Sleep well in a sustainable stay 

Do you appreciate good comfort and treasure sustainability? Many accommodations in Åland have long been caring for the environment and aim to improve their environmental work. If you want to ensure that your accommodation meets your values and that its environmental efforts are measured, choose a hotel or a B&B with an established eco-label.  

The Åland Islands are surrounded by the sea in every direction. No wonder the people living on the islands as well as Åland companies find preserving and protecting the vulnerable archipelago and the Baltic Sea essential. 

When you want to sleep well knowing the accommodation you stay at cares about the environment, choose an accommodation with the international Green Key certificate or the Nordic Swan label. Here you can read more about the environmental efforts these certified accommodations do. Thanks to them, you’ll sleep a bit better and the archipelago stays more prosperous.

Accommodations with Green Key

Hotell Arkipelag

The Arkipelag hotel is one of the most traditional hotels in the Mariehamn centre. All rooms offer high standard accommodation and a classic interior design. Every room has a balcony where you can admire a sea view and enjoy morning sun, or watch the small town life in the sunset. The hotel restaurant with a nightclub is a popular spot both among locals and hotel guests.   

Hotel Arkipelag has implemented sustainability in its work for a long time and it was awarded Green Key in 2015. Their aim to minimise their environmental impact can be seen in various ways. Like many other hotels, they have installed water saving filters, they use eco-friendly detergent and minimise their energy consumption. The windows in the restaurant are a great example of that. In their recent renovation, the old windows were replaced with new energy efficient windows. “It was an expensive investment but cost-efficient”, says the hotel director Ann-Louise Djupsund. In winter the new windows save energy by keeping the restaurant warm and cosy, in summer they reflect sunlight and keep the locale cool and comfortable.

In the hotel kitchen, the chefs cook mainly from local ingredients. One of the main principles is to minimise food waste. To succeed, they take help from an app called Resq. With the app they sell leftover portions, for example from lunch, for a lower price. They also serve lunch as a buffet and use smaller plates which is an efficient way of decreasing food waste.

The Åland breakfast at Arkipelag is well known in Åland. Here you can start the day with fresh and delicious Åland food – sea buckthorn yoghurt, fresh apple juice, cheese, charcuterie and much more.

Besides the obvious terms set by the Green Key, hotel Arkipelag takes many smaller actions that may remain unknown to you as a customer. For example, they grow herbs used in cooking and in drinks by themselves. They are also self-sufficient when it comes to flower decorations – during summer and autumn they grow flowers in their pool area and thus offer an oasis for insects but also avoid buying imported flowers.

One of the cornerstones of hotel Arkipelag environmental work is reuse. Only items that are broken and can’t be fixed are replaced with new ones. To name a couple of details, when the restaurant went through a renovation a couple of years ago all the old table legs were reused even though they are 40 years old. In the hotel gin bar and dining restaurant Compagniet, drinks are served in the same crystal as in the 1970s. One more detail is the large carpet on the terrace. Would you have guessed it’s made of recycled plastic bottles?

Park Alandia Hotell

The family owned Park Alandia Hotell was awarded Green Key in 2018. The cosy hotel lies by the lush Esplanaden alley in the centre of Mariehamn. Here, just a short walk from the town museums, cafés and restaurants, you’ll enjoy a comfortable stay. Taking care of their guests and the environment in a sustainable way is a cornerstone for Park Alandia Hotell and is implemented in all parts of the business.  

In your hotel room, you can read how to participate in the hotel’s environmental work. You are instructed, for example, on how you can help the hotel cut down the laundering of bed linen and towels. The personnel strive to spread the eco-friendly mindset in every part of their work. All employees who are in charge of supplies of all kinds have been educated in sustainability.

There’s a restaurant and a pub in the hotel, both popular among the guests as well as locals. For breakfast you’ll find local butter, milk, cheese and yoghurt from ÅCA, the largest Åland dairy. Also ham and sausages, eggs, the fresh apple juice and apples come from Åland. For lunch and dinner you are often served fish from Åland, meat from Åland or the Finland mainland and locally grown vegetables. 

Not only has the hotel been awarded the international Green Key certificate, but they are also certified with the Swedish Kranmärkt label, which ensures high quality tap water. If you prefer a drink instead of pure water, you can try one of the slow beers from the local brewery Stallhagen in the hotel pub.

What other measures does the hotel take for the environment? For example, they avoid unnecessary energy consumption. The lights are turned off automatically when no one’s in the room. In addition, the electricity is turned off in your room two minutes after you’ve left the room. You are encouraged to turn off the water while shampooing in the shower and turn off the tap while brushing your teeth – both effective ways of saving water even at home.

The Green Key has strict standards for cleaning and recycling and naturally they are met by Park Alandia Hotell, both in the rooms, the restaurant kitchen and the personnel’s premises.  Cleaning is done as often as possible without detergents, but when they are used, they are always eco-friendly and used restrictedly. 

