LEFT-BEHIND
ITEMS
It’s a familiar scenario to hotel
guests the world over; something is forgotten
in their room, probably an item of clothing.
In vague hope of retrieving it, they call the
hotel and get bounced between reception
and housekeeping with no luck. Action is
repeated various times over next few days.
Guest gives up and satisfaction with hotel
takes a nosedive.
“When the guest has left something
behind, this is when customer service is put
to the test, says Paul Mercer. “Fail here and
you will never see that guest again.”
Mercer is president of I Left My Stuff,
one of a handful of new cloud-based system
providers that manage the traditionally time-
consuming lost and found process for both
hotel staff and guest.
The process is simple: the hotel
enters a found item on a web-based inventory.
The guest calls, the item is identified, and
through the same system the guest pays
for a courier to have the item returned. The
hotel prints the delivery sticker, the courier
is automatically notified, and the guest can
track his shipment in the usual manner.
Mercer claims that about 5 percent of guests
leave something behind, and dealing with it
in an affective and efficient manner has “a
huge affect on customer loyalty.”
Or, given the time and manpower,
you could deal with it imaginatively. This
was the case in Adare Manor in southwest
Ireland. When a toy bunny was recently
found, they posted pictures of him on their
social media. By the time he was collected by
his young owner the next day, he had been
photographed enjoying all of the hotels’ five
star amenities – including high tea and the
poolside – and the story had gone viral.
EATS, SHOOTS AND SLEEPS
ATHLETES BREAK IN TO THE HOSPITALITY
SECTOR WITH A GROWING NUMBER OF
SPORTS-THEMED HOTELS
The Portuguese hotel company Pestana Group recently
made headlines by partnering with the county’s most famous soccer
star, Cristiano Ronaldo, to open four hotels within two years under
the CR7 brand (7 is Ronaldo’s shirt number). The partners plan 400-
room hotels in downtown Lisbon, on Madrid’s Gran Via, near the
Funchal cruise port on the island of Madeira, and near New York’s
Time Square. They will be “boutique in style and will appeal to the
modern day, millennial traveler.”
The venture is only the latest in a wave of sports-inspired
hotels. In the US, the hospitality giant Omni is partnering with two
American teams, the Dallas Cowboys in San Francisco and the
Braves in Atlanta, on the construction of two vast hotels. Omni,
which has 60 hotels and resorts, believes these ventures will boost
its visibility beyond the regular customer base.
Last year Ronaldo’s former teammates Gary and Phil
Neville, Ryan Giggs and Nicky Butt opened Hotel Football next to
Manchester United’s Old Trafford ground. The former footballers
have since sold a 25 percent stake to Rowsley, a listed Singapore
real estate company, sparking talk of an international branded chain.
Last autumn Liverpool got its own football hotel, The
Shankly, named after legendary manager Bill Shankly. The 86
bedrooms have Xboxes and 50-inch TV screens aimed at guests
who want to play Football Manager. But both North-West England
rivals will be eclipsed in 2020, should Real Madrid successfully
integrate a massive hotel inside its proposed new €500m Santiago
Bernabeu stadium complex.
Of course it is not only football that can give a bounce to
the hospitality sector. Will Collier and Olly Kohn, two former players
at the English rugby team Harlequins, recently launched the Banger
Bar at the London Ace in trendy Shoreditch. - BF

20
ADVERT
21
CONCIERGECONCIERGE
20
CONCIERGE
CARBON
CHALLENGEBY ETHAN GELBER
HOTELS IN NYC PLEDGE
EMISSIONS CUTS
It’s uplifting to think that we might
have turned the corner on climate change. At
the end of last year, 195 nations adopted the
first-ever, universal, legally binding, global
climate deal. The so-called Paris Agreement
purportedly puts the world on track to
moderate global warming, although the
agreement will only enter into full force after
being ratified by 55 countries representing at
least 55% of global emissions.
One big question is how responsibly
the tourism industry will act. Skeptics are
legion and loud about seeing change from
the airlines. But what’s been happening with
hotels, another sector not necessarily known
for climate consciousness?
One glimmer of hope recently came
out of New York City in the form of the
mayor’s NYC Carbon Challenge for Hotels
(part of a larger Carbon Challenge aiming to
reduce citywide greenhouse gas emissions
to 80% below 2005 levels by 2050). At the
end of 2015, 17 leading hotels representing
more than 11,000 rooms committed to
making energy-efficiency investments in their
buildings. The goal: a reduction of 32,000
metric tons of emissions for an estimated
$25 million in energy cost savings.
Participating hotels include 1
Hotel Brooklyn Bridge, 1 Hotel Central
Park, Crowne Plaza Times Square, Dream
Downtown, Grand Hyatt New York, Hotel
Pennsylvania, Hudson Hotel, Loews
Regency Hotel, Lotte New York Palace,
The Pierre (a Taj Hotel), The Peninsula New
York, InterContinental New York Barclay,
InterContinental New York Times Square,
Roger Smith Hotel, Viceroy Hotel, Waldorf
Astoria New York and The Westin New York
at Times Square.
Though the initial number of
participants is small, the Hotel Association
of New York will continue to urge more of its
275 member hotels to get on board.

U.N. CLIMATE
CHANGE
CONFERENCE HELPS HOTELS
IN PARIS RECOVER
22 23

Following the tragic attacks in Paris
this past November, the city was in a
state of shock. A centre for art, fashion,
business and tourism, the City of Light
draws millions of visitors from all over
the world every year. International
support for Paris has been inspiring,
as the city continues on the road to
recovery.
For Paris’ hotel market, the effects of
the attacks were clear. Compared with
November 2014, occupancy dropped
to as low as 39 percent in the days
following the attack, and performance
numbers through December indicate
that it may take some time until the
market returns to normal.
However, only three weeks after the
attacks, Paris hosted an event that
showed the city may be down, but is
certainly not out.
UN Climate Change Conference
On Monday, 30 November the 2015
United Nations Climate Change
Conference started in Paris. The day
before the event kicked off, Sunday, 29
November, occupancy in Paris was up
24.9% compared with the same Sunday
in 2014, and up 22.0% for Monday 30
November compared with the same
Monday in 2014. The average daily
rate (ADR) for 29 November was 68.3%
higher than in 2014 and 71.5% higher
for 30 November. This combination
of occupancy and ADR performances
helped the city achieve increases in
revenue per available room (RevPAR)
above 100% for those two days, which
is a major accomplishment considering
what happened in Paris just a few
weeks before.
Because representatives from
countries around the world came
together in Paris to work towards
improving the environment, Paris’ hotel
market experienced a great bounce
back. Although it will take time for the
market to fully recover, this conference
proved that the effects of these attacks
are only temporary.
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30 31
Q&A GREEN GOALS Q&A GREEN GOALS
AN INTERVIEW BY: SUZANNE WALES
GREEN
GOALSTALKING WITH NH HOTELS’ MONICA CHAO,
ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY
CORPORATE MANAGER
Q&A
30 31

