Two of our recent visits have been to hotels that form part of the Exclusive Collection. We visited the Royal Berkshire, close to Ascot – and Fanhams Hall, just off the A10 near Ware in Hertfordshire.
Sustainability Credentials
The group is the first UK hotel chain to be accredited B Corp status for their sustainability policies. This involves ongoing external inspections looking at all aspects of the hotel’s green procedures – environmental, purchasing, waste and recycling processes and their community engagement.
The Exclusive Collections Sustainability and Environment Policy lists their promises, which includes reducing waste at all opportunities. It also includes a dedication to making improved purchasing decisions by using local suppliers who are also B Corp accredited. In addition, they have pledged to remove single use plastic by the end of 2023 – and have an impressive target of 95% waste to be recycled.
The group uses 100% renewable energy tariffs and most of their hotels have their own kitchen gardens and actively design their menus to include as much as their home grown food as possible (with food waste being used as compost wherever possible).
The group works closely with their suppliers and rewards them for using low carbon methods of delivery, for example using electric vehicles or biofuel vehicles.
In addition to their sustainability drive they also have pledged to give back 2% of their profits to charities such as Hospitality Action (supporting workers in the hospitality sector) and Protect Earth (who work with landowners to plant new trees).
The Collection
The Exclusive Collection includes hotels throughout the Midlands and South. The newest addition to the group is Ansty Hall, close to Coventry, which is currently going through a complete refurbishment to bring it inline with the other properties. Other hotels in the chain are: Fanhams Hall, near Ware; Lainston House, near Winchester; South Lodge, near Horsham; The Manor House, near Chippenham; Pennyhill Park, near Ascot; Royal Berkshire, near Ascot.