After you have checked in and made yourself comfortable, it’s time to start exploring Mariehamn and its surroundings. There are bikes at the hotel you can borrow and see Mariehamn without any exhaust – Maybe the most delightful action done for the environment.

Silverskär Islands

In the northern Åland archipelago, on the island of Silverskär, you’ll see the Green Key flag wave in the sea breeze. The island welcomes groups mainly and it’s a popular venue for meetings and bigger parties, such as weddings. The surrounding archipelago with small islets, the sea and the wildlife are the most important advantages for Silverskär, and luckily, that’s obvious for the Holmberg family who run the business. 

Silverskär is famous for their food and their sustainability policy. They use local ingredients in cooking, the old buildings are carefully renovated and preserved and the newest building is built completely in wood. The energy is derived partly from solar panels and no wastewater is let out to the sea. Silverskär was awarded the Green Key certificate in 2014.

30 years of hard work ensures that the sustainable mindset is an essential part of Silverskär. Everybody working on Silverskär does their best to sustain Silverskär as a green island in the middle of a blue sea. Both big actions but also smaller efforts count.

Usage of locally produced and ecological food is the base the whole Silverskär food policy stands on. The chef Gustav prepares as much as possible from scratch. Not only does he make his own soya and fish sauce but he also grows many of the herbs and vegetables  used in cooking by himself. The meat served in the restaurant is either game or comes from local farms where the animals are properly taken care of. The fish on the menu is from the island’s own nets or bought from local fishermen.

Using local food has many benefits. One of them is that Silverskär has been able to make well known courses, usually made of ingredients from foreign countries, more local. Here you can, instead of ordering a risotto, ask for a “speltotto”. It’s made of locally and ecologically grown spelt wheat instead of rice. 

Established on an island, Silverskär is dependent on transports both to and from the island. Everything must be transported to the island by boat and that applies naturally the other way round as well. Including waste. To be able to decrease waste and in that way even transport, all guests are encouraged to drink tap water instead of bottled water.

The largest buildings on Silverskär are heated with geothermal energy. In addition, part of the energy is produced with solar panels. All waste is carefully recycled and in summertime, bio waste is composted.

The newest building called Bodlängan is constructed in wood which makes it healthy and more sustainable. It has six double rooms, each of them personally decorated with wooden material from Silverskär’s own forest. The interior design makes your stay exciting and gives that little extra for your visit.

Hotels with Nordic Swan

Hotel Pommern

In hotel Pommern you’ll stay in central Mariehamn, just a hundred metres from the pedestrian street Torggatan’s shops, cafés and restaurants. Ålandhotels’ flagship was awarded the Nordic ecolabel Svanen, the Nordic Swan, in 2019.  

A couple of years ago Pommern was renovated. It offers stylish accommodation from single rooms to larger family rooms. In the parking area you are able to recharge your electric car. If you travel without your own vehicle, you can borrow a bike from the hotel and explore the town in an eco-friendly way.

The hotel personnel always take environmental aspects into consideration in their daily work. The hotel has a policy for water and energy consumption, they strive for diminishing food waste and sort and recycle their waste. The policy is to use as little detergents as possible and replace them, as well as food and other consumption items, with alternatives that are better for the environment.

When you look for a nice place to eat, you don't have to leave the hotel. The restaurant Kvarter 5 is a popular spot both among hotel guests and locals. The menu contains many local ingredients in season, which not only taste good, but also have a positive impact on the local society. Since the hotel is certified with the Nordic Swan label, they use many products with their own Swan label.

The hotel’s environmental work also applies to transports, purchase and usage of chemicals. The criteria for the Nordic Swan label is changing constantly and thus the hotel needs to improve its policy continuously. The whole personnel is included in the environmental work and as a guest in this hotel, you are welcome to contribute in any way you can.

Hotell Savoy

Hotel Savoy, a part of the Ålandhotels, has a great location in the centre of Mariehamn, a couple of quarters from the eastern shore and a short walk from restaurants and other town services. The hotel reception is unmanned during some periods but during this time, you check in at the nearby hotel Pommern, where also the breakfast is served. 

Hotel Savoy offers a sauna and a pool area, where you’ll relax after exploring the town, or start the day with a swim. The hotel has been certified with the Nordic Swan since 2011.

Summertime you are served breakfast at the hotel and you get a great start for the day. You’ll find many local ingredients in season, which not only taste good, but also have a positive impact on the local society. Since the hotel is certified with the Nordic Swan label, it’s obvious that they use many products with the Nordic Swan label as well.

The Nordic Swan sets strict standards for both water and energy consumption, and using renewable energy is highly recommended. As a part of Ålandhotels Savoy follows the same sustainability policy as the other hotel with the Nordic Swan in the company, the Pommern hotel.

Besides walking, biking from one site to another in Mariehamn is a convenient and eco-friendly way to explore the town and its surroundings. Hotel Savoy has bikes for you to borrow, so take the chance to enjoy a bicycle ride while you stay at Savoy.

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