Source your own local veggies, eggs, and seafood at these hotels
Luxury hotel dining has always meant steakhouses and cocktails, but these days it might also mean a bunch of kale sourced from the hotel lobby. While eco-travel and luxury travel were once pretty mutually exclusive, they're, blessedly, starting to overlap. Luxury hotels are now growing everything from mangoes to chickens right on their premises, sometimes allowing guests to play farmer and pick their own. If you want to keep to your green routine while traveling in style and you don't mind getting your hands dirty, you may want to check out these hotels:
Ritz-Carlton Charlotte sets up a farmer’s market in its lobby each week for guests. Many of us are accustomed to grabbing quick carbs or greasy snacks while traveling, but its lobby farmer's market allows Ritz-Carlton guests to stock up on fresh fruit and other local artisanal products. There's also a community garden in front of the hotel, where local pedestrians as well as guests can forage for their own produce.
Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur is another luxury hotel with a weekly farmer's market. The market gives hotel guests the opportunity to easily try exotic fruits such as durian, guava, and mangosteen, and it gives guests the option of having their bounty packed for shipment, in case they want to share the spoils.
Fontainebleu Miami Beach may not have a farm, but it does have an underground aquarium, which VIP guests can visit in order to observe locally caught seafood or even hand-pick their dinner. A team of fishermen sail the nearby waters in the hotel’s own 43-foot boat daily in order to keep the aquarium's stock plentiful and fresh for the hotel’s nine restaurants. According to the hotel’s "Vice President of Culinary," happy, stress-free fish taste better.
The Hyatt Regency Waikiki plays host to a twice-weekly farmer’s market popular with guests as well as locals. After purchasing fresh local fruits like mango and papaya, shoppers can hang out in the market's beer garden and sample local brews and Mai Tais. The Hyatt also has an aquaponics garden, which creates a symbiotic environment for plants and fish, both of which are used in the resort’s restaurants.
Six Senses Yao Noi in Thailand is home to a small chicken farm, which allows guests to play farmer themselves. The resort recently purchased 200 baby chicks and built a chicken house to raise them. The result: fresh, free-range eggs with low carbon footprint. The chickens are fed with fruit and vegetable trimmings from the restaurant, which reduces waste and improves the quality of the eggs. Guests can wander through the chicken house collecting their own eggs to bring directly to the chef for breakfast.
Fairmont Hotels is home to an apiary, where beehives are harvested and cared for by beekeepers. Pioneered by Fairmont to combat Colony Collapse Disorder, there are now eight pollinator bee hotels around the world. Many hotels with apiaries use the honey for in-house treats.
Looks like the choice between luxury and low-impact travel is ceasing to be a choice at all.