beekeeping

Bees In Business at The Ritz-Carlton Charlotte

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Green

The Ritz Carlton, Charlotte in NC opened last October as the first LEED-built hotel in the area and now this summer they're taking their eco-conscious efforts even further by adding honeybees to the mix. The Ritz already has a rooftop garden, put in place to both insulate the building and provide organic herbs for the kitchen, and this summer that garden will become home to as many as 60,000 honeybees in two fully-contained hives. "Honeybees love herbs, and we're hoping they will especially enjoy the fresh lavender growing within our rooftop garden," explained Jon Farace, executive chef for The Ritz-Carlton, Charlotte. "Because honey is considered the flavor of the land, it is likely that the bees' rooftop habitat and pollination of our herb garden will lend a wonderful, unique flavor to their honey." The hives will also benefit the surrounding city as the bees fly to nearby trees and hanging flowers.

The hives, once they mature later this summer, are expected to produce up to 70 lbs of honey that will be used by the hotel restaurant in special honey-based menu items.

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Tags: beekeeping, bees, eco-friendly, green, hotel, hotel beekeeping, LEED, ritz-carlton, ritz-carlton charlotte

The Bees Are Back At The Fairmont Hotels

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Luxury Travel & Hotels

One of the most interesting hotel features around are the bee hives at some of the Fairmont hotels. The hotel brand now has six apiaries around the world with hives set up on rooftops and in onsite herb gardens. The bees help the local environment by providing plenty of bees to pollinate area gardens and parks and the Fairmont chefs use the honey in sweet treats for guests.

The Fairmont Waterfront in Vancouver shares its herb garden with six honeybee hives on the hotel's third-floor terrace. For summer 2010 they will host 390,000 honey bees producing an anticipated 500 lbs of honey. At the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto there are around 300,000 bees in peak season. The Fairmont Washington, D.C. welcomed 105,000 Italian honeybees in summer 2009 to their three new hives on the roof. The Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club has partnered with local beekeeper Stephen Macharia to bring fresh honey to guests. Stephen started out collecting wild honey from the slopes of Mount Kenya, but by June will have eight hives on property to help pollinate African flowers and the nearby Mount Kenya Forest. The Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac in Quebec hosted four queen bees in four hives in the chef's roof top garden last year. Each hive contains about 70,000 bees that will produce enough honey for the entire hotel, with the extra being sold in the Fairmont Store. And at the Fairmont Algonquin in St. Andrews by-the-Sea, New Brunswick the queen bee and her hive feast on nearby Kingsbrae Gardens producing honey which is sold to guests and also used in the hotel's three restaurants. Several of the hotels offer tours so that you can safely observe the bees hard at work.

The honey pops up in desserts, entrees and drinks. The Festive Buzz, shown at right, served at the Royal York includes white peach puree, champagne and the Royal York honey. Check out the recipe here or watch the Royal York bees in action in a video after the jump.

Tags: apiaries, apiary, beekeeping, bees, fairmont hotels

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Fairmont Hotels Get Into Beekeeping

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

The Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto, Canada has a hidden amenity that I've never heard another luxury hotel claim, its own apiary. The hotel set up three beehives on its roof last summer in partnership with Foodshare's Field to Table Centre and the Toronto Beekeeping Co-operative. The bee colony of over 10,000 bees created close to 300 pounds of honey. This year the hotel added three more hives hoping to increase production. Royal York's chefs use the fresh honey in salad dressings, baked goods and other items. The honey also makes its way into the milk and honey pedicures at the hotel spa.

The hotel already has a rooftop herb garden growing mint and other culinary herbs which contribute to the unique taste of the honey. The hotel's success with the bees has inspired the Fairmont Algonquin in St. Andrews, N. B., and the Fairmont Waterfront in Vancouver to set up their own apiaries. Guests at the Fairmont Royal York can request educational beehive tours over the summer. The potential disappearance of bees in recent years due to colony collapse disorder has also caused other brands, including Haagen-Dazs ice cream which donates money to beekeeping research, to be concerned for the future of the busy pollinators.

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Tags: apiary, beekeeping, bees, fairmont