the wearness

When choosing accommodation, more and more people are paying attention to what sustainable criteria the houses, in which they spend their holidays, fulfill. More and more care is being taken to ensure environmental sustainability and social commitment, and above all to ensure that hotels use nature's resources with the greatest possible care. We present eight exceptional hotels built from recycled or natural materials - from Egypt to Valais. This week’s favorite:

MAYA BOUTIQUE HOTEL & SPA, VALAIS

Back to nature: The Swiss Maya Boutique Hotel at the gateway to the Val d'Hérens, an alpine valley in Valais, is wonderfully idyllic. And it is also a real sensation: the first hotel in Europe to be built from bundles of straw. The owners Louis and Lisa Papadopoulus needed about 55 tons of straw and 95 tons of wood, clay, stone, and lime for their hotel. The energy, needed to operate the house, is generated with the help of solar panels and the leftover heat from a wood-burning stove.

The Maya Boutique Hotel is the perfect place for a romantic weekend. The eight rooms are furnished very cosy, each has its own balcony; the water for the shower comes directly from the spring. Good to know: The in-house restaurant is only open on Fridays and Saturdays. The restaurant's comfortable tables and chairs are made of old wine barrels. Speaking of barrels: the Scandinavian sauna in the garden also has the shape of a barrel. And a huge panoramic window through which you can admire the impressive peaks of the Valais. (double room from approx. 155 Euro, www.maya-boutique-hotel.ch)