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Bulungula Lodge, South Africa
Xhosa, so good ... Bulungula Lodge, South Africa
Xhosa, so good ... Bulungula Lodge, South Africa

Small places to stay: worldwide

This article is more than 14 years old
From luxury yurts in Andalucía to an eco-retreat in The Gambia which will eventually be given to the local village, here are the some of the greenest places to stay around the world

Can Martí, Ibiza

Can Marti, Ibiza
Can Marti, Ibiza

An organic farm in the quieter north-east of the island. Choose between three self-catering studio apartments or an arabesque stone house that overlooks terraces of almond, olive and walnut trees. Rainwater is harvested, solar panels make the most of the sun, and organic breakfasts are brought to your apartment. The owner donates some of the takings to international NGOs.
+34 971 333 500, canmarti.com. From €145 or €910 for seven nights, room only.

Hoopoe Yurt Hotel, Spain

Hoopoe Yurt Hotel
Hoopoe Yurt Hotel

This remote luxury camp beneath the Grazalema mountains has five yurts among shady groves of cork and olive trees. The yurts have large double beds with sheepskin rugs, velvet cushions, outdoor bamboo bathrooms (including solar-powered hot showers), and candlelit dinners are served poolside in a lantern-lit pergola using produce from the owner's garden.
+34 696 668 388, yurthotel.com. €136 per yurt, per night. No young children.

L'Ayalga Posada Ecológica, Spain

An organic farm in La Pandiella, a hamlet in the Redes nature reserve between the Picos de Europa and the north coast beaches. The farmhouse is part of the European Centre of Eco Agro Tourism, whose members have committed to running their properties sustainably. L'Ayalga has been restored using lime, insulated with hemp, and uses solar power to heat its water.
+34 616 897 638, terrae.net. Two nights DBB plus one massage, €150 (offer until end May); doubles €59 B&B.

Hotel Posada del Valle, Spain

Hotel Posada del Valle
Hotel Posada del Valle, Spain
Hotel Posada del Valle, Spain

A small hotel on an 18-acre organic farm, close to the Picos de Europa and Asturias' sandy beaches. The farm uses solar power for hot water, rears indigenous Xalda sheep, ponies and chickens, grows cider apples and has its own vegetable garden. Nearby are rivers for canoeing and canyoning, plus horse riding and biking.
+34 985 84 11 57, posadadelvalle.com.Doubles from €62–€86, room-only.

Hôtel Les Orangeries, France

It was the first hotel in France to gain the European Ecolabel, but the elegant Hôtel Les Orangeries in Lussac-­les-Chateaux doesn't skimp on creature comforts. The restored 18th-century house has four-poster beds and a smart dining room with antique sideboards serving grand, mainly organic meals. The building has been renovated with hemp insulation, lime and natural paint, and solar panels provide heating.
+33 549 840 707, lesorangeries.fr. Doubles €85.

Canvaschic, France

One of the first yurt camps in France, in oak woodland in the Ardèche Gorge nature reserve. The main clearing has nine yurts with king-size beds and camp beds for kids, while three yurts for couples are further into the forest. The owners prepare vegetarian food four nights a week. Ten percent discount if you arrive on foot or by bike.
+33 6 50 81 21 40, canvaschic.com. Doubles €95, family room €120, B&B (minimum three-night stay).

Le Camp, France

Take the train to Lexos (via Toulouse) and the owners will pick you up and take you to their plush, safari-style yurt camp in oak woodland overlooking the Averyon valley. The huge solar-lit yurts, raised on wooden platforms, have handmade double beds, and there's an open-air kitchen and 20m-long natural swimming pool.
+33 563 654 834, lecamp.co.uk. From €160 per night for two.

Auberge Les Liards France

Renovated farm ruins in the Livradois Forez natural park, east of the Massif Central, where there's cycling and horse riding. The solar-powered guesthouse serves mainly organic food with fruit and veg from the kitchen garden. Evenings are spent sipping homemade bramble cordial on the terrace, watching the sun set behind the Auvergne volcano range.
+33 476 968 944, lesliards.com. Doubles from €39.

