"Hotel Transylvania" is a fairy tale in which a hotel for monsters is created by a vampire, meant to be far away from people. It raises the issue for children that humans can be worse than monsters, just as recently we all face the topic that humans pose the greatest threat to nature and the planet.
Deforestation, animal species extinction, toxic food, and broadly understood industry are just a drop in the bucket of human actions that lead to degradation. Scientists agree that individual efforts to reduce water consumption or plastic use are no longer enough. Systemic solutions are needed. Could the new trend of creating eco-friendly hotels be one of them?
It's an interesting phenomenon that while we exploit the planet without limits, at the same time we are drawn to nature, isolation from urban noise, if only during vacations. The same applies to food; we want to eat healthily and feed our children accordingly, yet we produce more and more processed food and fast food. However, since vacation is a time when we particularly want to be close to nature, let's look at what eco-friendly solutions hotels use.
Using recycled paper, organic paints, solar panels, or solar boilers are increasingly common solutions in hotels worldwide. Simply minimizing water and electricity use and encouraging guests to do the same is an important initiative. This can be done by foregoing the custom of daily linen changes in favor of doing so on guest request. How else do hotels approach ecology?
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In fact, it’s all a matter of creativity. Some hotels even approach art, aesthetics, and decor guided by eco-friendly solutions. In Chile, the Magic Mountain hotel was built entirely from stone and wood, and externally covered by vegetation which makes the building completely blend with the surroundings, which is a unique phenomenon especially since the hotel is located within a nature reserve.
Meanwhile, H2hotel in California has adopted a zero waste interior design principle. Thanks to this, we can admire sculptures made from glass bottles or a decorative wall made entirely from espresso spoons. We can also find places in Poland that have their own garden where products for the daily menu are grown, and coffee grounds are used as fertilizer. Where can we find eco-friendly hotels in our country?
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Hotel St.Bruno is located in Giżycko, the heart of Masuria. This region is very often visited by whole families who want not only to swim or use bike trails but also to stay close to nature. Being aware of the importance of ecology, the hotel responds to trends aimed at reducing environmental pollution. How? The hotel has stopped using plastics. Cups, straws, bottles, packaging, or laundry bags are replaced by eco-friendly solutions. Tap water in Giżycko is clean and healthy, so the hotel prefers it over bottled water for guests to drink.
For heating, the hotel uses heat pumps that do not produce smoke, ash, or other harmful substances, making them environmentally safe. The hotel also has stations for charging electric cars, encouraging reduction of exhaust emissions. To reduce waste pollution, the hotel observes waste segregation rules including collection of batteries and plastic caps. The hotel uses eco-friendly cosmetics by Fito Spa based only on natural, vegan ingredients rich in vitamins, and in the Spa area, massages are performed with natural wax candles. The hotel limits water consumption and uses LED lighting as an energy-saving light source.
The closer to nature, the healthier the food, which eco-friendly places prioritize. When going on vacation to an eco-friendly hotel, we can enjoy healthy, local products that every region in the country has in abundance, though we don’t always appreciate it in daily life. Let's remember that caring for health must go hand in hand with caring for the environment. Ignoring one limits the benefits to the other, so it is worth starting with ourselves.
