Inn at Laurel Point is the first hotel in North America to commit to the climate

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Too often, things presented as “sustainable luxury” correspond neither to legitimate respect for the environment nor to genuine luxury. The Inn at Laurel Point offers both. The very first hotel in North America to join The climate commitment and BC’s first carbon neutral hotel, the Hostel in Laurel Point is nestled in Victoria’s Inner Harbour, offering not only stunning water views, a five-star experience and a commitment to sustainability that goes beyond greenwashing.

The stunning property features a total of two hundred well-appointed guest rooms and suites, each equipped with a private balcony overlooking Victoria’s Inner Harbor or downtown skyline. The sun-drenched lobby offers floor-to-ceiling windows while the entire hotel is heated and cooled using a marine cooling system comprised of 114 heat pumps that use seawater to power incredibly cool temperature controls. effective.

“We are a curious team that is always looking to improve the way we do things and looking at our business from a sustainable perspective presents opportunities and challenges us to be better,” says Eda Koot, General Manager of the Inn at Laurel Point. “As the leader and first carbon neutral hotel in British Columbia, it’s part of our culture, it’s not what we do but who we are.”

Koot notes that more customers are looking for companies that care about the environment — and that means more than just picking up and reusing its towels.

Keeping things carbon neutral can pose some challenges in the kitchen. According to executive chef Ken Nakano, who runs the hotel’s restaurant, Aura, the gastronomic team is finding the best options available from its local farming partners – but coping with rising costs has proven difficult. The culinary team has fought rising costs while further reducing its carbon footprint by organizing and maintaining an on-site garden built to best suit the needs of the kitchen.

“As we enter our third year, we are able to identify the varieties that work best and plan accordingly. We rotate our crops to have a variety of produce that matures throughout the growing season to coincide with Aura’s menu development. Our garden is constantly evolving so that all our menus stay on top of the season,” explains Chef Nakano.

According to Chef Nakano, the unique architecture of the building itself provides many microclimates that support the culinary team’s approach to growing and experiencing a wide variety of native and exotic produce for the enjoyment of our guests. These fresh harvests from the garden guide his menu throughout the seasons.

“The anticipation of working with products at its peak is very exciting for us and inspires our ‘in-the-moment’ vegetarian offerings,” he says. “Some of the ingredients that got me excited this year were calamansi, sea buckthorn, ginger, lemongrass, and Japanese ume, to name a few. The umeboshi that I make with ume fruit in July is a staple in our pantry that we use all year round. The variety of products we are able to create from the diversity of our garden is amazing. I’m also excited about our potatoes, cabbage, kale and Jerusalem artichokes,” he says. “The curiosity and learning opportunities created by this project have deepened our connections to local food systems.”

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