32 33
At NH Hotels, wine corks are
gathered for cladding walls and corporate
guests can track how much energy a meeting
or event consumes. But the group’s green
measures are more than skin deep. Since
2007, this quiet achiever has significantly cut
its energy and water consumption, resulting
in a carbon footprint drop of over 70%. For
a hotel group with nearly 400 hotels in 29
countries of Europa, America and Africa,
more than good intentions were required to
make such a striking change. Here, Monica
Chao, NH’s Environment and Sustainability
Corporate Manager, explains the importance
of a green action plan.
Hotelier International: How does one go
about making a sustainable hotel?
Monica Chao: The first thing you have to do
is set goals and make a concrete plan. At
NH, we are now on our second plan, using
the results from the first phase. We now have
a wider focus, which is more about the client
and how can we use sustainable actions to
make them feel more ‘at home.’
HI: What are the main achievements of NH’s
sustainability plan?
MC: We are currently making a huge
investment in renovating our hotels, and
these projects must adhere to a certain
sustainable criteria. This is not only about
construction, but also usability for the
disabled, our amenities, and the food we
serve. For example, we now help the client
experience local cuisine, and this opens up
the market for local suppliers.
HI: NH Hotels has a dedicated sustainable
department and budget, but what can a
small hotel do to become more ‘green’?
MC: The first thing is to gather data. Although
it sounds crazy there are many hotels out
there that don’t know how much energy or
water they consume and how this affects
operating costs. Once you have the data, you
can set clear goals and then make an action
plan that will reduce energy consumption.
These actions need not be complicated; they
are more about common sense than making
sweeping changes. We need to remember
that a hotel is not a factory that consumes
a ‘fixed’ amount of energy; it depends on
the occupation of the hotel and if there are
any events. You need to adjust your levels
of light, heating etc. according to this. When
you do, you will notice a substantial drop in
energy consumption.
HI: Many of these measures are not visible to
the client. How do you communicate to them
that you are committed to sustainability and
not just ‘green washing.’
MC: That’s a very difficult thing to do, because
the most important thing for them is comfort.
What you can do is give them the option, like
re-using towels, or something that benefits
them, like technology. For example, if you
put bicycles in the lobby, or charge stations
for electric cars, these are innovations that
scream ‘sustainability’ and also benefit the
client. Organic or gluten-free products at the
breakfast buffet will communicate your green
values. Curiously, it’s business travellers that
are more demanding of green measures than
those that travel for pleasure.
HI: Really? That almost seems contradictory.
MC: It’s an interesting time - private
companies are driving sustainability. We don’t
have a legal or governmental framework,
but we have international organisations and
lobbies that have a lot of clout, and they are
influencing large private corporations. This
is where the change is going to come from.
When an important client asks for certain
requisites, then we all jump.
HI: What about certifications such as Green
Seal? Do they attract like-minded guests?
MC: There are hundreds of certifications, and
at the end of the day they don’t mean much to
the client. But many tour operators demand
them, so they are important for capturing the
conference and event market.
HI: What about booking portals, should they
be adding green amenities to their search
criteria?
MC: I think the ‘Green Leaders’ initiative from
Trip Advisor is fantastic, and it has advanced
the cause a lot. It’s not a certification, but
you can put the badge on your web page.
It would be great if booking sites such as
Booking and Expedia included green data in
their search criteria too.
HI: Luxury is generally equated with

34 35
abundance. Can a luxury hotel be truly green?
MC: Luxury isn’t about consuming
irresponsibly, but it’s true that many luxury
hotel owners think they always need to leave
the lights on. Luxury hotels generally have
systems in place that eat up energy: large
kitchens, 24-hour service, large numbers of
staff etc. But that doesn’t mean they can’t
make these more efficient. It’s a little tacky
to ask guests to take the stairs, but you can
make changes.
HI: Your final piece of advice?
MC: Involve everybody that works in the
hotel in your sustainability plan. Becoming
green is a goal that every member of staff
is happy to take on and oftentimes will step
up and volunteer for. So once you have the
commitment, and give them the means,
motivation does the rest.
Author Bio: Suzanne Wales is an Australian
writer, consultant and media professional
based in Barcelona. Specialised in the
luxury travel and lifestyle sector, her writing
appears in publications like Wallpaper*,
Vogue, Concierge.com and The Australian
Newspaper. She is also the author of a
plethora of first-edition travel and design
books on Barcelona.
IT’S AN INTERESTING
TIME - PRIVATE
COMPANIES ARE DRIVING
SUSTAINABILITY.

36 37
THERE ARE MANY HOTELS OUT
THERE THAT DON’T KNOW HOW
MUCH ENERGY OR WATER THEY
CONSUME AND HOW THIS AFFECTS
OPERATING COSTS
Q & A GREEN GOALS Q & A GREEN GOALS

THE BEST LANDSCAPE – CONSCIOUS HOTELS
WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF A LUXURY RESORT? FOR SOME,
IT’S A HIGH RISE BY THE BEACH WITH ENDLESS INFINITY
POOLS AND A DIFFERENT RESTAURANT TO DINE IN DAILY. FOR
A GROWING NUMBER, IT MEANS A CABIN IN THE WOODS, FAR
AWAY FROM MADDING CROWDS AND THE CACOPHONY OF
MODERN LIFE. TRULY GREAT ARCHITECTURE WILL ALWAYS
TAKE REFERENCE FROM, AND BE HARMONIOUS WITH, ITS
SURROUNDINGS. WHEN LANDSCAPES ARE AS SPECTACULAR
AS THESE THE RESULT IS BREATHTAKING.
BY: SUZANNE WALES
THE BEST:
LANDSCAPE-
CONSCIOUS
HOTELS
4342

Over two hours north of Christchurch, and nestled between the Kaikoura Mountain Range
and the vast Southern Pacific Ocean, Hapuku Lodge & Tree Houses echo the isolation
and green sensibility that is tangible throughout New Zealand. The property consists of
four rooms in the main lodge, together with five luxury tree houses nesting 10 metres off
the ground above a canopy of native trees. Trees, and the preservation of them, is part of
Hapuku’s culture. For every guest night spent at the hotel, the owners plant one native tree
or shrub. This admirable effort not only helps the local bird population to flourish, but also
off-sets the carbon footprint of day to day operations, contributing to the hotel’s aim of
being carbon neutral. Hapuku’s green efforts are implemented in other ways as well. New
Zealand’s chilly temperatures are kept under control with the best insulation, double-glazing
and über-efficient fireplaces. All kitchen waste, including meat and protein, is composted,
and nearly everything on the restaurant’s menu is sourced locally, including the wine.
HAPUKU LODGE &
TREE HOUSES
KAIKOURA, NEW ZEALAND
www.hapukulodge.com
THE BEST LANDSCAPE – CONSCIOUS HOTELS THE BEST LANDSCAPE – CONSCIOUS HOTELS

