We spoke to Beth Ardron, Director of Sales and Marketing of voco Zeal Exeter Science Park, an IHG Hotel, to get the low down on IHG’s first Net Zero Carbon Hotel!
From south it’s incredible solar panel investment and fresh air filter, to its stunning and south facing terrace and local food and beverage producers and knowledge, it’s not just sustainable – it’s a beautiful 4-star hotel right off the M5!
So, the official strapline of voco Zeal Exeter Science Park is that is it’s IHG’s first Net Zero Carbon Hotel. Tell us what makes it so sustainable.
“Lots! I won’t tell you everything because we’d be here all day. But sustainability really has been the goal from the beginning for this property. Back in the planning stages, before planning permission requests, before the construction site was confirmed.
“They began with the design – the building is based on Passivhaus theory. With that, we’ve got triple glazing in all of our doors and windows. So it keeps all the heat in and the cold out. And in summer, it keeps all the heat out and cool air we do have stays inside.”
How does that work with the windows?
“We have fully opening windows, which is quite rare in a hotel. There’s a mesh inside the window frame, that has a sound muffling effect and doubles as like a security. So, you can open our windows fully, but it will only affect the environment in your own room.”
That’s really smart (we could tell how excited Beth was to share all of the incredible stuff this hotel does on the sustainability front. You can feel how much it means to everyone who works here). What else?
“Three faces of the building – West, South and East – are predominantly made-up of solar panels, and we have solar panels across the roof. And yet, the exterior still looks fantastic.”
“It’s quite common in mainland Europe, but I believe we are the first building in the UK to put solar panels on three fasciae. Obviously, they get a lot more sunlight in Europe than we do here, but where our building is, the South side of the building gets sun all day.
“The hotel is 100% electric, and with all the solar panels, we’re currently forecasting that we’ll generate more electricity than we will need annually. Once we’ve been operational for a while, we’ll have an accurate measurement, that will be displayed in real time on screens in the lobby. The longer-term plan is to invest in storage for the excess.
“The other massive contributing factor to our energy consumption is we don’t have traditional air conditioning in our bedrooms. We have a big box on the roof – not the technical term, but it helps people picture it – that pulls in all the fresh air and pushes it through a pollen and pollution filter, and over water to cool it.
“The temperature in your bedroom still changes, depending on how you set the digital box, and it’s filtered straight into your room. Instead of getting conditioned air, which is what you’d get with air conditioning, you get this heating and ventilation system, with clean, fresh air, pumped straight into your bedroom.
“People who stayed here as part of our soft launch said it feels really fresh and they love it. It doesn’t feel like air conditioning – you don’t feel dry in the morning, you don’t get that scratchy throat feeling.”
Yes, you can definitely feel the difference, And the sustainability side runs so much deeper than that, too, doesn’t it?
“Yes – there is nothing that has been purchased and not been considered. One example is that we do not have telephones or kettles in our bedrooms. And the reason is that they are predominantly mass produced in overseas countries a loooonnng way away and they tend to be made of a linear plastic – so they’re not recycled, nor made from recycled plastics.
“Then they’re shipped to the UK and once they’re in use and they break, they are difficult to fix because they’re made-up of so many components. So they have a really short lifespan, and so many end up in landfill because it is so difficult to do anything else to do with them.
“We made the decision to remove kettles and telephones. So many people have telephones now, right. When you come into your bedroom, the message on the television says welcome to the voco Zeal, and there are buttons at the bottom of the screen that take you to information like the in-room dining menu, our sustainability story, and about the art and photography on display throughout the hotel, and how to contact reception – there’s a little app that puts you straight through!”
They do seem rather redundant these days – I can’t remember the last time I used a hotel telephone.
“I should add that we do have one on each floor, and in our accessible rooms. So, these are the only telephones that we have in our bedrooms and you think how many telephones we’re saving from landfill.
“For the tea and coffee facilities, we have one on each of the building’s three floors. A picture of it because the picture does it far more justice…”
“So what we’ve got here is a water filter which provides cold, room temperature, and hot water. The is serviced regularly, and if it breaks, the components are easily fixed. And a filter on every floor will last us far longer, and be easier to fix and maintain, than over 100 kettles!
