10 characterful eco-friendly hotels in the UK

The Good Hotel Guide champions the efforts by the hospitality industry to reduce its carbon footprint, to cut waste, and to favour all things local, seasonal and sustainable. Here the Guide’s editors nominate ten of the best eco friendly hotels, all featured in the 46^th edition.

Vistas of sea and sky through floor-to-ceiling windows create a sense of being at one with nature at this adults-only clifftop hotel in Cornwall. The award-winning timber-frame and local-stone building, under an indigenous green roof, was commissioned with eco-friendliness in mind. Terraces incorporate a natural, reed-filtered pool and wild coastal garden. Bedrooms have a sea-facing balcony or a field terrace. All are warmed by the sun and cooled by Atlantic breezes. The palette is drawn from the local wildflowers, rock pools and mosses. Toiletries are locally made, and room service delivers tea or coffee, eliminating single-use sachets. The holistic spa is bathed in natural light. In the restaurant, sustainably sourced local ingredients include slow-aged meat, day-boat fish, creative plant-based options.

Booking information: B&B doubles from £225, scarlethotel.co.uk

Little remains of medieval Nottingham Castle, but this sleek, modern, dog-friendly, accessible hotel with private garden enjoys commanding views across the city from the ramparts. It was built to a narrow plan for easy ventilation without air conditioning, with substantial walls to slow temperature change, under a stainless steel roof. East- and west-facing floor-to-ceiling windows capitalise on light. The style is smart contemporary. Everything from cleaning materials to kitchen ingredients is scrupulously sourced, while vegans can choose from a separate plant-based menu. Steps lead you down to the leafy oasis of the Park Estate, once Henry II’s royal hunting ground.

Booking information: Doubles from £145, breakfast £12 per person, hartsnottingham.co.uk

There is a timeless charm about Henry and Lucy Hodgson’s Victorian country house in 180 acres of parkland and woodland, a wildlife reserve and environmental sanctuary bordering Lough Corrib. Run by the same family for 130 years, it has a lived-in, cherished ambience. The biodiverse haven nurtures many threatened species of flora and fauna. Guests staying for more than one night are offered free pick-up by hybrid electric car from local bus or rail stations. There are no room door keys – you’re among friends. In the evening, Henry dispenses drinks and bonhomie before a gong summons everyone to a splendid, locally sourced dinner, cooked by Lucy, while breakfast eggs are from the hens who thrive on any vegetable leftovers that don’t go for compost. 

Booking information: Opens Mar-Nov, D,B&B doubles from €290, currarevagh.com

All Pigs are equal, with their shabby chic aesthetic, their recycled and repurposed furnishings, 25-mile menus and prolific kitchen gardens, but this Grade I listed Elizabethan Manor has no fewer than three walled gardens – for vegetables, herbs and infusions. Collectively the six Pig hotels generate around 17 tons of organic produce a year, including mushrooms grown on coffee grounds. Garden waste is composted, cooking oil recycled, fish MSC approved. Beehives provide honey and pollinators. Welsh Belu Water is bottled in 35 percent recycled glass, with profits donated to WaterAid. Plastic wrapping is out, used menus reappear as coasters, and guests receive a packet of strawberry seeds to plant at home.

Booking information: Doubles from £220, continental breakfast £14.95, cooked £18.95, thepighotel.com

There is a very earthed, in-the-landscape, organic feel to this bistro-with-rooms, a conversion of a 16^th-century farmhouse and outbuildings, built of local stone and tucked into the hillside above Grasmere. Arrive by public transport, or drive your EV and plug in, then recharge your own batteries with good food and Lakeland views. Owners Dave and Sally Keighley run the show, with daughter Jess front-of-house and son-in-law Will the creative chef. Bedrooms are simple, with a shower only (less water waste). Breakfast eggs are from the Broadrayne hens; the grey-faced sheep wandering outside are owned and managed by the next-door neighbour.

Booking information: Doubles from £300 for 2-night min stay, cooked breakfast £7.95-£12.95, theyan.co.uk

Lynn Martin and husband Jason provide a ‘breakfast with rooms’ at their Grade II listed Georgian house in Dorset – a signal that they take the most important meal of the day as seriously as their eco credentials. The historic property has been beautifully renovated using sustainable methods and materials. Aerated shower heads reduce water waste. Electricity and gas power is 100 percent green energy. Filtered chilled water is supplied in refillable bottles. Cleaning products are environmentally friendly. Above all, they shop locally and source organic produce, with sausages and bacon from Downhouse Farm, home-baked sourdough, homemade granola – and there’s a £5 discount for guests arriving by public transport.

Booking information: B&B doubles from £125, dorsethouselyme.com

Helen Browning OBE, chief executive of the Soil Association, grew up on the organic farm that is home to this pub and mini-hotel on the Wiltshire Downs. In a rustic building, each bedroom is named and themed after one of the farm’s fields: yours might have a timber ‘barn door’ bedhead, a mural of those hallowed acres. Outside, owls nest in a genuine old shepherd’s hut on wheels and in a tumble-down barn. Helen is passionate about animal welfare. Meats are mostly home reared, veg from a local organic grower. The ambience is mildly eccentric, family and dog friendly, laid-back, affordable and fun.

Booking information: B&B doubles from £109, helenbrowningsorganic.co.uk

In 2008, Huw Rees and Sam Prosser gave up the corporate world to create a boutique hotel at this Georgian rectory, in an Exmoor village, in the lap of hog-backed cliffs above the Bristol Channel. They tick almost every eco box, from energy conservation to recycling and local, seasonal, sustainable sourcing, while encouraging mindfulness not just in staff, but in guests, who are invited to pre-order dinner to avoid food waste. All bedrooms have spring water on tap. Huw and Sam are not just great hosts, but pride themselves on being ethical employers, committed to supporting the local community.

Booking information: B&B doubles from £210, oldrectoryhotel.co.uk

There are sea views towards Mull from this unpretentious, dog-friendly, people-friendly hotel on a Hebridean island, run by four hands-on owners. It has earned a Gold rating as a Green Tourism business for its efforts to reduce water and energy consumption and keen awareness of the beautiful environment. All laundry is done in house with biodegradable products, while, on warm days you might see bedlinen dancing in the sea breeze. Freshly prepared seasonal food is sourced from local crofts and fisheries, with produce from the kitchen garden, and home-baked organic bread, cakes and pastries. As part of a Responsible Visitors Charter, guests are encouraged to arrive by public transport.

Booking information: B&B doubles from £95, argyllhoteliona.co.uk

Robert Smith and Arwel Hughes have created an exceptional adults-only B&B in Pembrokeshire from the shell of a wartime hostel for Land Girls, in gardens with a wildlife pond and breath-taking views to the Preseli hills. The building was reconstructed in 2002 to energy-efficient standards, to capitalise on space and natural light. The hosts are committed to respecting the beautiful environment, and to promoting appreciation among their guests. They provide drying facilities for walkers and cyclists, with safe bicycle storage, while encouraging respect for the Countryside Code. By arrangement, those who wish can gather for an evening meal in the dining room, cooked with flair, imagination and Welsh produce. Let them know if you’re vegetarian – and bring your own wine.

Booking information: B&B doubles from £130, aelybrynpembrokeshire.co.uk

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