WHAT MAKES US ECOLOGICAL?

Casa Albets is, in every aspect, an ecological hotel. When designing and starting our project, we, as the management team, have taken care of every speck of dust to give to this project coherence as a whole. Casa Albets unifies the ideas of respect for the environment, preference for local production and economy, sustainability and self-sufficiency, and granting the maximum quality and comfort standards.

Therefore, ecology has been present in every stage of the rehabilitation of this masia to reconvert it into a hotel. The rehabilitation, designed and directed by architects Anna Feu and Carles Godoy, from Feu&Godoy Architecture, has been made with the most respectful criteria regarding the original shape of the house. In addition, Casa Albets has achieved the highest certificate of energetic efficiency. On the other hand, the building was already gifted with interesting characteristics from a bioclimatic point of view, since it is a traditional masia: it is open to the south, with great windows that allow a great exposure during the sunny hours, and closed to the north, with small windows, that isolate the cold.

POWER SOURCES AND WATER MANAGEMENT

Another significant fact that makes our hotel ecological is the energy source used for heating the water, the bedroom and all the hotel: a biomass boiler that functions with chip from local production. In the near future, we plan the installation of solar panels to make this system even more sustainable.

The administration of wastewater has also been designed, as couldn’t be otherwise, having into account the highest standards of sustainability. Casa Albets has a system that separates solid and liquid waste. Once the solid waste is set apart, they are taken to a wastewater treatment plant. The liquid waste is sent to anatural purifications system where, thanks to the action of certain aquatic plants, it becomes apt for ground infiltration.

OUR FURNITURE

Furthermore, we feel particularly proud of saying that the vast majority of our furniture -except the restaurant chairs, the armchairs from some bedrooms and the sofas from the communal spaces- has been made with wood from our own estate, cut down in 2015 and that now comes back to our house in the shape of beautiful and handmade furniture, designed to praise the nobility of this primal matter.

We are a family that looks to the detail and love to make things with love and care. Both the mattress, made by Naturalmat, and the sheets, by Koko Klim, are handmade and 100% ecological, vegan and natural. Our cushions are also handmade and handsewn by Ecomatalasser, following the ancient Catalan technique. Each client has two cushions, one soft; the other, firm. The soft cushion is filled with miraguano, a natural fibre spectacularly fluffy; the firm one is made with latex flakes and a mix of aromatic herbs that favour sleep.

THE CUISINE

Our philosophy is also present in our menu, with dishes made with eco-friendly, local and high-quality products. In the near future, most of the ingredients will be homegrown, using the 30 hectares of the field, which will produce grains and legumes, vegetables just in front of the threshing floor, so our clients will be able to see the garden where the vegetables they will later find in their plates grow.

This garden will be watered with recollected rainwater. We also plan to turn some of our fields near the house into an orchard, and it will be watered with the purified wastewater.

OUR LOCATION

The Albets estate counts with almost 200 hectares, 30 of which are fields. The rest of hectares are a huge and beautiful forest where we plan to take action to protect and enhance biodiversity and wildlife. Amongst those future projects are:

• The conditioning of an ancient pool so it can be colonized by different local species of amphibians;
• The plantation of a field of flowers, aromatic plants and fruit trees to favour insect pollinators and frugivorous animals;
• The installation of nests and refuges, so birds and other animals have a place to reproduce, breed and feed their babies.

Likewise, from Casa Albets we will promote the creation of environmental education activities to encourage everyone to approach and take part in the preservation of nature.