by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 1:40 PM ET, Wed January 16, 2019
Ethically conscious travelers everywhere take note: you can now opt to stay in a fabulous, stylish, entirely vegan hotel room when in London.
The unique offering was just announced by Hilton London Bankside, which has created a luxe Vegan Suite in collaboration with Bompas & Parr, a firm specializing in multi-sensory design.
The suite's creation was announced to coincide with Veganuary, a month when the charity by the same name encourages people to try going vegan for 30 days.
The entire suite at Hilton London Bankside, which received the thumbs up from The Vegan Society, has undergone a complete refurbishment. (The Vegan Society even served as consultants on material choices and design elements throughout the process.
Everything from carpets to pillow options and mini-bar offerings has been redesigned to create a boutique, luxurious and welcoming experience for the ethically-conscious traveler.
The vegan experience actually begins the moment guests step foot into the London hotel, where they're greeted with a specially designed plant-based check-in desk with upholstered seating made from Pinatex, a natural leather alternative created from cellulose fibers extracted from pineapple leaves. Even the hotel room key card is made from Pinatex.
The interior of the uber-stylish vegan suite also draws inspiration from the pineapple, which was brought to South London by botanist John Tradescant in the 17th century. The suite was built with influences of the delicately pure Pinatex core material throughout. The room also contains a range of additional, specially designed features that embrace a plant-based lifestyle.
Feather down-filled pillows, frowned upon by vegans far and wide, have been banished. They have been replaced by a variety of pillow options made from anti-bacterial, non-allergenic and environmentally sourced materials. The room's buckwheat pillows are made with 100 percent organic buckwheat hulls. There are also kapok pillows created from natural kapok and millet pillows designed with organic millet husks.
The bed's headboard is made from still more Pinatex and has been hand-embroidered by local embroidery artist Emily Potter.
The room's stylish, solid stone-grey flooring is was created using 100 percent renewable and sustainable Moso Bamboo. The suite also includes responsibly sourced organic cotton carpets for guests to sink their feet into, offering a soft and eco-friendly alternative.
Even the mini-bar was designed with the vegan diet in mind. Say goodbye to unhealthy peanut M&Ms and the like. Instead, guests will find locally-sourced, vegan treats including Graze protein powder, Naked fruit and nut snacks and Deliciously Ella energy balls.
The culinary team at Hilton London Bankside has also thoughtfully redesigned the in-room menu to include various vegan breakfast options such as muesli, hummus, and vegetables, potato hash, grilled Portobello mushroom, avocado and scrambled Quorn and quinoa. (Vegans everywhere rejoice.) For lunch and dinner, choices include cucumber salad, cauliflower steak and five-bean dhal.
No detail has been overlooked in this unique and innovative suite. Its desk comes kitted out with notepads, pens, and pencils that are all vegan-friendly, with no animal traces in the paper or ink.
"Here at Hilton London Bankside, we're always looking at ways to innovate and bring new experiences to our guests. Our OXBO restaurant offering is already expansive, catering to many different dietary requirements so we thought, why not apply the same concept to our rooms," said General Manager of Hilton London Bankside, James Clarke. "Veganism is not just a dining trend, it has become a lifestyle choice for many and in turn, we want to be the first hotel to be able to offer those who follow the plant-based lifestyle, the chance to fully immerse themselves within it from the moment they walk into the hotel."
The Vegan Suite is available for reservations immediately.
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