Hertfordshire Hotel Receives Prestigious Green Apple Award for Ecological Sensitivity

WARE, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwired - Nov 26, 2013) - When it comes to paving the way for sustainable hospitality, expectations were redefined when Hanbury Manor, A Marriott Hotel & Country Club received The Green Organisation's 2013 Green Apple Award. Not only is this gracious estate located on 200 acres of parkland instead of city streets, but its impressively successful methods at reducing its carbon footprint employ, much like the hotel itself, a medley of new and old-fashioned practices that yield tangible results.

The Green Apple Awards began in 1994 and have become a hallmark for the most environmentally-sound companies, councils and communities. As Marriott's only international representative to receive the award in 2013, Hanbury Manor competed against more than 500 other nominations. But what helped set the hotel apart from the rest was its quantifiable progress. The hotel reduced its KWH consumption by 29.6 percent since 2004 and its water consumption by 21 percent since 2002. Lastly, its recycling program tackles 90.8 percent of the hotel's waste in food, glass, paper, plastic, metals and toner cartridges.

Just as the property combines the best of history and modernity to create some of the loveliest hotel rooms in Hertfordshire, so too does it take a multifaceted approach to going green. Water-saving devices in taps, toilets and showers; more efficient boilers and controls; and using T5 and LED lighting options have all improved the hotel's efficiency.

But it's the creative ways that perhaps best illustrate the hotel's commitment to making the planet a better place to live. Its Hertfordshire golf course, for example, is the site of several eco-friendly endeavors. Thanks to wildlife corridors, bird boxes, tree planting and more, the 18-hole championship course is among the first hotel courses in the UK to receive Audubon certification. Key areas of the course are also where, by participating in the Operation Pollinator campaign, the hotel has cultivated wildflowers to attract and sustain bees.

Pollination is in keeping with the hotel's other great endeavor: beekeeping. By creating bee-friendly environments and implementing a beekeeping program, the hotel not only aids the dwindling bee populations, it also creates opportunities to develop its own Hanbury Manor honey.

In addition, Hanbury Manor affords its business guests the chance to explore their carbon footprints. Offering some of Hertfordshire's most inspired group accommodations and meeting spaces, the hotel provides a reporting tool that lets specific corporations analyse the amount of energy a meeting will require at Hanbury Manor as compared to other properties. This allows businesses to exercise good corporate social responsibility even as they plan their conferences.

Of course, all these endeavors are just the first leaves on Hanbury Manor's metaphorical tree of sustainability. From saving the bees to saving energy, Hanbury Manor enjoys a wide range of eco-friendly pursuits that benefit guests, its community and the planet alike.

About Hanbury Manor, A Marriott Hotel & Country Club
Getting away from it all feels curiously luxurious when one arrives at the quintessential country retreat, Hanbury Manor, A Marriott Hotel & Country Club. Whether it's the walled gardens, the wood-paneled library or the 19^th-century, Jacobean-style house, there's an aura of elegance about this property that's enhanced by its five-star service. A full-service spa invites guests to relax, an 18-hole championship course offers year-round play and the two restaurants -- the 2 AA Rosette-winning Zodiac Restaurant and the internationally-inspired Oakes Grille -- employ organic and local ingredients in their tempting dishes. The 149 guest rooms and 12 hotel suites in Hertfordshire, meanwhile, reflect the property's history with period features, but modern amenities like LCD flat-screen televisions, luxury bedding and wireless Internet make them inviting to today's travellers. Similarly, the health club, tennis courts and breathtaking Romanesque indoor pool provide plenty of opportunities to play. The hotel also offers 13,993 square feet of event space to welcome weddings, conferences and intimate meetings. Although London is just 30 minutes away, guests won't miss a minute of it while they're enjoying the many attractions of this Hertfordshire estate.