This remarkable concept, only an hour from Porto, combines avant-garde architecture and
cutting edge technology in a romantic, outdoor setting, The Pedras Salgadas Park has been
popular for over a century for its thermal springs, boat lakes, gardens, and abundance
of redwood, cypress and beech trees. It took much longer for the destination to become
a stylish little eco resort carried out by Lisbon-based architect Luís Rebelo de Andrade,
together with Modular System, manufacturers of modular construction solutions. The project
consists of two accommodation models—small, pitched-roof ‘Eco Houses’ made of three
pre-fab modules, and two ‘Tree Snake Houses’, elongated tree houses that seem to glide
between the trees. In each case the structures sit on stilts, so as not to damage the soil, and
are covered in slate and native timbers so as best to integrate with the environment. Each
unit has a slightly different layout dictated by existing topography, yet all enjoy state-of-the-
art creature comforts governed by green principles.
PEDRAS SALGADAS SPA
AND NATURE PARK
BORNES DE AGUIAR, PORTUGAL
www.pedrassalgadaspark.com

Tasmania, Australia’s southernmost ‘island’ state, is one of the world’s last great
frontiers. To add to its heritage-listed forest scenery, it’s now garnering a reputation as a
top-class gourmet and cultural destination as well. It’s taken a while for the hotel scene
to come to terms with Tasmania’s newfound fame. The Saffire Freycinet resort, situated
on the remote Freycinet Peninsula, harnesses the natural beauty of its surroundings
with high design and award-winning architecture. The resort consists of 20 suites, all
with sweeping views of Great Oyster Bay and the Hazards Mountains – famous for their
distinctive pink hue. Tasmanian architect Robert Morris-Nunn took reference from the
Hazards’ gentle peaks for the main lodge’s undulating roof, while underneath the curved
structure is wrapped in low-reflective glass to ensure optimum views no matter the time
of day. The interior brims with the high-quality craftsmanship Tasmania is known for, with
an abundance of stone, leather and of course timber.
SAFFIRE FREYCINET
TASMANIA, AUSTRALIA
www.saffire-freycinet.com.au

It takes some effort to get to Treehotel. After arriving at Stockholm airport, you need to
fly a further 70 minutes northward to Luleå, capital of Sweden’s northernmost county.
In the neighboring village of Harads you will do your check-in at a quaint 1950s – style
B&B, then be led into the woods to the Treehotel, a collection of six avant-garde mini-
bungalows perched in the tree tops. Each one has a singular appearance; the geometric
Mirrorcube looks like a piece of modern sculpture, and the futuristic UFO tree house
seems suspended in mid-air. All are designed for utmost immersion in nature and solitude
and adhere to strict bio guidelines. Construction had scant effect on the surroundings,
while bathrooms have combustion toilets and only enough water to wash hands (showers
are taken in a separate unit). Guests can either have meals at the B&B or delivered to
their tree house, before a restful sleep and waking up with the birds.
TREEHOTEL
HARADS, SWEDISH LAPLAND
www.treehotel.se

53
DESERTS ARE THE STUFF OF MYTHS AND EPIC TALES. FOR
THE TRAVELLER, AFTER THE EFFORT OF GETTING THERE, THEY
HAVE GENERALLY MEANT CAMPING IT OUT UNDER A PINWHEEL
OF STARS, WHERE AMENITIES SUCH AS HOT SHOWERS
AND BUG-FREE BEDS HAVE BEEN FORSAKEN FOR THE
OPPORTUNITY TO GET CLOSE TO EXTREME NATURE. NOT SO
AT THESE DESERT RESORTS, WHERE THE ULTIMATE IN LUXURY
ACCOMMODATION IS PRESENTED IN THE MOST REMOTE
PLACES ON EARTH.
THE BEST:
DESERT
RESORTS
THE BEST DESERT RESORTS
To many people, the concept of a ‘luxury cave hotel’ maybe an oxymoron, but they
probably haven’t spent a night at Yunak Evleri, an upmarket hotel in Cappadocia. Yunak
Evleri is not the only ‘cave hotel’ in this region, which is famous for its abundance of
hoodoos (bulbous spires of rock) and ancient, otherworldly appearance. But others don’t
have the added value of a 19th-century Greek mansion, site of the reception, a restaurant
and a rooftop terrace with fabulous views over the stony landscape. The hotel’s 30 rooms
are situated in adjacent caves, each connected by a patio. From the exterior, it’s hard
to distinguish the hotel from the cliff face, though inside the rooms are resplendent in
Ottoman-era antiques and have been installed with a personal spa. Yet the Yunak Evleri’s
wow factor is definitely outside, particularly at dusk when the property twinkles with fairy
lights casting magical shadows.
YUNAK EVLERI
CAPPADOCIA, TURKEY
www.yunak.com

The Bardenas Reales are little-known but mind-blowingly spectacular badlands in
southern Navarra, Spain. The region’s eruptions of chalk and clay pinnacles, plateaus
and terraces make for an otherworldly geographical landscape. The Aire de Bardenas
hotel opened here seven years ago and still today remains thoroughly cutting edge. The
owners of Aire de Bardenas wished it to have as little impact as possible on its unique
surroundings. The project consists of a cluster of bungalows – single storey in order to
minimise visual ‘noise’ – set around a central courtyard. Inside the sparsely chic rooms,
large picture windows frame the surrounding landscape, allowing guests to enjoy the
lunar-esque view from all angles. All have little patios, where guests can soak up the
scenery from oversized, egg-shaped baths. Floors have been made of stone taken from
the desert itself, and an attractive windbreak around the hotel is built from wooden
crates used by local farmers. These folk also supply the hotel with organic produce,
including the cogollos (cos lettuce) that the region is famous for.
AIRE DE BARDENAS
TUDELA, SPAIN
airebardenas.com
THE BEST DESERT RESORTS THE BEST DESERT RESORTS

Only a 45-minute drive from Dubai, the Al Maha Desert Wildlife Reserve is the largest
– and one of the only – protected land areas in the UAE. It came into being in 1999 via
royal decree and through a major thrust from Emirates Airlines. A resort was part of the
programme, but one that, according to a strict brief, would eschew the strain of flashy
‘western’ architecture mushrooming in Gulf cities and instead embrace traditional Bedouin
culture, aesthetics and rapidly disappearing ‘desert architecture.’ Taking inspiration from
a typical caravansary, the Al Maha Desert Resort consists of 42 luxury tents distributed
amongst the dunes and clustered around the building. In keeping with Arabic custom,
this contains two majlis (male and female meeting rooms) along with an extensive library
and the restaurants and bars. Custom-made furniture, hand-carved walls, and more than
2,000 artefacts sourced from the immediate area create a luxury tale of 1001 nights and
also give a boost to local craftsmanship, one of the project’s main aims.
AL MAHA
DUBAI
www.al-maha.com

