Travel

Eco-friendly doesn’t mean giving up on luxury at the UK’s greenest hotel in Bournemouth


The room we stayed in with the amazing roll top bath, the outside of the hotel and the beautiful beach (Picture: Laura Abernethy)

An eco-friendly break doesn’t usually scream luxury – you might have images of a yurt in the countryside or compost toilets.

But The Green House Hotel in Bournemouth has been named as the greenest hotel in the UK by Expedia, and despite the eco-credentials, this place still gives you that opulent feeling.

We travelled by coach from London and the hotel wasn’t too far from the city centre but was also walking distance of the beautiful beach, leading to the pier.

Arriving at the hotel, you walk through the garden that surrounds the property and straight past the free electric car charging points in the car park – it’s clear from the beginning that the environment is an important concern here.

There are 32 rooms inside, a bar and the Arbor restaurant, which serves local, fresh, organic food.

The outside of the hotel (Picture: Laura Abernethy)

We stayed in one of the large double rooms, which features a superking bed and a reclaimed Victorian roll-top bath in the bedroom, complete with a wooden tray for you to put all your essential items while you relax.

Despite my boyfriend protesting that the bath in the room was sure to leave the carpet wet, there was something incredibly luxurious about lying back with a cocktail in hand and switching my gaze between the TV and the beautiful gardens outside, complete with bird and bat boxes.

The tiny touches in the room make it feel both luxurious but also serve as a reminder of all the eco-credentials. The tea and coffee, for example, comes in tiny refillable jars and you can pick up cold milk in a vacuum flask from reception at any time. Instead of bottles of water, they provide refillable filtered and chilled glass bottles.

The room we stayed in was a large double (Picture: Laura Abernethy)

Every room comes with luxury toiletries, which do come in plastic bottles but they are larger ones, rather than the tiny ones you can take home. They are all produced by Pasture in the UK and are completely paraben-free.

You’re encouraged to reuse your towels and there are reusable slippers and dressing gowns in the larger rooms.

Beyond the noticeable bits, the whole place is heated through a combination of solar power and the heat produced by the Combined Heat and Power Unit, which produces the electricity.

The all important in-room bath tub (Picture: Laura Abernethy)

The CHP runs at 80%-90% efficiency and any additional power is supplied by a renewable energy supplier. Lights only come on when required and there are low-level energy bulbs everywhere.

The hotel uses low energy hand dryers and even a more eco-friendly hairdryer in every room to keep energy use to a minimum.

Each room has a booklet detailing exactly where most of the furniture and fittings came from and it was interesting to read that the reception desk was made from the floor joists of an old school in Sussex, and the tables and chairs have all be rescued and restored from other pubs or restaurants.

There’s electric car charging points outside (Picture: Laura Abernethy)

It’s these things that make this a truly eco-friendly destination, beyond the token touches.

There were a few little things missing from the room, like the in-room speakers that are promised in their advertising. We spent a long time looking for them before asking at reception and being told they hadn’t updated them when the Iphone chargers changed with the Iphone 5 in 2012.

In the evening we ate at Arbor, enjoying their fixed-price three-course menu, which was delicious. I had the soup of the day, while my boyfriend had the ham hock terrine, followed by two plates of Slow-Cooked Shoulder of Pork, Cider Gravy, Crushed Celeriac & Apple. For dessert, we both had the same strawberry meringue treat.

The starter (Picture: Laura Abernethy)
The main (Picture: Laura Abernethy)
The dessert (Picture: Laura Abernethy)

After an excellent night’s sleep in the incredibly comfy bed, we had breakfast, again in the Arbor restaurant.

They had a fantastic menu, beyond the usual full English, including boiled eggs and soldiers, pancakes and avocado on toast.

I went for the pancakes, which came with yoghurt and a blueberry compote. There was also a continental breakfast with juices, fruit, cereal and pastries if you were still feeling peckish.

Enjoying a beautiful sunny day in Bournemouth (Picture: Laura Abernethy)
The hotel isn’t far from this stunning beach (Picture: Laura Abernethy)

After check out, we walked the few minutes down to the stunning coast line, enjoying a breezy walk along the shore, before having fish and chips on the pier for lunch and walking through the city’s winter gardens.

Just before we headed home, we received a call from the excellent staff at the hotel who’d been trying to get in touch because they found my boyfriend’s wallet under the bed, long before he even noticed.

Obviously he was relieved, but I wouldn’t have minded an excuse to come back again.

To find out more about the hotel and to book a stay, visit their website.

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