Sustainability is at the forefront of society at the moment, we all know how important it is to be environmentally friendly and what we need to do to protect our planet. We can all take part in environmentally friendly practices at home and on holiday.
Here at Devon Hotels we recognise that more and more people are choosing to stay in accommodation that has good sustainable practices. Aside from cost, a hotel’s sustainable policy is one of the key booking factors. In fact, in 2021 a huge 81% of travellers said they want to stay in sustainable accommodation, according to research by booking.com.
To help you travel greener we’ve put together a list of the best sustainable hotels in Devon. Read on to find out more.
Boringdon Hall Hotel & Spa, Plymouth
Boringdon Hall Hotel & Spa is a beautiful hotel situated on the edge of Dartmoor National Park.
They maintain a strong commitment to the environment and local community. The list of their sustainable practices is long, but a couple of examples of what they’re doing to help the environment are: using 90% CFL or LED lightbulbs throughout the hotel, sensor operated lights in bathrooms and other public spaces and using concentrated cleaning materials which are chlorine-free.
Boringdon Hall have also installed EV charging points for cars, reduced their paper marketing by 40% - and when they do need to print, they only use recycled paper. Like many hotels across the country, they also encourage guests to recycle efficiently whilst at the hotel and they use local contractors and suppliers who offer the freshest seasonal produce to serve in their restaurant.
Bovey Castle, Moretenhampstead
Another sustainably conscious hotel set within Dartmoor is Bovey Castle. They have a genuine commitment to reducing their environmental impact and actively implement their sustainable practices.
Their employee training involves tips on how to reduce energy, water and waste, they also encourage lift-shares wherever possible for staff members.
Bovey Castle encourage their guests to only ask for new linen when absolutely necessary as well as ask them to turn off radiators and lights when the bedrooms are not in use.
Waste management wise, they recycle 100% of their waste; 30% is directly recycled, 50% is recycled into renewable energy and 20% is processed by anaerobic digestion.
As well as this, they support and actively contribute to the local community by working closely with local schools, charities and suppliers; and source products from local suppliers wherever possible.
Cary Arms & Spa, Babbacombe
Picturesquely perched on the English Riviera Coastline, Cary Arms is a beautiful, boutique hotel just steps away from Babbacombe Beach.
In the last five years Cary Arms have achieved a number of sustainable goals. In 2018 they implemented a new waste management system, reducing their landfill waste by approximately 70%.
They have also committed to eliminating single use plastics within their hotel; and their bedroom water bottles have been swapped from single use ones to reusable and refillable bottles with water directly from their state-of-the-art filtration system.
One unique way that Cary Arms have reduced their carbon footprint is by investing in a fully electric moped for staff to use when running errands for the hotel, removing approximately 2 tonnes of carbon emissions!
Gone are the days of single-use fabric slippers at Cary Arms, now they offer reusable rubber sandals which are collected, sanitised and reused. Not only this, but they have a partnership with Sea Change Wine which produce delicious, sustainable wine and £3 of each case goes to charity.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg for Cary Arms' green initiatives, they have a number of other ways to become more sustainable – way to go Cary Arms!
Highbullen Hotel, Umberleigh
An Award Winning Hotel in North Devon, Highbullen Hotel boasts a stunning 125 acre estate with views stretching down the Mole Valley and across to Exmoor.
As the hotel is set in unadulterated countryside with a diversity of wildlife on site and close by, their staff ensure that measures at taken to protect the local flora and fauna. Within the hotel they use wood from the estate for their open fires in public areas and in their kitchens they recycle their cooking oil.
Highbullen Hotel boasts a terrific golf course so they use an environmentally sensitive non-chemical product that helps root development called ‘Symbio’ which is ‘brewed’ on site in a tank. The water irrigation for the golf course is from storage ponds on the course which also helps with the ecology of the area.
Lympstone Manor, Lympstone
Set in a charming Georgian country house on a 28-acre estate in Lympstone, just a short distance from Exmouth, Lympstone Manor is a luxurious five-star hotel with a Michelin stared restaurant.
This beautiful hotel is a hive of biodiversity and Lympstone Manor’s ethos is simply to reduce, reuse and recycle.
One scheme implemented on-site, in partnership with Coastal Recycling, is a recycling centre as well as further developing a composting centre. This means they will have minimal waste left for landfill. Their chefs only utilise locally sourced produce to create as little kitchen waste as possible with trimmings used to fortify stocks.
Another initiative Lympstone Manor have taken is to introduce beehives to the grounds. With the population of bees in constant decline, creating an environment for them to thrive has allowed them to help counter this trend, along with helping to increase yield on their flowers and vineyard.
Lympstone Manor also encourage all their guests to experience the breath-taking scenery of the Exe Estuary via bike which can hired from reception.
Mill End Hotel & Restaurant, Chagford
Perched within the beautiful moorland of Dartmoor, Mill End Hotel & Restaurant is a boutique country house close to the town of Chagford.
Being situated on the moors, they have a strict ‘leave no trace’ policy in place. They’re doing their bit by teaming up with Zooplus to keep their local surroundings as clean as possible and offer complementary packs of doggy bags.
Recycling is of high importance at Mill End Hotel, they are committed to separating and recycling all their waste from the hotel and restaurant. They’ve also invested in high quality towels and linens meaning they can be reused for many years to come.
Northcote Manor Hotel & Spa, Umberleigh
Set in a former manor house on 20 acres of land, the elegant Northcote Manor Hotel & Spa is somewhat of a pioneer in the sustainable hospitality business.
Not only do they reward you with champagne for travelling via public transport (or bicycle!), they strive to keep their fruit orchards completely organic and their indigenous flora and fauna intact. Northcote Manor’s position above the Taw valley gives the perfect habitat for many woodland animals and birds which help support the local ecology.
Within the house they use low energy lightbulbs as well as having water hippos installed in all bathrooms to reduce water wastage. Northcote Manor also try to be as paperless as possible, but items that needs to be printed are done so using soya ink instead of chemical-based ink on chlorine-free paper.
This is just a handful of the great environmentally-friendly actions Northcote Manor have taken to becoming a more sustainable business. Very well done indeed!
The PIG at Combe, Honiton
A beautiful stately home nestled in the Otter Valley, The PIG at Combe has put local and home grown produce at the forefront of their business.
The PIG puts a huge emphasis on only using produce that they can grow themselves or source from within a 25-mile radius of the hotel so the carbon footprint of their ingredients and food is minimal. As a collective company they produce around 17 tonnes of their own fruit and veg each year which require no packaging and no need to travel.
Wild mushrooms are also grown on site using spent coffee grounds that are a by-product of the restaurant waste; and chicken, ducks and quails are kept for fresh eggs.
The PIG at Combe work with Belu Water a British social enterprise who provide the hotel with pure mineral water from Powys in Wales allowing them to bottle still and sparkling water on site. 100% of Belu’s profits go to WaterAid, an international charity who provide clean water around the world.
Another small but significant action The PIG have taken is removing all complementary plastic toothbrushes from their bedrooms and instead providing packets of strawberry seeds – if every room took a packet home 29,581kg of strawberries would be planted in a year! How wonderful!
Are there any other initiative you’d like to see hotels implementing? Let us know on twitter by tagging us on @DevonHotels. Stay up to date with the latest Devon Hotels news, competitions, offers and more by following us on Facebook or signing up to our e-newsletter at the bottom of this page.