“And everything you need is in there – you’ve got tea, coffee, hot chocolate milk, sugar, everything. Guests can use as much as they want, – we are still a four-star hotel.
“I acknowledge that there will be people who won’t choose to visit purely because are the most sustainable branded hotel in Europe – we still need to provide those guests with the four-star hotel experience that they’ve grown accustomed to that they expect from us.”
All this talk of hot beverages brings me around to the restaurant. What’s the story with the name? And I’m guessing there’s a sustainability story there, too?
“Oh yes, the restaurant is amazing, so the whole ethos in the restaurant is very similar. So, our restaurant and bar is called ISCA Restaurant & Bar. ISCA is the old Roman word for Exeter. It translates as water or river because Exeter has a quayside right in the centre, where Exeter began as a city.
“ISCA’s Head Chef is an amazing guy called Andrew Short. The food he makes is soooo pretty and the quality of the ingredients he uses are something else! We have really local suppliers and everything is by hand. On our breakfast buffet, we serve scones – we’re in Devon, why wouldn’t you want a scone? And I’m telling you, the handmade cheese scones are probably my all-time favourite things.”
We’re invested – you had us at ‘cheese scones’ – tell us more…
“We work with a local grocery company called Tamar Fresh. They provide all of our groceries. And we work with a local butcher called Goosemor who work with well-known Darts Farm.
“We’re working with some really fantastic wine and spirits producers nearby, including Two Drifters Distillery. Gemma and Russ Wakeham are a lovely, lovely couple and they’re leading the spirits industry towards a truly sustainable future. Every bottle of Two Drifters Rum is carbon-negative, from production to delivery, and Gemma came to meet and train our food and beverage team on the distillery’s rum and about their product, as in now, all of our food and beverage team have got all this knowledge that they’ve experienced and learnt themselves. You know, it was really hands on. It was amazing.”
Love that – a real community connection!
“Yes, and it’s the same for our coffee. Our coffee comes from a company called Owens Organic Coffee Roasters, who only buy their beans from Fair Trade plantations. They work with plantations that support women in work and ship beans to their roastery just outside Plymouth. Jen is their head coffee maker, and she came in to explain the process, including why their roaster is the most sustainable on the market – it’s all related to energy consumption.
“Jen worked with our food and beverage team, teaching them everything from the roasting process and Latte art to the type of milk to buy – different milks affect the coffee and its taste – it’s fascinating!
“So, our food and beverage team have been embedded from the beginning, and they’ve met our local suppliers and producers. We’re not buying in from big catering companies, our Head Chef and I say that we’re like an ingredients household!”
Not sure we’ve heard that one?
“Ingredients household? There’s a new social media trend where young people go back to their parents’ houses and open the fridges – no processed foods or snacks. I said I love this because I feel like our hotel is an ingredients household. Everything is made fresh. The brownie on our dessert menu is probably my favourite thing – in competition with the cheese scones – and it gets baked fresh in the kitchen every day, served with a luxurious chocolate sauce that’s literally like hot chocolate. It’s so tasty.”
If nothing else, we’re coming back for the brownies. I love this – it’s really exciting and different. And the whole place is so beautiful to look at!
“Absolutely – I get that! I come to work and one of the first things I see our living tree in reception. Because the building is based on Passivhaus theory, it’s full of living plants that also help purify the air, and we’ve got a living tree in the lobby, and the restaurant.
“I asked the team who were installing the trees what species it is and they told me it’s a Dracina Anita – so if you look at the hotel’s LinkedIn account, you’ll see we recently welcomed ‘Anita’ as the newest member of our team haha.”
It’s a brilliant property – innovative, super sustainable, and still beautiful in its own right. We’ve talked about all the super exciting work you’re doing in this beautiful part of the country. Now tell us a bit more about the standard hotel info.
“Okay, so we have 142 bedrooms, and 85% of our bed stock is a standard tier range, which is a really great number for when you have bigger group bookings. We also offer 19 premium bedrooms with an extra four square metre floor space, slightly larger bed and a larger television.
