Melia Hotels International is set to open a five-star Gran Melia property on the Spanish Balearic island of Menorca later this year.
Villa Le Blanc is a renovation of the former Sol Beach House Hotel, and will feature 159 rooms, some with private pools, as well as several restaurants offering “exquisite cuisine focused on local products”.
Situated on the Migjorn coast between Mahon and Ciutadella, the property has been designed to resemble a large balcony overlooking the sea, with “terraces and porches typical of Mediterranean architecture uniting the outdoor and indoor spaces”.
Melia is also highlighting the property’s sustainable credentials, with the aim of it being “a prototype for hotel efficiency”, with a reduction in scope 1 and 2 emissions of 87 per cent.
Among the initiatives include the use of seawater within the building’s air-conditioning system “to improve efficiency and achieve reductions in electricity use of up to 40 per cent”.
Residual heat from the system will be used to preheat domestic hot water and the heated swimming pools, while backwash water from the swimming pools will be used for cleaning the hotel, rainwater will be used to irrigate the gardens and grey water will be used in the toilets.
Melia said that the hotel would also explore alternatives to offset its remaining emissions and ensure carbon neutrality.
Fellow Spanish hotel group Iberostar recently announced plans to convert two of its existing properties to “fully-electrified hotels”, as part of a target to achieve greater energy efficiency and lower energy consumption across the group.
Commenting on the news Gabriel Escarrer, vice president and CEO of Melia, said:
“Villa Le Blanc is a dream come true for our company, because a project like this allows us to move forward towards hotel decarbonisation.
“It is also in such a special place as the Biosphere Reserve of Menorca, making it one of the most tangible results of our commitment to a hotel model based on excellence, responsibility and sustainability”.
