The five-star G&V Royal Mile Hotel Edinburgh is welcoming 180,000 new guests this month.
The guests are honey bees which will live in hives on its rooftop in a bid to support the local bee population and provide delicious home-produced honey to guests.
As part of its ongoing commitment to sustainability, Quorvus Collection has set up three beehives on the roof of its luxurious hotel, giving a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘fit for a queen’!
In an initiative that pushes the boundaries of eco-tourism in Scotland’s capital, Quorvus Collection’s G&V has partnered with leading sustainability business Plan Bee Ltd to welcome 180,000 bees to its hotel on the legendary Royal Mile. As well as benefitting the local environment, the aptly named ‘G&Bees’ will provide a treat for G&V’s guests who can enjoy fresh honey with their breakfast each morning.
Guests can also sample the exclusive honey at the design-led hotel’s newly refurbished Cucina restaurant, where executive chef Mattia Camorani is showcasing it within a range of inventive and delicious new dishes – straight from hive, to plate.
In celebration of the G&Bees Mattia has created a five course honey infused menu to tantalise the taste buds, highlights include: Scottish Clave Brie & truffle honey with charcoal water, oven roasted Atlantic Cod fillet with honey glazed heritage carrots and honey and milk sorbet with honeycomb and bee pollen.
Martin Scott, General Manager of G&V Royal Mile Hotel Edinburgh, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to have our own bee hives. At Quorvus Collection we are committed to our values of Care, Create and Cultivate; I see no better way to give back to nature than with our own hives. The abundance of parks and flora around Edinburgh will create a perfect environment for the bees and the best part is that the honey produced will be served to our residents every morning. It’s been an amazing experience working with the G&Bees and extracting our very own honey.”
With nature-based tourism now accounting for 40% of all leisure-industry spending in Scotland, G&V’s new offering is sure to delight an increasing number of eco-conscious travellers.
Environmentalists and health experts alike have long extolled the virtues of honey bees, celebrating them for the role they play in pollinating a third of the food we eat and for the health benefits of their produce. In addition to being 100% natural, organic and delicious, local honey has been proven to help combat a range of health problems, including hayfever.
Plan Bee works in partnership with businesses large and small to support and exceed their environmental ambitions, from family-run restaurants to international brands. With honey bee numbers having rapidly declined in recent decades, these partners are playing their part in returning more than 15-million bees to the natural environment, supporting our agriculture, parks and gardens.
Nightly rates at G&V Royal Mile Hotel Edinburgh start from £209 per night inclusive of breakfast. To make a reservation or for further information please contact +44 (0)131 2206666; info@gandvhotel.com; www.quorvuscollection.com/gandv-hotel-edinburgh
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
