Catalan countryside hotel, Spain

Planet

We think about water and power usage and what waste we are producing. We plant local plants like olives and lavender that require little watering. We have left the wood at the back of the property that we look after and harvest, but still keep the healthy trees. The harvested wood is then used in the wood burning stoves. We have underfloor heating as in the winter the nights can be a little chilly. The historic house has been rebuilt in the old ways but with added insulation, so it stays warm in winter but cool in Summer. The walls are 60cm thick, so slowly heat up in the Summer and then keep their heat through the winter. This system works really well, so you do not need much AC, but we do have a large AC unit run by PV panels in the centre of the building to keep the bedrooms at a good temperature (25°C indoor temp even in the last heat waves). People are always amazed how cool it is in the Summer inside. We also have shutters fitted to all the windows, so we can shut the shutters in the Summer to prevent the sun warming up the rooms. As the walls are really thick and as we have thought about window placement, this means in the Summer the sun misses the south facing windows due to the sun height, but in the winter can warm up the rooms as the sun is at a lower height and therefore shines in. We also vent in the cool night air in the Summer. The new suites have the eco ventilation for the night and we run the AC in the afternoon via the PV panels. To keep what PV electric we make we first turn on the central AC unit in the main building, as that keeps its temperature well. Then in the afternoon we move the power to the AC units in the new suits to get them down to 24°C and then at night we turn on the eco ventilation. The window and the roof placement for the new suites allows for shade in the Summer and the suns warmth in the Winter, so we hardly ever need to heat the new garden suites in Winter.

We have a solar pool cover and a PV solar system run the AC and the hotel in daylight hours. This means our pool is swimmable from March through to November all via the suns power. Our light bulbs are all eco and we think about each watt that is used. Our hair dryers are all 1kw rather than 2kw for example and we do not have electric kettles. Instead we provide thermoses of hot water for tea and coffee in the dining room and kettles on the gas rings of the BBQs. We look at each product and try and reasearch and buy the ones that used the least amount of power but still function well.

All waste is divided and what can be recycled is recycled. We also compost. All of our waste water goes through a septic tank which technically produces drinkable water. We water our garden from the old cisternas which are connected to our roof, so we collect rainwater to fill the cisternas, as they did in the old days. We run the whole of our small boutique hotel on 4kw usually, but can up the power automatically for example if everyone turns on their hairdryers at the same time. But usually we run at less than 4kw, which for such a large place is unheard of in Spain.

We plan to keep buying PV panels and adding more AC units as the number of heat waves escalate, so that we are not burning fossil fuels to keep cool. We are off grid, but do not be scared, most people do not even notice.

People

Where we can we buy local in season produce, so for example our onions are Figueres onions, apples & pear from local orchards, local wines etc. We also have our own small vegetable garden. We buy locally and use local companies for almost everything. We also support the local restaurants, by booking tables for our clients. We send our clients to the local best shops if they require anything and let them know the local market days etc.

We offer good wages to locals and train them. For example we have been employing a local guy and supporting him in his university masters studies to become a more qualified sports coach.

We are part of the local community and support the Gegants (this is a local tradition where at festivals the local Gegants (people wearing huge heads, to make them look like giants) go and dance and perform.

We campaigned with the local community against high voltage power lines being put in the area. The campaign was not completely successful but we did manage to get them moved so as not to disturb as much of the local wildlife. We all offered to club together to pay for them to go underground, but the electrical company said this would set a precedent and would not allow it. Which we find ridiculous. In the end the power company said they would put the line where they wanted it or they would work with the local town councils to come up with the best solution, although they would not bury it. So we did have a small effect, but not the one we wanted. The MAT is a very controversial project here, but it has all been passed in Madrid and Catalunya is very angry.