With a rare two-airport-trips in one week due to my Knysna adventure, I was excited to be introduced to Hotel Verde and an opportunity to experience Africa's Greenest Hotel. Situated a few hundred meters from the airport itself, it was the perfect little pit-stop after my evening flight, and gave Luke and I a night away together before returning home the next day.
Starting with the basics, yes, it is a very 'green' hotel, but it is also simply lovely. With four stars, the room is decadent and large - a large tv, desk, couch and queen sized bed was a lovely welcome back to Cape Town. Moving to the bathroom, our room had a bath (not all do) and perhaps the best shower I'd had all month. With a not-awful selection of DSTV channels, we crawled into bed, found a movie to watch and feasted on Ile de Pain pastries , while enjoying a little guilt-free luxury.
After breakfast the next morning, we started exploring the green aspects of the hotel - a tour is available, which lasts approximately 45 minutes or so. Well worth doing.
From the outset - this is one clever hotel. The amount of thought that has gone into almost every aspect of it is simply mind-blowing - from lifts that generate electricity on their way down, to treadmills that feed into the power grid - it's pure genius. Hotel Verde is the first hotel in Africa to showcase power generating gym equipment; the health walkers and bicycles pump power back into the hotel and offer information on how much power you have generated.
The lounge area of the hotel is pretty - there was a free help-yourself-wine-tasting the evening that we arrived, set next to a wall of growing plants - which help purify the area (especially near the bar area) and keep the temperature constant.
We then went outside - where we found wind turbines, solar panels (which also provide shade to the very sunny rooms) and a rainwater collection system, which can hold 40 000 litres of water.
A wander around the back of the hotel took us to their wetland area - complete with outdoor gym - and their 'swimming pool' - which is completely harmless to the environment using no harmful chemicals. It recreates the natural system of wetlands to clean itself - with plants and reeds on the outer perimeter ensuring fresh, naturally filtered water for bathers.
Honestly, there are so many green gems hidden in this hotel - you can read all of the green features here - I couldn't tell you every nugget of genius. We were taken past the vegetable and herb garden, used by the kitchen - which is grown in a vertical aquaponic system to minimise space use whilst maximising production of vegetables and herbs. The cyclical system of fish and plants involves the breaking down of the fish waste into nitrates, which the plants will feed off, and in turn the plants clean the water for the fish. The system is fed by a timed pump system to ensure that the plants get regular and sufficient water, without wasting unnecessary energy.
All green activities are controlled by the hotel's plant room - controlling everything from hot and cold water, electricity consumption and generation - it's the brain behind the green hotel.
If you are flying in or out of Cape Town, I would highly recommend extending your trip by a day and spending a night at Hotel Verde. The offer complimentary shuttles to and from the airport - not only will the hotel's efforts make you very proudly South African, but it will start your journey with just the right touch of luxury.
We enjoyed our stay as guests of Hotel Verde. All images and views are my own.
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