The winners of the Green Hotel Awards 2015 have been announced, with a townhouse boutique in Austrian recognised as the most eco-friendly in Europe.
The awards praised hotels in four categories, Europe, the Americas, Africa and the Middle East and Asia Pacific, and handed out gongs to the winners, highly commended and those who deserved a special mention in each part of the world. Winner in the Europe category, Boutique Hotel Stadthalle in Austria, stood out for its recent renovation, which took the townhouse to ‘zero-balanced’ status.
The extension to the original hotel contains 130 square meters of solar panels and a water heat pump, as well as windmills on the roof. The hotel also goes to great lengths when it comes to waste – reducing packaging wherever possible and using partners to upcycle traditionally hard to recycle waste.
London Heathrow Marriott and Inspira Santa Marta Hotel in Portugal were both awarded highly commended for their efforts to sustainability, while a special mention went to The Hub by Premier Inn. The winners were decided upon by Green Hotelier, who runs the awards, and had a difficult task whittling down all the applicants to just four overall winners. Entries ranged from small eco lodges to large corporate hotels in city centres.
Siobhan O’Neill, co-editor of Green Hotelier comments, “Seeing the innovative and inspiring ways hoteliers are reducing their impact on the environment whilst supporting their staff and the communities in which they’re based has been a really heart-warming experience and I’m happy that we’re able to recognise their hard work.”
Other worldwide winners included:
Green Hotelier of 2015, Africa and the Middle East
Winner: Hotel Verde, Cape Town
Green Hotelier of 2015, Asia Pacific
Winner: Nikoi Island, Indonesia
Green Hotelier of 2015, the Americas
Winner: Black Sheep Inn Ecolodge, Ecuador