“And five of our 19 premium bedrooms are kitchenettes – fantastic for longer stay guests. In fact, we already have enquiries for those from guests who are travelling over from the States for a couple of weeks for work here at the Science Park, which definitely validates our investment in those rooms.”
What about meeting space?
“We’ve got one meeting room on site called the Boardroom. The Boardroom sits ten people and a fixed boardroom table. It has very neutral colours, it’s very calm, with a big, fluffy carpet. It has floor to ceiling windows and a door that opens onto the terrace. So, in the warmer days we can serve a refreshment break outside on the terrace, which will be a really nice touch.
“There’s video conferencing built into the board room, too. And if you are in there all day, we’ve got a really lovely flexible working area – space outside the boardroom and it’s been designed for people to come by to do, say Teams meeting, a quick interview, or a quick meeting for an hour. It’s designed to be a stop-and-go space. But we did have a little trial run in the boardroom last week and we served lunch in the flexible working area – it was really nice to break it up.
“We’ve also got a semi-private dining room for 12 people. It’s semi-private in the sense that it’s located at the back of the restaurant and it has a thick curtain that you can use to section off the rest of the restaurant. Again, it has floor-to-ceiling windows, and living plants so it feels really roomy, and it also gives you direct access to the terrace outside.”
You’ve mentioned it a few times – tell us more about the terrace…
“Our beautiful terrace is South facing and as the weather gets a little warmer and the days get a bit longer, it’s going to be super popular. You can’t sell what you haven’t tried, right? So, I’ll be one of the first to sit out there and try all of the cocktails and British sparkling wine we have on our menu.
Ah yes, quality assurance is a must haha. And how about the other hotel amenities?
“We have a really lovely fitness suite with a treadmill, a Peloton bike, and a stack of free weights, and a cable pulley machine.
“We have over 100 parking spaces on site, including 12 EV charging points – two of which are the speedy ones that charge your car in a couple of hours.”
And tell people where the hotel is located.
“If you’re travelling down the M5 motorway and exit at junction 29 – as if you were heading for the airport – we’re right on the junction. You come off, turn left at the traffic lights at the bottom, heading towards the A30 and our hotel has been built at the entrance to the Science Park – halfway between the motorway and the airport.
“We’re just five minutes away from Sowton Industrial Estate, where you have brands like Frobishers Juices – a B Corp company, Greggs, and lots more. Town is easily accessible from us too – right at the traffic lights and you can be in town within 10-15 minutes.
“We’re nice and close to the rugby ground – Sandy Park is where the Exeter Chiefs play – is 10-12 minutes’ drive away, just one junction down the motorway. We’ve got Westpoint Arena – the South West’s largest and most versatile arena and showground, perfect for exhibitions, and industry events – it hosts the Devon County show. They’ve got a big Titanic exhibition coming up this year.
“We’ve got a really great location.”
You must be really pleased with it.
“YES! I was shown a graph recently and it made me really proud of what we’re doing here, because I think I do forget the bigger picture sometimes. When you compare us on the 2050 Paris Agreement scale with the average hotel consumption, we’re way ahead, and it’s only 2025!”
It’s feels like voco Zeal Exeter Science Park is setting an industry standard?
“We’re certainly proving that no excuse anymore! And that’s what I’m really hoping with this hotel – that it becomes an industry blueprint. And I really hope that people visit and don’t necessarily notice that it’s so sustainable – I want people to see a very pretty hotel with excellent service, and delicious food, and on point guest experience. Because that’s still a top priority – it should never be second best. Although, I don’t think people will miss the sustainability part because we’re so proud of it and I’m constantly shouting about it haha.”
“The community is really invested too! Some of the people that we’re working with – like one of the local artists who has provided the artwork for our hotel – are really excited for us to open. The artist text me last week to say ‘good luck today – you’ve developed some really lovely relationships’. She can’t wait to pop in for a drink – she wants to be one of the first into the building.
“We’ve had the CEO of the Science Park pop over for a look around, too, and to congratulate us. People have been really supportive, and it’s really nice.”
So, there you have it! voco Zeal Exeter Science Park is IHG’s first Net Zero Carbon Hotel. If you’re heading to Devon for business, don’t miss it. Contact us to book!
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