PHOTOS: Impressive Hungarian 5-star hotel earns Green Key certification
Minaro Hotel Tokaj MGallery is the second hotel in Hungary to be awarded the Green Key certification in recognition of its sustainability efforts. Green Key is a non-profit initiative of the Foundation of Environmental Education (FEE), whose mission is to promote environmental responsibility and sustainable operation of various tourism entities.
Green Key
The programme sets a strict set of requirements for tourism entities to ensure sustainable and environmentally friendly operations in the sector, turizmus.com reports. The programme, which has over 6000 partners worldwide, has a set of more than 100 criteria, covering areas ranging from waste collection to energy and water management to the protection of green spaces. Certification is achieved by successfully completing an audit by Green Key’s independent contractors.
According to the tourism-focused news portal, catering establishments that join the initiative have to undergo this review every year, but each year they have to meet more and more criteria to keep their Green Key certification. In February this year, Minaro Hotel Tokaj MGallery embarked on the path set out by these guidelines to preserve the natural values of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Tokaj-Hegyalja wine region for future generations.
Environmental awareness a priority for the hotel
Environmental awareness has always been a priority for Minaro. There is also a strong focus on protecting the surrounding wildlife, with a stork nest being built at Minaro in March and three beehives being installed next to the building in May. In addition, the garden will be transformed, with the Minaro team planting plants that are particularly beneficial to bees, such as lavender.
Minaro has already met a number of sustainability criteria in this first certification. However, every year, it aims to meet additional requirements in terms of both sustainability and the protection of flora and fauna. Thus, energy use and carbon footprint reduction are priorities for the coming period, the hotel said.
Living in harmony with nature
“As an environmentally conscious hotel, we started the process of joining the Green Key programme as soon as we had the opportunity. The preservation of the natural values of Tokaj-Hegyalja is a central issue for us,
as we want to live in the greatest possible harmony with the beautiful landscape that surrounds us – we feel a moral obligation to do so.
I am proud of our team, as we are one of the pioneers of an internationally recognised green initiative in Hungary,” said Dana Janigova, Hotel Manager of Minaro Hotel Tokaj MGallery.
About Minaro
The second Hungarian member of the Accor Hotels MGallery Collection is the 5-star Minaro Hotel, built among the vineyards of Tokaj, in the UNESCO World Heritage Tokaj wine region.
“Built on the site of a former andesite mine in Tokaj, a UNESCO World Heritage site, our adult-friendly 5-star hotel in the authentic Tokaj hills will transport you to a whole other world,” the official website of Minaro says. “It combines the liquid gold of Tokaj with a South American “El Dorado” theme. Our hotel offers 100 rooms and stunning views in the heart of the unspoilt Tokaj wine region. Experience limitless luxury in our suites, each one a jewel in the crown.”
The minimalist design was inspired by the former mining environment, but the impressive interior is a revival of natural treasures and luxurious elements of the Mayan world. The name Minaro is inspired by the liquid gold of Tokaj (oro) and the location of the hotel (mine).
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