With average daily temperatures of 47° C and dunes stretching beyond the horizon,
the Empty Quarter – the world’s largest expanse of sandy desert – may not seem
the most obvious place for a luxury retreat. The Anantara Group blends five-star
amenities with the sprit of Lawrence of Arabia at the Qasar Al Sarab resort, where
guests have at their disposal a long menu of activities, from desert hunting to dry
sailing. Qasr Al Sarab has recently expanded with The Royal Pavilions: ten self
-contained villas set away from the main property. Here guests, who can be shuttled
in by helicopter from Dubai or Abu Dhabi airport, are treated to a falconry display
upon arrival, then a tête à tête with a chef to discuss bespoke culinary options
during their stay. Meals can be eaten in the villas of course, or guests can take a
ride to the main restaurant on a camel, led by their personal camel master.
QASR AL SARAB
UAE
qasralsarab.anantara.com
THE BEST DESERT RESORTSTHE BEST DESERT RESORTS

Fragile, bushfire-damaged terrain, sacred Aboriginal sites and the continued survival of
small desert marsupials. There was a lot to consider during the construction of Longitude
131°, a luxury resort near Uluru (Ayers Rock) in Australia’s Red Centre. Accommodation
consists of 15 luxury tents inspired by an African safari camp. In order to save on water
there are no baths, and guests dine under the stars, accompanied by an indigenous
expert on the night sky. The project, completed in 2003, set a standard for eco resorts
around the world by rigorously adhering to conditions laid down to protect this unique,
UNESCO landscape. Pre-fabricated structures and lightweight machinery minimized
impact during construction stage, and consultations with local land councils assured
that the cultural significance of the site was not being compromised. If necessary, the
entire hotel could be quite easily dismantled and relocated, leaving the site in its original,
and unaltered state.
LONGITUDE 131°
AVALON, AUSTRALIA
longitude131.com.au
THE BEST DESERT RESORTS THE BEST DESERT RESORTS

Aman, the Singapore based company that excels at creating hyper luxurious resorts in
remote places, is behind Amangiri, whose name means ‘peaceful mountain’. Peace is
something the hotel’s privileged guests can be assured of; Amangiri is located in a region
known as the ‘Grand Circle’ which is surrounded by five national parks offering rugged
desert scenery. Amangiri puts guests right in the centre of it. As much landscaped
art as architecture, the resort’s low-rise geometric suites sit in a curve of a valley and
provide starkly minimalist accommodation in textures and colours that echo its singular
surroundings—concrete, natural timbers and stones, and black steel. Views of the mesas
and mountains are perfectly framed within deep windows, and when guests feel like
getting out into the terrain they have a long list of activities available, from private jet
charter to workshops conducted by renowned wellness gurus.
.
AMANGIRI
UTAH, USA
www.aman.com/resorts/amangiri

ADVERT
64
ACCESS TO GARDENS AND NATURE CAN TRANSFORM
A GUEST’S STAY WITH COLOUR, AIR AND FRAGRANCE.
ALTHOUGH THESE HOTELS HAVE THE ADVANTAGE OF BUCOLIC
ENVIRONMENTS AT THEIR DOORSTEPS, THEY HAVE NOT
OVERLOOKED THE IMPORTANCE OF A THOUGHTFULLY PLACED
GARDEN WALL, INDOOR PLANTER BOX OR BALCONY BURSTING
WITH FLOWERS.
BY: SUZANNE WALES
THE BEST:
GARDEN
SUITES
THE BEST GARDEN SUITES
65

Guests immerse themselves in all facets of rural Tanzania at Gibbs Farm, an award-
winning eco retreat set on a working farm. From cow milking to coffee roasting, the hotel
provides a ton of hands on activities whilst adhering to strict sustainable standards.
Some would be easy to implement almost anywhere; glass bottles are collected and
donated to local bead makers, and guests are encouraged to pack items that would be
suitable to donate to the local community. Accommodation consists of charming guest
cottages set amidst the estate’s lush gardens. Guests wake up to a cacophony of bird
song, and after breakfast they can accompany local naturalists to document avian
behaviour. The surrounding Ngorongoro Conservation Area offers an abundance of native
plant and wildlife, which guests can enjoy from the comfort of their private veranda over
a cup of tea, or on a walking safari.
GIBBS FARM
TANZANIA
www.gibbsfarm.com

‘There are things to do – or just do nothing’ is the ethos at Francis Ford Coppola Resorts
– a small collection of earthy eco-hotels in exotic locations. Each is woven into its
singular landscape, offering back-to-nature tranquillity along with a sense of adventure.
The famous filmmaker’s search for a property at the centre of Mayan culture led him to a
rainforest high above the shore of Lake Petén Itza and near a handful of ancient Mayan
sites. Here a French couple had established a modest lodge. After purchase, Coppola
landscaped the grounds, and instilled the thatched roof bungalows with an eclectic mix
of handcrafted items from both Guatemala and Bali. From a hammock on the front porch,
guests are immersed in an exotic jungle environment and are regularly visited by howler
monkeys that venture right up to the edge of the decks.
LA LANCHA
GUATEMALA
www.thefamilycoppolaresorts.com

Ritz Carlton Reserve is a new brand of one-of-a-kind sanctuaries in stunning settings.
More than 30 are under development around the world, and three are already welcoming
travellers in search of meaningful escapes. One is situated in Ubud, Bali’s legendary
land of rice fields, lush jungles and heightened spiritual awareness. Mandapa resort
consists of a series of eco-chic suites and villas, inspired by traditional architecture
and constructed using local materials. The layout takes inspiration from a traditional
Balinese village, where nature is both omnipresent and life affirming. Private terraces
afford views of working rice paddies. In partnership with The Green School – a world-
renowned alternative primary education academy in Ubud – kids can take part in nature-
based educational activities on the resort itself. For adults, a full range of wellness and
detox programmes and health conscious cuisine allows them to eat, pray and love in the
height of style.
MANDAPA
BALI
www.ritzcarlton.com

Is it a garden in a hotel or a hotel in a garden? This is the question visitors to the PARKROYAL
on Pickering ponder over. This landmark 367-room hotel in the heart of Singapore’s sticky
Central Business District features 15,000 square metres of four-storey-tall sky gardens,
waterfalls, pools and cascading greenery, all maintained by a high-tech system of sensors
and recycled water. Reflective pools abound in the common areas, releasing a sense of
calm as soon as you enter, and over half the guest walkways and balconies in the hotel
are head-to-toe greenery. These photosynthesis power banks reduce energy consumption
by cutting the need for air conditioning, and a green roof helps insulate the upper floors.
Blue and green glass is used throughout the hotel in order to optimize solar performance.
Rooms have the same natural feel, with blondewood furniture, mossy-toned textiles and
sprays of ferns framing city views.
PARKROYAL ON
PICKERING
SINGAPORE
www.parkroyalhotels.com

Hollywood’s Golden Age has been the inspiration for The Peninsula in Beverly Hills – a study
in elegance set on a verdant estate. Back in 1991, The Peninsula was the first prestige hotel
to open in Los Angeles for 20 years, and it spared no expense in recreating the opulence and
glamour the city had become famous for. A chauffeured Rolls Royce comes with the day
rate, and the draped and gilted rooms and suites have been inspired by 18th century palaces.
The most popular are the Patio Deluxe Rooms, which have a private garden patio for outdoor
cocktailing or relaxation. These rooms are pet-friendly, so guests can bring Fido for a little frolic
in the Californian sunshine. Yet the queen of the suites is the aptly named Garden Suite, where
an expansive outdoor oasis of lush plants, towering palms trees and a fire pit is accessed
through elegant French doors.
.
THE PENINSULA
BEVERLY HILLS
www.peninsula.com

80 81
PROFILES ONE WORLD PROFILES ONE WORLD
BARRY STERNLICHT’S 1 HOTELS
GROUP IS A BRAND ON A MISSION
BY: BOYD FARROW
ONE WORLD
OUR CAUSE IS MAKING THE EARTH A LITTLE BIT
BETTER A LITTLE BIT AT A TIME. IT’S WHY WE CALL
IT 1 HOTELS—IT’S ONE WORLD, AND WHATEVER
WE EACH DO TO THE ENVIRONMENT, TO PROTECT
IT OR TO HARM IT, IMPACTS OUR NEIGHBOURS.

