The Scarlet
Where? Cornwall
Style Art-filled eco beach pad
Setting Mawgan Porth’s sandy bay
Luxurious but laid-back, The Scarlet hotel has heart. Eco-friendly through and through and true to its roots, decorated with paintings by local artists. Lashings of glass maximise this Cornwall hotel’s cliff-top setting and sea-and-sand views, keeping the outdoors in, and every room comes with its own balcony or outdoor ‘pod’. A biomass boiler, solar panels, heat recapture and heat exchangers are used; everything that can be is recycled; local produce dominates the restaurant menu; and The Scarlet organises a number of social and conservation projects.The owners installed biomass boilers and solar panels, and they recycle anything they can, including rainwater. Even the staff share the commitment: they share cars to commute to work.
Rooms 37.
Strattons
Strattons
Where? Swaffham
Style Eco, eccentric, arty and eclectic
Setting The Brecks in Norfolk
Tucked off the high street of the market town of Swaffham in Norfolk, the family-run Strattons hotel is a beautiful Queen Anne Palladian villa. Whether you’re in the mood for kitsch and contemporary or antiques and fabric-festooned decadence, each room is individually decorated with a unique theatrical flair. Far from just a pretty face, the hotel has won awards for its restaurant and eco-policies and is child-friendly too. This hotel has super-green credentials: toiletries are in refillable pump dispensers; low-energy bulbs constitute 70 per cent of the lighting; rooms have Carbon Trust thermostats; toilets use 20 per cent less water and its garden is wildlife friendly. They have halved energy, packaging and consumption over five years and have won multiple awards as a result.
Rooms 14.
Fronlas
Fronlas
Where? Brecon Beacons
Style Eco-friendly Edwardian elegance
Setting Green and gold Brecon Beacons
An elegant Edwardian townhouse in lovely Llandeilo, Fronlas is an ecologist’s dream. Not only does it come with eco-electricity and solar panels but it also manages to be colourful, comfortable and contained, boasting bold Colliss and Quinton mural wallpaper. The breathtaking views of the Brecon Beacons aren’t bad either. The hotel is very eco-conscious, and prides itself on its underfloor heating, eco-electricity, solar panels and organic mattresses.
Rooms Four.
The Greenhouse
The Green House
Where? Dorset
Style Chic-o warrior
Setting Bournemouth’s leafy fringe
A five-minute meander from the city centre and the sands, The Green House hotel is a smart seaside guesthouse that’s been given an eco-friendly overhaul. Sustainability informs everything from the furnishings (white, woody and, of course, green) to the food – the restaurant’s modern British dishes are among the best in Bournemouth. The clue is in the name. The Green House goes beyond the gimmicks and thinks of everything. All materials and furniture – from the bespoke bamboo-covered Hypnos mattresses to the TVs which automatically adjust picture output to suit the light level – are as green as it gets and everything the hotel does is informed by a dedicated (but not preachy) eco-friendly ethos. Electricals are all low-energy, and everything that plausibly can be is recycled (including rainwater) and/or locally sourced.
Rooms 32.