UK’s first 100% vegan hotel wins prestigious National Geographic award

Image: Saorsa 1875 | Vegan Hotel

Mohsina Dodhiya8th September 20209th October 2020News

Scotland’s Saorsa 1875 hotel has won National Geographic’s top award for its ‘style, sustainability, and exemplary community spirit’.

The UK’s first all-vegan hotel, Saorsa 1875 has been declared a winner at National Geographic’s ‘The Big Sleep Awards 2020’.

This luxuriously revamped, 11-room Victorian baronial pile in Highland Perthshire, Scotland has scooped the ‘GOOD EGG’ award – for acing on style, sustainability, and ‘exemplary community spirit’.

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Also, listed as one of the top 48 new hotels in the world, Saorsa 1875 -founded by vegans Jack McLaren-Stewart and his parents Sandra and John, first opened its doors in June 2019 to offer patrons an all-vegan experience from the menu to wool-free bedding and furnishings, cruelty-free toiletries, and a dog-friendly policy.

National Geographic describing the hotel said: “[Saorsa 1875] goes far beyond just sustainable, plant-focused grub: everything here is vegan,” including the heating, which comes from 100% renewable energy.

The food is cooked by Australian chef Deborah Fleck, who “conjures up five-course dining extravaganzas using produce sourced locally or from the hotel’s gardens,” and the hotel also “plants a tree (via Green Earth Appeal) for every dinner served.”

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‘Smash veganism stereotypes’

Last year, Saorsa 1875 scooped Peta’s ‘Best Luxury Hotel’ ward for offering guests a truly lavish hotel experience without harming the environment or animals.

Explaining the motive behind starting a vegan hotel, co-founder Sandra Mclaren told Boutique Hotelier: “We had two aims when we took over. The first was to create a cool, comfortable place where vegans could stay without feeling like they were compromising on their ethics.

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“The second was to smash some of the stereotypes that still surround veganism—it’s not the hemp-clad, abstinent lifestyle that many still think but a vibrant, compassionate way of life and a hub of incredible innovation.”