82 83
When industry veteran Barry
Sternlicht opened Starwood Hotels’ first W
Hotel in December 1998 in New York City,
he was responding to what he saw younger,
more free-spending travellers buying into—
style and personality in their surroundings.
Almost two decades on, he is convinced that
guests' sensibilities have evolved and they
want something more meaningful.
Cue Sternlicht’s latest venture,
1 Hotels, which he describes as the first
“mission-driven luxury lifestyle brand” and “a
movement with a mindful purpose” that aims
to change standards throughout the whole
industry.
“1 Hotels is more than a brand—
it’s a cause,” says Sternlicht, sounding far
more like Bono than the chairman and CEO
of Starwood Capital Group. “Our cause is
making the earth a little bit better a little
bit at a time. It’s why we call it 1 Hotels—
it’s one world, and whatever we each do to
the environment, to protect it or to harm it,
impacts our neighbours”.
The idea is that travellers now place
a much greater emphasis on connecting with
the world around them in a responsible way.
Each 1 Hotel is designed in collaboration
with eco-friendly architects and craftsmen,
and each property features high-design with
reclaimed and natural materials wherever
possible. The architecture, landscaping and
décor all showcase nature, creating living
spaces and rooms aimed at bringing the
outdoors in.
“It’s simple. We have an impact
on nature, and nature has an impact on us.
I decided that if I was ever going to create
another hotel, I wanted it to be more than a
brand; I wanted it to be a cause. People are
already living like this and are now looking
for ways to travel in the same fashion,” says
Sternlicht.
“At first, our guests may simply
notice the twist of driftwood in the furnishings.
However, what we are really offering is an
evolution of the entire hotel experience, one
that is more natural in regards to the way
we arrive, sleep, eat, relax and do. By focusing
on simple changes that make life better, we
will encourage guests to stop, recalibrate and
hopefully gain some inspiration from the small
steps we have taken to protect nature at each
property.”
At the company’s first hotel in South
Beach, Miami, for instance, guests are welcomed
by 3,000 feet of living wall wrapped around its
exterior with 11,000 local tropical plant varieties
and interactive hanging terrariums.
At the second hotel, overlooking New
York’s Central Park, guests get a three-storey
living wall of English Ivy on the building’s exterior
and will be greeted by hanging kokedamas in
the lobby and terrariums and indoor window
planters in guest rooms.
The eco-architectural firm
Incorporated is currently working
with landscape designer Michael Van
Valkenburgh Associates to realise 1
Hotels’ goals at the soon-to-be-opened 1
Hotel Brooklyn Bridge Park site.
As part of the plan to leverage
local resources, headboards at South
Beach are made of pine stained blue (to kill
beetles), and Ipe wood from the property’s
original boardwalk has been used to cover
the redesigned pool deck. In New York,
hewn beams and timbers from local barns
and factories have been used in guest
rooms.
Both the South Beach and Central
Park hotels were designed from existing
buildings that were overhauled to adhere to
the brand’s standards for sustainability. Each
room is equipped with Triple Clear Water
filters in all taps, sinks and showers. The
energy-efficient heating and cooling systems
are state-of-the-art.
Guestrooms and suites feature
custom hemp-blend mattresses,
hypoallergenic 100% organic linens and
custom-created 1 Hotels bath and body
products, made from naturally derived
ingredients. Soft socks, hangers made from
recycled paper and yoga mats are “for guests
to achieve zen at their own leisure.”

84 85
WITH A NEW RESORT, IT’S
IMPORTANT TO ESTABLISH
A STRONG IDENTITY,
AND HAVE A GOOD
STORY TO TELL
A paperless approach to the guest
experience includes electronic check-in,
bedside chalkboards in lieu of notepads, and
an in-room Nexus device pre-loaded with
newspapers, magazines, and the 1 Guide,
the 1 Hotels’ app that controls all aspects
of the room, from television to temperature.
Guests also get access to Tesla premium
electric vehicle rides within a 15-block radius,
complimentary valet for all electric vehicles
for overnight guests, and complimentary
bicycle valet parking.
Inevitably the 1 Hotels’ approach to
food, from the full dining experience at on-
site signature restaurants to in-room dining,
is to focus on local and seasonal ingredients.
The brand has partnered with celebrated
chefs who put the emphasis on responsible
sourcing from local purveyors. Once a month
a “farm stand” in the lobby will feature local
farmers and purveyors presenting their goods
for purchase by guests and the community.
Ramping up the hippie vibe further,
the brand aims to fill guests’ waking hours
with happy, healthy and more meaningful
experiences. It has curated “Daylife”
activities and a collection of rituals designed
to cultivate positive connections with nature,
the community, and the local environment.
Local non-profit partners will offer volunteer
experiences for guests to participate in, from
planting a tree to cleaning a beach.
“With 1 Hotels, we wanted to make
a difference in the world,” says Sternlicht. “If
people copy us, we’ll be happy.”
Author Bio: Boyd Farrow is a business writer
and editor who divides his time between
London and Berlin. Farrow has written about
the hospitality sector for various international
publications, including CNBC Business, the
monthly magazine he edited until 2012, and
he reviews hotels for several magazines in the
US and Europe.

