Plantación Hotel - Beyond the usual eco-friendly accommodation

The location, the concept, the restaurant, and even the timing was perfect during my stay at Plantación Hotel in Jardin, Antioquia. Just like its name, Jardin is a beautiful and traditional Colombian village surrounded by the Andes mountains and filled with colorfully painted houses that remind us of the cutest garden. It was a great surprise to find a sustainable hotel with such modern architecture yet still connected to its origins and environment. Unlike other eco-friendly hotels, Plantación Hotel goes further and beyond with the sustainability concept by educating its guests to reduce their environmental footprint in simple actions. We were charmed with every detail of the room aimed to reduce our waste but, moreover, show us small tricks easy to apply daily. For example, glass bottles and fabric bags to avoid the use of plastic, separated garbage bins for organic and reusable waste since they also have compost and the use of rainwater for the toilets and the garden. Also, as simple as using cotton towels that are thinner and lighter means less use of water, energy, and soap (biodegradable, not tested on animals and from a local provider) on each washing cycle, which is considerable when you think of hotel use. Then, other small actions that I now use regularly were displayed within the hotel like the use of a hourglass (charming decor item btw) to time your showers and the use of a bucket to collect the cold water while the hot water comes over that will after be used to clean the bathroom (no waste!).

Consulado Vegetal, the hotel restaurant, was also carefully thought around the local resources and environmental impact. Plant-based, most of the restaurant is locally sourced either by other producers or from the organic orchard located in their very own backyard. Delicious, healthy, and socially responsible, our breakfast and lunch were both satisfying on the tastebuds and consciousness. I would highly recommend anyone visiting Jardin, Antioquia, to try Consulado Vegetal restaurant. It is open to the public every day for breakfast and lunch, and I'm sure it can please anyone even those who don't have a plant-based diet like me (you would be surprised how good it is).

I could go over a lot of details from my stay in Hotel La Plantacion; they were so many. Still, the most essential part, in my opinion, is that they succeed in giving a high-quality level of accommodation without the feeling that we have to compromise on anything. And that's when you start realizing that comfort and wellbeing do not have to be a synonym of resource waste and that it is entirely possible to enjoy your trip or your daily life actually, without it implying a trail of environmental destruction and social unbalance. Plantación Hotel considers itself as a hotel, obviously, but also as a laboratory and school where they experiment new ways to balance life with our environment and share those not only with visitors but also with providers, staff, and locals from Jardin. That's definitely the impact I got from my short stay in Plantación Hotel where I learned so much and got inspired to improve many aspects of my lifestyle.