We’ve had some interesting chats with our guests over these last few weeks about all sorts of things, including how they came to find us…..

One set of guests arrived with an electric car, and told us that they only choose properties to stay nowadays that have car charging facilities as it makes their holidays so much less stressful. So they looked us up on Zap Map and then were delighted to find that we were an ecolodge to boot as they were very keen on all things sustainable. They also said that they had learnt even more things that they could do when they got home, so that was very much a win, win for us, especially as we so enjoyed their company at breakfast!

 

Another set of guests had specifically booked because they were travelling with a relative that had mobility needs and so had looked us up for that purpose. They were able to not only book our mobility friendly ‘Oak’ room, but the one next door. We can use an extra door in the corridor to effectively make these two rooms a mini suite, which is ideal for 4 people travelling together!

 The third thing we learned was that we are also chosen because we are near to Eden, not just for exploring, but visitors to the Eden sessions too. We had another family group staying who were able to take the two rooms together, which makes the space just a little bit more private. The rooms can interconnect via the terrace overlooking the river, or we have a lovely picnic & barbecue area around the side.

 

We also know from last year that we are often chosen because we are dog friendly, although we are quite strict about stays as we want all guests to feel comfortable and welcome, whether they are arriving with a four legged or two legged companion, so if your dog is quite ‘vocal’ and reacts at every sound, we may not be right for you! However, all of our canine guests so far have been immaculately behaved, and they love exploring the countryside (and dog friendly pubs…..) right from our door!

 

 A couple of things that we have noticed…….

 I guess it is a compliment in some ways that guests don’t always realise that we are offgrid and have to carefully manage things like heat and power. This is in part designed as we wanted to demonstrate a ‘normal’ style of living i.e a building that looked to all intents and purposes like an average home – with rain showers, freezers, fridges, kettles etc….

However, that has thrown up a few interesting things…….

 When you go into a hotel you don’t really think about their heating and power/water costs – you are there to have a good time, and as you’ve paid for that time, that’s what foremost in your mind most probably….

 However, here we not only rely on solar power to keep things working, it also runs the pumps for the underfloor heating and heating our 1,000 litre water tank.

 We heat the water 3 ways; via solar thermal on a sunny day, a manual switched immersion if we have loads of excess power in the summer, or mainly via a huge log boiler. So the wood has to be chopped, air dried, rotated by dryness and brought inside to finish drying, then loaded into the boiler – in the spring and autumn that can be anything up to 2-5 times a week depending on how guests use it!

 So staying in a sustainable building means a) not turning the heating up to an unsustainable level – i.e 25 degrees (!) and then b) leaving the doors open to let cold air in! That means the pump is constantly going in order to try to heat the room, draining our batteries and the hot water tank!

 This is something that none of us would ever think about unless we were at home and responsible for the bills – here it is not bills that occupy our minds but the wasting of precious resources (wood, water and power) and our efforts to provide these..

 Its the same with having long showers and leaving taps running – it all uses power, heat and water – and deprives other guests as well. And as we rely on our own borehole for water, not using it in the first place is always foremost in our minds. Last summer was particularly tricky, and there s no way to know how much water is there without removing the pump and equipment and putting a line down – something we do not want to risk doing in the busy season!

 This might seem a bit like a ‘boot camp’ regime, but it isn’t meant to be. It is meant to gently demonstrate how we are all responsible not only for our actions, but their effects on others. We definitely want guests to feel welcome and comfortable, but to also be aware of their fellow guests – most hotels actively discourage that – but that’s not what we’re about. Its about making very small changes that can save energy, water and ultimately your bills – whether we are off or on grid we are all in this together!