Orri de Planès, France

A family run eco-lodge for hikers exploring the lush Planès valley on the GR 10 Trans-Pyrenees trail. The main lodge has 10-rooms in an old stone-and-wood farmhouse, but there's also a self-catering lodge and campground with four mini-yurts. Solar energy heats the water in the eco-lodge, which has been certified by Green Key eco-label.
+33 4 68 04 29 47, orrideplanes.com. From €30pp pn B&B.

Orion treehouses, France

Four luxury treehouses just a whisper from the French Riviera. Made from red cedar, they are built between the trees rather than perched on trunks. Back on terra firma you can soak up the sun by the 15m natural pool, or it's a stroll to the medieval village of Saint-Paul de Vence.
orionbb.com. Treehouse sleeping 2 from €650 for three nights.

Locanda della Valle Nuova, Italy

Locanda della Valle Nuova
Locanda della Valle Nuova

Like most agriturismos, food and wine are the focus at Locanda, a 1920s farmhouse run on solar power near the hilltop town of Urbino in northwest Italy. The owners grow organic wheat, fruit and vegetables, raise cattle, pigs and poultry, and make their own pasta, jam and wine. In autumn you can gather truffles from the woods and return to a wood-fired stove fuelled by coppicing from the 185-acre farm.
+39 0722 330303, vallenuova.it. From €55pp B&B.

Aurum Lodge Hotel, Canada

Even by Canadian standards this place is remote: 40km from Banff national park, overlooking Abraham lake on the eastern slopes of the Rockies. The emphasis is on enjoying the natural adventure playground – snowshoeing and cross-country skiing in winter, hiking and canoeing in summer. Most power is provided by renewable energy.
+1 403 721 2117, aurumlodge.com. Doubles from around £80–£150 B&B.

E'Terra, Canada

At the edge of the Bruce Peninsula, E'Terra is a luxurious private estate and wellness centre with a green underbelly. The building has been awarded gold in the US and Canadian Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design programme (LEED) for rainwater harvesting and energy conservation.
+ 519 596 8300, eterra.ca. Doubles from around £235 per night B&B.

Chumbe Island Coral Park, Tanzania

Chumbe Island
Chumbe Island Coral Park

Home to one of the world's richest coral gardens, 6km off Zanzibar, Chumbe Island is part luxury retreat, part educational centre for marine biology. Fishing and scuba diving are banned, but you can snorkel. Accommodation is in bandas (two-tiered bungalows), rainwater is harvested and solar energy powers the showers.
+255 24 223 1040, chumbeisland.com. US$250pp pn all-inclusive.

Sandele Eco-Retreat, The Gambia

Winner of the 2009 Guardian and Observer Ethical Travel Award, Sandele is the vision of two Brits who have built 10 eco-friendly forest cabanas next to a three-mile sandy beach, as well as 20 guest rooms for a charity that runs environmental courses. Renewable energy pumps a water well, and the long-term plan is that, after 25 years, the land will revert to the village.
+220 4495887, sandele.com. From £65pp pn half-board or £80 full-board.

Bulungula Backpackers Lodge, South Africa

The runner-up (see Guardian review)to Sandele last year, this remote lodge sits by a wide, white sand beach on the Wild Coast. There's no road to the lodge (the staff collect you), so there's no light pollution or noise; everything is run off-grid – even the bread is baked in a solar oven; and local fishermen will show you how to land crayfish and octopus by hand.
+27 47 577 8900, bulungula.com. Doubles around £24, dorms £10pp.

Wilderness Lodges, New Zealand

Two pioneering luxury wilderness lodges on South Island, one at Lake Moeraki and one at Arthur's Pass, that have helped safeguard thousands of hectares of natural forests, shrub lands, grasslands and wetlands. Much of the food is home-reared or grown, and half the electricity is generated from their hydro-electric power plant.
+64 3 318 9246, wildernesslodge.co.nz. From £135pp DB&B, inc guided walks.

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