Our Green Environmental Policy

“The Loch Melfort Hotel mission is to be the greenest Country House Hotel & Restaurant in Argyll. We strive to minimise the harmful effects & maximise the beneficial influences which all our activities have on the environment”.
Calum and Rachel Ross

The Loch Melfort Hotel mission is to be the greenest Country House Hotel & Restaurant in Argyll. Since we purchased the hotel in September 2008 we have striven to minimise the harmful effects & maximise the beneficial influences which all our activities have on the environment and are actively aiming to introduce as many environmentally friendly initiatives as we can over our first year of operation. In December 2008 Envirowise, on behalf of the Scottish government, carried out a Green Tourism Business Scheme Survey of the Hotel outlining the measures needed to gain accreditation.

As proof of our commitment to the environment we have already implemented many measures including:

• Purchasing quality local produce from as close to Arduaine as possible. So turning ‘Food Miles’ into ‘Food Metres’. Our head chef, Colin MacDonald, also seeks out farmers who undertake the close cycle system where the animals are born & bred on the farm never leaving until ready for the abattoir. All our seafood is local, with Nick Milton landing our legendary langoustines, lobster and crab direct to the slipway here in Arduaine. From sea to the plate in less than 30 minutes. That’s fresh.
• Our Staff are made fully aware of our sustainable ethos when joining the company and are encouraged to suggest new ideas to the Green Team which meets informally on a regular basis to discuss new initiatives. Sub-contractors & suppliers are also made aware of our Environmental Ethos.
• We have resourced Scottish luxury bathroom miniatures and use refillable pump dispensers in our main house lavatories, helping to reduce plastic bottles to landfill by 97%. Our soap is 100% Organic and made in Argyll.
• Low energy light bulbs have replaced 70% of bulbs. A specialist consultant has undertaken an inspection & audit on all lighting. Radiators have thermostatic valves enabling staff & guests to control the room temperatures. We have installed light sensors in our Main House wash rooms.
• Our water supply comes from a local spring behind the hotel. We use sand and UV filters to produce the freshest and clearest spring water direct to each room. We are replacing the original sewage system with an organic reed bed sewerage system later on in 2009.
• When toilet cisterns come up for renewal they are replaced with smaller dual flush cisterns. We are working on reducing flush volume from 7 litres to 6 litres in all our toilets.
• Old linen is recycled to friends, family and anyone else who needs it; otherwise it goes into a charity textile bin. Towels become face cloths or are used for cleaning.
• Wild Life – Seals, otters, herons and many different types of marine birds can be seen in the sea water in front of the hotel, along with Buzzards, Osprey and Golden Eagles which circle frequently in the local area.
• To make the garden wildlife friendly we have tried to ensure it offers a variety of habitats. Shelter, places to breed, feed & take water are all available and the pollen from the flowers at the neighbouring Arduaine garden means that birds, insects and butterflies are easy to spot.
• Loch Melfort has its’ own Highland Cattle, Campbell, McDonald and Dougal which are forming the first part of our livestock-breeding programme. Ducks arrived in May 2009 and hens in December 2009, the produce of which can be found on our menus, along with wild blackberries and sloes in season.
• We are building a kitchen greenhouse to the front of the hotel during Summer 2009 ready for growing our own tomatoes, courgettes, chillis and herbs.
• Refurbishment & Restoration – We use natural products whenever possible using local craftsmen & artists. We engage local tradesmen for all our building work and restoration projects and source all replacement products using the recycle, restore, refurbish ethos.
• Loch Melfort Hotel complies with all relevant legislation & regulations that relate to heritage, health & safety & the environment.

We are committed to continually improving our environmental efforts, our prevention of pollution & the restoration of our heritage as well as maintaining and running a high quality Country House Hotel & Restaurant.

Would you like to help? If so, please consider turning off your television at night rather than on standby, turn down your heater if your room is too warm rather than just opening the window – even little things help. Any suggestions, too, are very welcome – we are open to new ideas even if we are unable to implement them straight away...