The commitment to the environment and social sustainability is already part of the Spanish hotel sector. So it will be easy to find an accommodation that meets all your demands in terms of sustainability.
Paradores de Turismo, pioneers in sustainability
The Paradores de Turismo de España will soon be a century old. Since 1928, they have played a leading role in the development of local environments. The Paradores are public entity properties whose objective is to protect the historical and cultural heritage, care for the environment and promote the local economy. For this reason, most of these accommodations (almost a hundred across Spain) use historic or iconic buildings, or are located in exceptional places.
When you turn on the light in your room at a Parador de Turismo, you should know that it uses 100% electrical energy from renewable sources and that you will not find any single-use plastic. The Paradores de Turismo in Spain are constantly calculating their carbon footprint and aim to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030. They also regularly collaborate with around fifty environmental NGOs, promoting campaigns to recover flora and fauna.
Spanish hotel chains, international leaders in sustainability
In Spain you can choose from endless types of accommodation, and you can see their commitment to sustainability, from small rural houses to large hotel chains like NH, Meliá, Barceló, Iberostar, Ilunion and Vincci. There are countless, cross-sector initiatives and actions, from energy and water saving plans, to projects with environmental NGOs or strict assessments of their suppliers.Find out about the measures adopted by each of the Spanish hotel chains and enjoy double the rest when you stay in one of them. Your carbon footprint is controlled.
Another option is to enjoy small boutique hotels in the middle of nature, ecolodges or glamping sites. They are the latest trend in environmentally friendly accommodation!It may be the first time you hear the word glamping. It is short for glamorous camping, accommodation that brings together all the advantages of a campsite without forgetting comfort and sustainability. You can consider it a luxury green campsite. The island of Mallorca and the Costa Blanca (region of Valencia) are pioneers in this type of accommodation.
Ecolodges are similar in character. The philosophy behind a lodge has moved from the Africa of photographic safaris to the Spanish natural spaces. These are normally one and two-bedroom properties, built of wood and raised off the ground, which use technology so that their environmental impact is minimal: energy saving, waste management, environmental conservation... They are the perfect destinations for nature tourism, which is why they are usually very close to natural spaces of great interest, such as the Cabañeros National Park (Ciudad Real) or the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (Madrid), or in unique mountains and beaches, like the Brona beach or the Montes de Barbanza, in Galicia, surrounded by pines, oaks and chestnut trees.Look for them, they are scattered throughout the most characteristic natural spaces in Spain.
Traditional and historic buildings for sustainable tourism
Urban, semi-urban, rustic... or isolated in the middle of nature. In Spain, you will find accommodation that combines history, traditional architecture and respect for the environment, in any habitat.From urban buildings that are over 150 years old in Barcelona, agricultural estates or ancestral farms in the Balearic Islands, to 18th-century colonial buildings on the coast of the Canary Islands... These properties exude respect and erudition. They have been created to preserve the local culture.
This is a unique offering, full of incentives. They form part of the landscape, highlighting its architectural values, using organic and recycled materials, and leveraging their surroundings to grow their own products.Examples of this can be seen in the accommodation networks including the Granada Cave Houses, dug into the slopes of steep hills and ravines, the Hospederías de Extremadura, located in palaces, convents and stately homes, the Casonas Asturianas, the starting point for excursions in search of the brown bear, the Hospederías de Castilla-La Mancha, ideal for exploring nature in all its splendor and the Hospederías de Aragón, where you will feel like medieval aristocracy.You can explore other initiatives in the Spanish hospitality sector, which pursue specific objectives, such as the project Zero Plastik in Donostia-San Sebastián, focused on the prevention of waste in hotels and the improvement of waste management. Or those related to the use of clean energy, such as those promoted by the Council of Tenerife and the Technological and Renewable Energy Institute (ITER) that promote the bioclimatic houses, located in front of the sea next to the Montaña Pelada Natural Monument, with the sun and the wind as main energy sources.