An environmentally-friendly hotel has opened in Battersea on the Left Bank in London. The Rafayel was built with the goal to reduce each guest’s carbon footprint.The hotel hopes to incorporate ‘affordable luxury’ and the ethos of ‘living at peace with nature’ for all those staying in its rooms. There are 65 bedrooms from guests to choose from, all which feature bespoke furniture and fittings.
The bedrooms at the hotel were designed to be large, with the biggest measuring over 210sqm. All rooms have full-length mirrors to let in the daylight, as well as views over the city.
The bathrooms feature body-spray showers and the larger rooms have hydrotherapy baths. Water is harvested from the rain and the hotel is able to produce 6,000 litres of rain water each day. The water is also used to grow thousands of plants on the grounds of the hotel and it is also fed into the fountain that recycles the water. Eventually the hotel hopes to increase its rain harvesting capacity to 10,000 litres a day.
Although the hotel uses the latest technology, it reduces greenhouse gas emissions through a ‘no plastic’ policy and LED lighting. This alone is set to reduce The Rafayel’s CO2 emissions by 500,000kg per year. The average London guest currently has a carbon footprint of 70kg a night and at the Rafayel it will be reduced to 17kg. The lighting program will also reduce overall electrical costs by 80 per cent a year.
The hotel has views over the Thames and features a spa. The Rafayel also has a range of bars and restaurants including a brasserie, bakery and afternoon tea lounge. The Banyan on the Thames restaurant offers a healthy all day menu and the Left Bank Brasserie is a place for casual dining. Mychelle’s Baketique sells pastries and sweets and the Crystal Bar serves cocktails, drinks and snacks.