86 87

90 91
PROFILES LAPA RIOS ECO – LODGE PROFILES LAPA RIOS ECO – LODGE
COSTA RICA’S
SUSTAINABILITY STARTS WITH COMMUNITY
BY: ETHAN GELBER
LAPA RIOS
ECO-LODGE
9190

92 93
Set amid a 1,000-acre rainforest nature reserve packed with endemic
plants and animals like monkeys, jaguars and more than 300 species
of birds, the luxury eco-lodge Lapa Rios was conceived with a deep
respect for community and sustainability.
Visionary eco-pioneers John and Karen Lewis opened the
lodge in 2003 and sought “to develop a sustainable business to
protect the conservation of the rainforest” when that concept was far
from mainstream.
“We’d built a passive solar home in Minnesota long before
energy conservation or practices were trending,” commented Karen.
“That experience, together with raising our children to respect where
they lived and the community around them, helped shape how we
would design, construct, and operate Lapa Rios.”
By 2003, the idea behind Lapa Rios had certainly found
validation; it became the first hotel in Costa Rica to receive the maximum
five-leaf status from the Costa Rica Tourism Board’s Certification
for Sustainable Tourism and has not stopped accumulating special
commendations since. It is a founding member of the exclusive
National Geographic Unique Lodges of the World.
Key to the success of their 20-plus years as a sustainable
hospitality enterprise is the importance of working with and for the
local community on Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula, where the lodge is
located.
“One standard intentionally set things in motion: 'How
will what I do now impact the future of this land and people?' That
measuring stick even today guides our responses,” says Karen.
ONE STANDARD INTENTIONALLY SET
THINGS IN MOTION: ‘HOW WILL WHAT I
DO NOW IMPACT THE FUTURE OF THIS
LAND AND PEOPLE?’ THAT MEASURING
STICK EVEN TODAY GUIDES OUR
RESPONSES

94 95
“From the first day, we shared with our community our
intention to work exclusively with Osa residents. We learned together,”
she says. “Without the total enrollment of every stakeholder in a
business, no meaningful, long-term sustainable change can really
begin.”
General manager Marijke Mulder agrees: “There is no such
thing as a sustainable lodge in an unsustainable community.”
As a buffer for neighbouring Corcovado National Park, Lapa
Rios serves as a wildlife corridor for an incredible mix of animals
and plants endemic to the region, like jaguars, all four Costa Rican
monkey species, more than 300 bird species, and thousands of
other creatures. It also harbours 80 percent of the world’s Sangrillo
Colorado tree, one of 37 critically endangered species of trees. To
protect all of this in perpetuity, the founders signed a conservation
easement that preserves more than 900 acres of forest by prohibiting
all extractive activities, the construction of mass tourism facilities, and
even cutting too many trails.
From the private terraces of bungalows overlooking the Golfo
Dulce and Pacific Ocean, guests can observe giant iguanas collapsed
on nearby branches; soaring pairs of bright mate-for-life scarlet
macaws (the lodge’s namesake lapas); and the full-throated barks of
chorusing howler monkeys. After sunset, the metallic pings of tiny
tree frogs mix with the shush of the surf and smell of the sea borne by
cool evening breezes. Flashes of far-off lightening may illuminate a sky
brimming with refreshing rain.
Lapa Rios’ guest facilities consist of a main building
(restaurant, eco-friendly pool, interpretive guide hut, canopy rooftop
viewing station) and 17 thatched, open-air bungalows built with locally
harvested materials, most of them renewable. Warmly appointed with
large full-screen windows, wood furnishings and big beds draped with
just-in-case mosquito nets, each bungalow opens out to a prodigious
sea-view terrace with lounge chairs, a hammock and an outdoor
shower stocked with biodegradable amenities. (There's an indoor
bathroom too.) Boldly giving true pride of place to the surrounding
jungle, the rooms have no air-conditioning (just quiet ceiling fans),
wifi, telephone, radio, or television.
Nor is there room service, as food attracts animals. All meals
are served at the gourmet-quality restaurant, Brisa Azul, where dishes
emphasise fresh, local, indigenous fruits and vegetables, responsibly
caught seafood, organic chicken, and grass-fed beef, as well as
gluten-free and vegetarian alternatives.
Whether subtly or overtly, the Lapa Rios experience guides
guests to “learn about the importance of conserving the land,” says
Mulder, the general manager. Through “walks, night presentations,
talks with our staff, or reading one of the books on property, a guest’s
awareness of sustainability will not be the same after experiencing
Lapa Rios.”
Author Bio: Ethan Gelber is a freelance writer specialising in responsible
and sustainable travel practices. Ethan founded TheTravelWord.com,
a website showcasing responsible, sustainable, and local travel. He
also co-founded Outbounding.org, a community-powered platform for
identifying and celebrating excellent travel content.

96 97
LAPA RIOS
Number of rooms: 17 rooms
Rack room rate: from $340 per person (including full board,
airport transfer and on-site guided tours)
Website: http://www.laparios.com
Owners: John and Karen Lewis
GM: Marijke Mulder
Address: Lapa Rios, Puerto Jiménez 1000,
Costa Rica
Telephone: +506 2735-5130
96 97

100 101
PROFILES ROCKRESORT PROFILES ROCKRESORT
SWITZERLAND’S
THE HEIGHTS OF GREEN LIVING
BY: BOYD FARROW
ROCKRESORT
YOU CAN SIMPLIFY SUSTAINABILITY
WITH GOOD DESIGN
100 101
PROFILES ROCKRESORTPROFILES ROCKRESORT

102 103
With 235 kilometres of diverse pistes, four
snow parks, the world’s biggest halfpipe and
five downhill descents, Laax is indisputably
one of the trendiest winter sports destinations.
Indeed, no-one was shocked when this
sprawling playground for the active set was
recently crowned “Switzerland’s Best Resort”
for the third time in a row at the World Ski
Awards.
More surprising, however, is just how
mindful and sustainable the entire operation
is, thanks to 20 years of investment and
innovation by its driving force, Reto Gurtner,
who, as a business student became caught
up in the ecological movement of the 1970s.
Gurtner, CEO of Weisse Arena
Gruppe, which operates the Laax ski area,
has long spearheaded green initiatives, from
using hydroelectricity to power the entire
mountain, to only serving local in-season
food and recycling all food waste, to providing
electric bikes for staff to whizz around the
resort in summer months. Guests are urged
to drink natural spring water, freely available,
while branded bottled water is banned from
the site.
The spirit of experimentation
has been carried out to Laax’s showpiece
hotel Rocksresort, which comprises eight
enormous freestanding cubes made out of
500 tons of quartz mined from a local quarry
and laid around the valley station of the
Laax mountain rail. This improbable cubist
village, a design-led antidote to the usual
Alpine chintz, incorporates a 70-bedroom
boutique hotel, 160 serviced apartments, six
restaurants and 14 shops.
While the complex’s exterior
glimmers as sunlight bounces on its surfaces,
inside is as anti-bling as it is possible to get
in such high-end hospitality. The accessories
ooze quality; Cassina sofas, Catellani & Smith
lamps, Alessi cutlery and Schott glassware
abound, but the flooring and staircases is
smooth bare concrete, while the cloud-
shaped lampshades, dangling from the
skylights, are made from papier-mâché.
The idea is that over-styled interiors
should not distract guests from the natural
materials. The snug, streamlined bedrooms
are done out in untreated gnarled oak, a
modern take on the cattle barns dotted around
the mountains. The quartz bathrooms double
as steam rooms for apres-ski relaxation.
“You can simplify sustainability with
good design,” says Gurtner, who has managed
to heat the Porsche Design chairlifts, which
swoop down to the rocksresort base station,
with solar panels.
Also part of the complex, The
Riders Palace is a glass and concrete
designer hostel, aimed at the affluent young
snowboarding set. The modern structure
has a neon-lit cocktail bar in the reception,
a club in the basement, and beanbags and
widescreen TVs in the bedrooms. More family
oriented accommondation is provided at
Signina, a modern take on a chalet hotel, with
a water park and spa.
Several of the Rocksresort buildings
are constructed as “minergie” buildings
and adhere to certified energy efficiency
standards.
“Our vision is to be the first self-
powered winter resort in the world and
thereby offer our guests a totally sustainable
holiday,” Gurtner says.
Already, Laax is possibly the world’s

