UK: The National Geographic Traveller (UK) has announced the winners and runners up of its hotel awards.
The awards celebrate the best new hotels across the world and acknowledge those who are trailblazers in the sector.
There are 14 categories, which each have a winner and two runners-up.
The winner of the “Good Egg” award, which is the award for the Best Sustainable Hotel went to:
Wilderness Safaris DumaTau, Botswana. This low impact safari camp is vital in preserving the wildlife corridor of the Linyanti Wildlife Reserve, where African elephants roam free. The hotel also supports research into endangered species. The safari camp has eight tented suites and is run by a solar plant. To keep the cuisine as sustainable as possible, guests are invited to create their own menus from seasonal, local ingredients.
Runners up were: Oasyhotel, Italy and Room2 Chiswick, London.
Oasyhotel is the only hotel in Tuscany’s WWF-affiliated Oasi Dynamo nature reserve. The hotel’s revenue goes towards conserving and cultivating the 2,500-acre reserve near Florence. Guests staying at the 16 grass-covered lodges can also enjoy activities like horse riding, e-biking, and cheesemaking.
Room2 Chiswick, in London, claims to be the world’s first hotel, which can say it’s entirely carbon neutral – (as well as being carbon neutral on the operational side, the hotel has is carbon neutral including the embedded carbon, which is the carbon created during construction and demolition). The 86 rooms were designed with input from local artisans and carpets are crafted from recycled fishing nets, while the furniture is all made within 10 miles of the hotel.
For the rest of the categories and winners see the October issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK) on sale from today.
In July Marie Claire Sustainability Awards recognised those hotels making environmentally sound choices.
Image: African elephant. WWF.