The Green House Hotel, Bournemouth – Review

The Green House bills itself as the `UK`s Greenest Hotel`. A very worthy moniker, for sure, but one more synonymous in my mind with eco light bulbs and recycling boxes than sumptuousness and style. But how wrong could I be! After a trip to Bournemouth last weekend, I have discovered that The Green House is a hotel that combines an effortless luxury with a real minimal impact on the environment.

The hotel interior features British designed and made wallpapers – printed with vegetable ink, pure wool fabrics which have been woven on the Isle of Bute, sumptuous organic goose down duvets and solid hard wood furniture which is either recycled or hand crafted in the UK from fallen trees damaged through storms or disease. The staff are all incredibly knowledgeable about the ethos of the hotel and our guide, Marcus Bell, gave us a tour with the kind of enthusiasm and knowledge that would make The Green Party proud.

The food was also completely pleasant surprise. No wheatgrass and vegan diet for us! We dined on a delicious `Tasting Menu` of nine courses – each of which looked like they could be a serious contender for the Turner Prize. Charismatic Head Chef Gordon Jones encourages diners to try something different and the menu included Sea Bream, Peas and Mint and Pigs – that`s `Cheeks, Jelly and Belly` to you! Not perhaps suitable for a vegetarian but an absolute must for all meat eaters! For those less enthused by eating cheeks, the vegetarian tasting menu includes Curried Pumpkin and Red Watercress and Asparagus and Pheasants Egg. Gordon sources all the food within a 30-mile radius of the hotel and most is either organic or `home` grown, wherever possible. This is a chef that takes `locally sourced` very seriously. At the end of the evening, he disappeared on the Green House custom-made beach cruiser to forage for New Forest mushrooms for our next morning`s breakfast!

The Green House is an absolute must for a luxurious and ethical break. Wake Up Bournemouth! – There`s a new kid on the other side of town and he`s going to shake things up a bit!