Sowing the seeds for a greener tomorrow

Sprawling lawns, trees and flowers welcome you at Novotel, Madhapur, which recently bagged the Best Hotel Garden award.

We take you for a stroll on the green Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre, Madhapur recently bagged the Best Hotel Gar­den award instituted by the ministry of horticulture. Novotel has not only been exceeding expectations by providing world-class service but they have also utilised their 15-acre campus to the optimum level.

Winning this prestigious award took a lot of effort and hard work. “It was very difficult to match up to the parameters set by the judges. The three main ones drawn out were variety of foliage, utilisation of the space available, and lastly, the maintenance of the greens and gardens,” informs Tejus Jose, the resident manager of NHCC.

Tejus is quick to credit the team of gardeners at NHCC who made the achievement possible. “We have an army of 30 gardeners, who are constantly at work from dusk to dawn — be it tending to the landscape or monitoring watering of the plants (they have an extensive irrigation procedure) and a lot more,” he says. They have also recently planted rain trees that contribute to the eco system.

Unlike a lot of commercial properties, NHCC has a massive lawn area. We ask how do they maintain the greens and Tejus says, “For us the toughest times are when we have events and the lawns are damaged, the first four–six days are critical and we spend a lot of time and effort in resurrecting the greens to ensure they come back to a healthy state.”

NHCC also has an in-house kitchen garden. They grow th­e­ir own vegetables and herbs th­at are harvested on a bi-mon­th­ly basis. Tejus tells us, “We gr­ow about 60kg of vegetables every month and a half and this produce is what we use in our kitchen. We have beds of coriander, basil, and other herbs. We avoid chemicals, and use natural pest control methods.”

A part of the manure used is from the waste generated in the hotel. The waste is then put into a compost pit and used after it decomposes.”We are yet to go a long way and want to improvise on waste management, compost and other recycle methods,” says Tejus about their future plans.

Another interesting feature of NHCC is that they also take care of an in-house nursery, Tejus says, “A lot of plants have small life spans like 1.5 to three years. To replace them, we are constantly nurturing saplings, and are used as and where possible.”

NHCC’s attempt at maintaining their greens is not only for the aesthetic purposes but also for the greater good of making the world a better place to live in. After their work has been appreciated, the hotel is further motivated and aims to achieve greater standards.

Top 10 Green hotels of the world

1. The Q Hotel and Spa, Kansas, Missouri
2. White Eco-Retreat – Switzerland
3. Voyages Longitude 131 – Australia
4. ChumbeIsland Coral Park – Zanzibar, Tanzania
5. Spice Island Beach Resort, Grenada
6. Adrere Amellal, Egypt
7. Devil’s Thumb Ranch, Colorado
8. Tiamo Resort, Bahamas
9. Soneva Fushi Resort, Maldives
10. Gaia Napa Valley Hotel & Spa, California

Tags: Best Hotel Garden award, flowers, Green hotels, Madhapur, ministry of horticulture, Novotel, Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre, Sprawling lawns, trees

Category: Decor