Battlesteads Hotel and Restaurant in Wark, Northumberland, has been named Eco Hotel of the Year at the prestigious AA Hospitality Awards.

The 22-bedroom hotel and restaurant was awarded the accolade for its ongoing commitment to sustainability, positive contributions made to reducing its environmental impact and for its dedication to raising industry standards.

Battlesteads’ owners Richard and Dee Slade and general manager Katie Meyrick attended the awards ceremony held at the Grosvenor House hotel in London on Monday, 26 September, where the trophy was presented to them by actor and comedian Hugh Dennis.

In the 11 years since Richard and Dee took over the hotel, they have worked hard to establish Battlesteads as one of the UK’s leading tourism destinations. This has included reducing the hotel’s carbon footprint to less than a fifth of the industry average, expanding sustainably with five new eco lodges and becoming the only hotel in the UK with an onsite observatory.

Richard Slade, owner of Battlesteads said: “We are absolutely delighted to have been named Eco Hotel of the Year by the AA Hospitality Awards – one of the most well-respected awards in the industry. We really do pride ourselves on our sustainability and commitment to our ‘green’ principles so it’s fantastic to be recognised by that. Hopefully we can provide inspiration to other hotels looking to increase their own environmental policies and practices and help made the tourism industry greener as whole.”

Battlesteads has previously been recognised for its sustainability with other industry awards, including the Considerate Hoteliers Special Commendation Award 2015, a Platinum level rating in TripAdvisor’s GreenLeaders Programme in 2014, Hotel Cateys Green Hotel of the Year 2011 and a Gold Star Award at the 2011 Green Tourism Awards. The hotel and restaurant also has Three Star Sustainability Champion status, awarded by the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA).

Battlesteads Hotel and Restaurant in Wark, Northumberland, has cemented its status as one of the most sustainable hotels in the country by massively reducing its carbon footprint.

Well-known for its ‘green’ credentials, Battlesteads’ carbon footprint report reveals the hotel and restaurant’s emissions have decreased by 77.5% since 2012 to just 5.23kg CO2 per room per night in 2015. Despite the hotel’s increased occupancy following the addition of five new eco-lodges in 2015, Battlesteads is continuing to set the standard for sustainable hotels across the country.

Whilst the hotel’s carbon footprint is already considerably lower than the industry average of 31.1kg CO2 per room per night, Battlesteads isn’t stopping there and owners Richard and Dee Slade’s key objective for this year is to reduce their carbon footprint even further, with the aim to achieve less than 4.5kg CO2 per room per night by the end of the year.
One of the biggest influencing factors in the reduction of Battlesteads’ carbon footprint has been the switch to green energy provider ‘Ecotricity’ in January 2014. In addition to producing green energy, Battlesteads generate solar energy on site, 50% of which is used by Battlesteads and 50% which is sold to Ecotricity.

Battlesteads has been recognised for its commitment to environmental practices with multiple awards and has recently been shortlisted for Eco Hotel of the Year at the AA Hospitality Awards.

The shortlist recognises Battlesteads’ clear commitment to sustainability, demonstrated through good practice and policy to make a positive contribution to reducing its impact on the environment.

Richard Slade, owner of Battlesteads said: “We are delighted to have been shortlisted for Eco Hotel of the Year. Sustainability is something we pride ourselves on and the award really reflects our commitment to environmental practices. Since extending the hotel to offer more accommodation it was always going to be tough to keep up with our commitments to the environment so it’s great to see we’ve been able to sustain our eco principles and reduce our carbon footprint so greatly”.

Other awards given to Battlesteads for its sustainability include the Considerate Hoteliers Special Commendation Award 2015, a Platinum level rating in TripAdvisor’s GreenLeaders Programme in 2014, Hotel Cateys Green Hotel of the Year 2011 and a Gold Star Award at the 2011 Green Tourism Awards. The hotel and restaurant also has Three Star Sustainability Champion status, awarded by the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA).