The Eco Hotels demonstrate green credentials in European capital cities

Online, January 18, 2010 (Newswire.com) - With an unprecedented focus on the traveller's Carbon Footprint and their demand to balance a luxury hotel with a clear green conscience; a new type of Eco hotel offers a green hideaway in cosmopolitan European cities.

Splendia, the luxury hotel group are leading the way with their new Viennese hotel, Stadhaltalle. Michaela Reitterer, the hotel owner claims that it is the "World's first zero-energy-balance hotel."

Not only does it boast three wind turbines, solar panels and water-heat pumps but also a lavender filled roof garden. In the warm summer evenings, crickets and grasshoppers gather in this hideaway set on the Viennese rooftops. Possibly as a reward to their stringent green principles and no CO2 footprint, the uplifting music that these insects provide is nowhere else to be found in the city, hence offering a unique city break experience.

This historical apartment house dates back to 1890 and joined the Splendia group in 2001. Having undergone a refurbishment project it re-opened in November 2009, it has won many ecological awards and clearly demonstrates how luxury and ecological principles can fuse well together.

There is also a strong conservational commitment in one of the Barcelona hotels, La Florida. A hot spot for Spanish high society with its presence of avant-garde art and pure opulence, it also manages to keeps its distance from the hustle and bustle of Barcelona. Set in the calm of the highest hill of the area, Tibidabo, it offers the customer countryside views over the city but also the tranquillity of a country retreat. The swimming pool's ozone-purified water highlights the customer's desire to mix luxury with an interest in the natural world.

Hotel groups have built on their knowledge of luxury and are now engaging it further with their ecological values and commitment to protect the planet. With lavishness that is only usually found in Rome hotels, the HI hotel in Nice is another example of how a modern boutique hotel can live up to both customers' five star standards and their green credentials. Serving only organic food, it is set on 200 metres of beach and was developed to reconcile with the simplicity of its natural environment. Although only a few steps away from the Promenade des Anglais and main tourist attractions of the city, it focuses on relaxation through its innovative design that is based on nine different conceptualised environments.

As yet, there does not seem to be any London hotels that can compete with their European counterparts. Not only are these innovative hotel designers re-assessing what customers demand from their luxury hotels, but also inventing ways the consumer can have both a green oasis and be just a short trip from all lifestyle amenities on their city break.