104 105
most sustainable ski destination. As well as
its use of hydroelectric power and biomass
heating, the Rocksresort solar-panelled
lift stations are built from local wood and
designed to be completely disassembled.
Indeed, the areas surrounding Rocksresort is
only mowed once or twice a year, so as not to
disturb the valuable habitat they provide for
wildlife.
But Laax aims to go much further—
producing a surplus of energy. Over the next
few years the resort plans to install three
large electricity-producing wind turbines on
top of the mountain. The wind on the nearby
Vorab Glacier—connected to roads and the
power grid—has the potential to provide
energy for 5,000 households, which Gurtner
claims is more than enough to cover the
entire destination. The ultimate goal for Laax
is to say goodbye to fossil fuels forever.
“We offer our guests experiences
within a unique, natural environment. Visitors
can enjoy it with a good conscious, knowing
they use more energy at home than they do
at Laax,” says Gurtner.
At the end of the day, however, Laax
is a dynamic business, powering Weisse
Arena Gruppe’s growing leisure and property
portfolio. Gurtner’s ecological fervour is
blended with the pragmatism of the seasoned
entrepreneur. As he says: “We are committed
to treating our surroundings in a sustainable
manner because an unspoilt environment is
a guarantee for our future and for the next
generation”.
PROFILES ROCKRESORT
105

106 107
ROCKSRESORT
Number of rooms: 122 rooms and apartments
From CHF225 (€205)
Website: www.rocksresort.com
GM: Christoph Schmidt
Address: Via Murschetg 15
7032 Laax
Telephone: +41 81 927 97 97
PROFILES ROCKRESORTPROFILES ROCKRESORT
WE OFFER OUR GUESTS EXPERIENCES
WITHIN A UNIQUE, NATURAL ENVIRONMENT.
VISITORS CAN ENJOY IT WITH A GOOD
CONSCIOUS, KNOWING THEY USE MORE
ENERGY AT HOME THAN THEY DO AT LAAX.

112 113
PROFILES MAS SALAGROS PROFILES MAS SALAGROS
CREATING A FAMILY-FRIENDLY
GREEN HOTEL
BY: SUZANNE WALES
MAS
SALAGROS
SPAIN’S
112 113

114 115
What is the definition of an ‘eco-resort’? For many people,
it means a luxury retreat in exotic places, where they can partake in
yoga classes at dawn and spend the rest of the day being pampered
by holistic massages in an new age ambiance. Mas Salagros, a new
hotel in the small village of Villaromanes, Spain, has tweaked the
concept, making it more dynamic, main stream and appealing to a
wider, family orientated clientele.
Situated a 20-minute drive from Barcelona in the middle of
the Serralada Litoral Natural Park, Mas Salagros has been founded
on a 500-year-old, working estate. The land and the original masia
(farm house) have belonged to the same family for five generations.
The current owner, Carles Cascante, decided to convert the property
to an eco hotel after becoming inspired by similar projects in Italy and
Austria. He was impressed with Bio Hotels, a collection of European
rural hotels that adhere to strict green guidelines. Now Mas Salagros
is the first Spanish property to be accepted into the Bio Hotels cache.
Mas Salagros takes shape with the original, and beautifully
restored, farmhouse, along with a purpose built annexe for the
standard rooms and bungalows for the suites. It’s a meandering set-
up, and guests are given a map upon check-in to help them navigate
it. Bikes and guides are on hand to explore the hills and pine forests
around the hotel, but there’s enough within the property itself to keep
you happily entertained for a weekend; from visiting cows, goats and
chickens in a mini farm to lazing by a pool kept clean with natural
algae.
The Roman inspired spa, with several pools of varying
temperatures, is enclosed in the ancient walls of the masia’s old
cellars. A shop sells food and beauty products baring the Veritas label

116 117
– a well-known, organically certified supermarket chain in Catalunya
whose owner is also a partner in Mas Salagros. Next door to this,
kids can visit a creative playroom where they will be looked after while
parents visit the spa or get some ‘me’ time (the spa is also open for
the whole family on weekend mornings). In the future, they will be able
ride horses from the hotel’s own stable.
As fun and wholesome as these activities are, Mas Salagros’
green credentials lie in what you don’t see. The new builds have
been constructed with heat-storing ceramic bricks, and open-sided
passageways and window placement facilitate cross-ventilation.
Instead of gas, a biomass system, using chips from local, sustainable
forests, heats the interior spaces and water, and it also fuels the
kitchen. The décor in the rooms and common areas is under-stated
yet welcoming, with aged doors serving as bed heads and wardrobe
fittings, and old marble sinks sourced from Greece. Towels and bed
linen are made from organic cotton and the super comfortable beds,
manufactured by the British Naturalmat company, from organic latex,
cotton and coco fibre.
Bio Hotels demands that all food and drink served by their
members be certified organic and seasonal. Mas Salagros obliges
in the 1497 gourmet res-taurant and breakfast service, where
eggs are supplied by the hotel’s hens. Occasionally, explains the
headwaiter, guests are miffed when oranges aren’t supplied out of
season. Fortuitously, the hotel is situated practically KM0 from Alella,
a boutique wine-growing region that excels in the sweet xarel.lo varie-
tal.
Not that these efforts necessarily matter to Mas Salagros’
guests. Cascante admits that green consciousness amongst them
varies widely, and may not be the reason they choose to stay. “First
and foremost you have to be a good hotel,” he says. “Over everything
else, it’s important that people like it and return again. Then with each
visit, hopefully they will become more con-scious about green values.
What is certain is that more and more people are, and are therefore
looking for this type of hotel.”
Cascante claims that it’s false economy for hoteliers to think
equate ‘green’ with ‘costly’.
“Start up costs maybe marginally more expensive,” he
explains. “But you have to be committed to your values and think
in the long term. Tax benefits for using green technology is not
widespread, but they will happen, and like organic food in Germany,
the more mainstream a product becomes, the more its price drops.
But it’s not all about money. On average, a hotel guest generates
50-60 kilowatts of energy per night. Our aim is to reduce that to 10
kilowatts. So above all, it’s about investing in the earth’s future.”

