Arriving back in Cape Town after a conference in Gauteng, I headed to a hotel close by for the night - the perfect way to recharge my batteries on a cold, rainy Friday. As strange as it may sound finding it relaxing anywhere near the airport, this was a pleasant surprise.
A mere 400m from the airport I potentially found the solution to make those early flights just a little bit better... Hotel Verde, dubbed "Africa's Greenest Hotel" - and rightly so. I mean, in which other hotel do you get elevators that use regenerative braking on its "light" travel cycles which saves 30% of the energy it would normally use? It's not every day I get the opportunity to generate power through taking the lift down. Bonus!
Open for almost a year now, Hotel Verde (which is part of the Bon Hotels Group) has won multiple international awards for its green practices.
At first glance, one might think that, apart from its living wall and incredibly funky and arty interior (each floor has its own theme with corresponding artworks from local artists), there's nothing extremely different to this hotel than any other four-star hotel... That's until a friendly and well-informed staff member starts telling you about all the greenliness (yes, I just made up a new word: green + friendliness = greenliness) that is the heart of Hotel Verde.
Through the use of wind turbines, sun panels and a few other nifty ideas, Hotel Verde generates 10% of its own power from renewable sources. It uses 70% less power than a similar traditional hotel due to energy efficient equipment and practices.
Mario and Annemarie Delicio are the owners of this colourful gem that has quite drastically uplifted the face of the airport industrial area. They are dedicated and passionate about sustainability, and have transformed what was initially just a sensible business proposition into a showcase for some of the most advanced environmentally conscious technological installations, as well as construction and operation practices in the world.
The hotel has 130 standard rooms, eight studio rooms, two universally accessible rooms, four executive rooms and one executive suite. 101 of the rooms are interchangeable into twins. The majority of the rooms only have showers - for the obvious reason of saving water. Water from the showers and bath tubs, as well as condensate from the HVAC fan coil units is drained to a grey water recycling plant where it is filtered and sterilised. The processed grey water is then reticulated throughout the hotel and used for the flushing of all the toilets.
Hotel Verde uses geothermal heat pumps coupled to 100 boreholes drilled approx. 65 metres into the ground, where the temperature is a consistent 19 degrees. Supplier AGO Energy has installed a complex network of pumps and piping specifically designed for Hotel Verde that uses the earth as a heat source in winter and "heat sink" in summer, boosting efficiency and dramatically reducing operational costs.
My room was on the fourth floor with a view of the mountain (which I unfortunately couldn't see due to the clouds and rainy weather), and I was quite impressed to not hear one single plane take off!
Rooms are simple, yet elegant and best of all - green. I loved seeing recycling bins and the "green notes" all throughout the hotel explaining all the ways in which guests can contribute to the sustainability of the hotel.
Guests are even rewarded for how "green" they live during their stay through a point system called Verdino's. You earn a Verdino if you reuse your towel or linen, for example, or if you don't change the temperature of your room on the aircon. Each Verdino represents R5 that you can use at the restaurant or bar.
Perfect for the late arriving and early departing guests, the restaurant closes at 11pm at night and opens at 4:30am so that you can be sure to go to bed full or leave fuelled up and ready for the day (and also not to waste your money on horrible airline food that costs you a fortune).
All ingredients are locally and responsibly sourced within a 160-kilometre radius of the hotel. It also grows its own herbs and lettuce ensuring fresh and tasty dishes.
As usual, my highlight was the food. For supper, I simply couldn't resist the lamb shank with veggies and mash. Arriving in approximately 20-25 minutes, it didn't disappoint. The meat was cooked to perfection and the veggies fresh and flavoursome - an absolute must-try. Obviously I didn't neglect the dessert menu... I indulged in the gelato trio with a sugar wafer that was the perfect send-off to my cozy bed.
The breakfast buffet includes healthy options, with a spread of nuts, coulis, yoghurts and fruits, as well as traditional English breakfasts. Eggs and omelets are made fresh according to your preferences and the lunch and dinner menu includes a range of light and more substantial meals, including pizzas from the traditional pizza oven in the open plan kitchen.
Other facilities include conference and meeting rooms, a bar, a deli, an outdoor gym and jogging trail around the wetland, and an indoor gym with power-generating equipment. These machines feed power back into the hotel as you work out and shows the amount of energy you are generating. How cool?!
Even though the rainy winter weather hindered me from experiencing the stunning eco pool, I can just imagine how lovely it must be on a sunny summer's day to take a dive and enjoy the peaceful sounds of frogs and birds that live in the surrounding wetland. I'm sure your peacefulness will be disturbed by the sound of planes taking off and landing every now and then, but in an industrial mecca, this is as close to heaven as you're going to get.
Hotel Verde is situated at 15 Michigan Street, Airport Industria, Cape Town. For more, go to www.hotelverde.co.za or watch the corporate video to find out more about its green practices.