118 119
OVER EVERYTHING ELSE, IT’S IMPORTANT
THAT PEOPLE LIKE IT AND RETURN AGAIN.
THEN WITH EACH VISIT, HOPEFULLY THEY WILL
BECOME MORE CONSCIOUS ABOUT GREEN
VALUES. WHAT IS CERTAIN IS THAT MORE AND
MORE PEOPLE ARE, AND ARE THEREFORE
LOOKING FOR THIS TYPE OF HOTEL.
MAS SALAGROS
Number of rooms: 54 (with more cabins planned)
From 130 euros per night. Includes breakfast
and 1.5 hours in the spa
Owners: Carles Cascante, Silvio Elías Marimón
and Bonaventura Mora
GM: Franz Martinez
Telephone: + 34 93 565 6060

124 125
PROFILES THE GREEN SOLUTION HOUSE PROFILES THE GREEN SOLUTION HOUSE
GREEN
SOLUTION
HOUSEFIFTY SHADES OF GREEN
AT THIS EXPERIMENTAL
CONFERENCE CENTRE AND HOTEL
BY: BOYD FARROW
DENMARK’S
124 125

126 127
In the recent movie The Martian, Matt Damon’s character—an
astronaut who has accidentally been left alone on Mars—finds himself
in the ultimate sustainability experiment, where cultivating food is only
one of the regenerative systems he must create from scratch.
Running the six-month-old Green Solution House on the
Danish island of Bornholm feels very similar, laughs manager Trine
Richter. At this new experimental conference centre and hotel every
single thing is adapted to the circulation of nature. The building’s
entire structure is designed for disassembly and constructed of
defined recyclable materials. Solar energy produces the energy
consumed in the building. Rain water is collected and used water is
biologically cleaned and reused. Integrated greenhouses produce the
organic fruits and vegetables for the hotel’s gourmet restaurant. And
the daily material that flows from the property’s operation is either
recycled or composted.
“Everything is in continual development,” explains Richter.
“Whether we’re investigating, for example, how fungus can be used
as isolation material, or how algae can be used in solar screening.
Guests will certainly get an unusual experience. I just hope its
inspirational”.
Richter, whose background is in the financial sector—
“risk management, mainly” and hospitality, says that originally the
Green Solution House was envisaged to further develop tourism
on Bornholm, already a popular destination for rugged, outdoorsy
types. The renovation and expansion of a what was originally a 122-
room hotel was so complete that it was like a greenfield development
anyway.
“Because of the location, the venture was always going to
be as sustainable as possible, but once the ball started rolling we
wanted to see how far we could go with the concept,” says Richter.
“What it has evolved into is this living laboratory, and some guests
come to contemplate the hotel more than our magnificent natural
surroundings. Giving tours of the premises to architects, engineers
and hospitality professionals is now part of my job.”
Driving the project has been Kasper Guldager Jørgensen,
head of the innovation unit at the pioneering Danish architectural
practice 3XN and, according to Richter, “the world’s most
environmentally conscious architect.”
Unlike many other hotels, which aim “to reduce their
environmental impact” Jørgensen emphasizes that the Green Solution
House was built to make real the concept of “circular sustainability.”
“We see the whole building as a living organism, and the
ambition is to try to eliminate the concept of waste,” he explains.
For instance, a dedicated pyrolysis plant transforms food
scraps and biological waste into energy and fertiliser for kitchen
gardens that supply the restaurant.
“You get new vegetables, which become new waste, which
becomes more energy again,” he explains. “We tried to establish
these loops within the building.”
Designed to vault over every green building code, Green
Solution House’s features range from the expected—photovoltaic solar
panels integrated in the balcony façades and vertical fern gardens
that clean the air—to the extraordinary. Visible algae generators
clean wastewater for reuse; carpets and wall panels neutralise
formaldehyde and other harmful elements from the air. There is an
app that allows guests to control the light and air in “smart rooms”
while monitoring water and energy consumption, daylight levels, air
quality, temperature and humidity levels.
Even the landscape outside the hotel features local materials
and reuses local waste such as glass, broken building materials and
rock dust from the adjoining granite quarry. Meanwhile, 20,000 cubic
metres of soil was moved to create rainwater reservoirs that have
become seasonal swimming ponds and thriving habitats for local
wildlife. By using local biotopes, the site is kept low-maintenance
and the planting is left to grow wild, helping to increase biodiversity.
The diversity of the guests is pretty varied too, according
to Richter. Apart from the “professional greens”, the hotel attracts a
large number of regular conference delegations. And then there are
the regular holiday makers, who come to enjoy the natural attractions
of Bornholm. The beach is within walking distance from Green
Solution House, along the path through the peaceful woods opposite
its front entrance.
Sustainability in the hospitality business can mean both
mindfulness and luxury says Richter. Her guests, for example, can
enjoy gourmet food from the hotel’s sustainable kitchen, such as local
salmon, scallops, beef and cheeses. It also means that furniture is
reupholstered with wool textiles from local manufacturers rather than
replaced to follow ever-shifting design trends.
“Ultimately”, she says, “we think the Green Solution House
has been designed to chime with the values of the people and
companies who come stay.”

128 129
WHAT IT HAS EVOLVED INTO IS THIS LIVING
LABORATORY, AND SOME GUESTS COME TO
CONTEMPLATE THE HOTEL MORE THAN OUR
MAGNIFICENT NATURAL SURROUNDINGS.
GIVING TOURS OF THE PREMISES TO
ARCHITECTS, ENGINEERS AND HOSPITALITY
PROFESSIONALS IS NOW PART OF MY JOB.
128 129

130 131
GREEN SOLUTION HOUSE
Number of rooms: 68 rooms and 28 apartments
From 1300DK (€175)
Website: www.greensolutionhouse.dk
GM: Trine Richter
Address: Strandvejen 79 · DK-3700 Rønne
Telephone: +45 5695 1913
130 131

PRESENTS ISSUE NO.29
THE
FOOD AND
BEVERAGE
ISSUE
136 137

LAST LOOK
In the Huilo Huilo Biological Reserve in northern Patagonia, Chile
rises a fern-covered mound that looks like something out of The Hobbit. It’s
the Montaña Mágica, (‘Magic Mountain’) a seven-story lodge complete with
exterior waterfall that indeed invokes thoughts of elves, wood nymphs, and
other things fantastical. The Montaña is just one of four unique lodges here,
and there are also treehouse apartments, rustic cabins and a backpackers’
hostel, all of which seem to grow organically out of the surrounding Patagonian
landscape, imitating natural forms and using local materials. The offerings
form a forest village of sorts that permits guests easy access to the real
reason for coming this far off the beaten track: the temperate rainforest and
its rivers, waterfalls and wildlife.
Conservation for the area’s natural landscape and culture has been
at the heart of Huilo Huilo since its creation in 2004. The surrounding area, a
Unesco Biosphere Reserve since 2007, had long been heavily dependent on
timber, something Huilo Huilo’s founders set out to change. The hospitality
project is one part of the conservation, investigation and entrepreneurial
efforts (like a microbrewery) that have led to tangible results that will help
ensure the preservation of the Patagonian temperate rainforest as well the
future prospects of the local community. They’ve also led to a growing list
of accolades, including National Geographic’s 2015 World Legacy award for
‘Conserving the Natural World.’
PRESERVATION IS AT THE HEART OF THIS FAIRYTALE
FOREST RESERVE AND ECO-LODGE COMPLEX
CHILE’S HUILO HUILO
144144

Green Issue Highlights Sustainable Hotels

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