Naturally Iceland

Hugarró  Nature Retreat is being designed for enjoying nature but with all the comforts of a carefully planned  hospitality experience.  It’s a concept hotel that awakens the senses with experiential, inspirational stays.  A place not only to enjoy but also to learn.

Blending perfectly in the natural environment, it provides sustainable accommodation conducive to active leisure and mindfulness through outdoor activities and leisure pursuits.

Hugarró  Nature Retreat  most important added value is the natural landscape that surrounds it. We consider it a privilege to have been offered the opportunity to develop a hotel on this beautiful location and with privilege comes responsability.

To protect and preserve this natural asset,  the natural birch forest in particular,  and keep our environmental footprint as small as possible, we implement the following strategies:

• Buildings will cover just over 4% of the land area.  Besides our 33-room hotel, only 30 to 35 guest cabins will be build, each ‘hidden’ in the forest and topography of the property.
• Adaptation to the terrain to avoid soil disruption.
• Only build where there is no tree coverage.  If any trees have to be removed, we’ll plant 10 back.
• Use of recycled or recyclable, if possible local materials with a low carbon footprint (FSC-wood or composite, steel; no concrete except for foundations).
• Make our heating requirements minimal (excellent insulation, triple glass, ventilation with heat-recovery to name a few).
• Use of renewable energy sources  like mini hydropower.
• Practice smart  reforestation to bring back native plant and tree species and financially support biodiversiy restauration initiatives.

Do you have more ideas on how we can make this a signature example of responsible hospitality in nature? Drop us a line via our contact form.

What an exciting day!!

Today we formally presented to the municipality of Hvalfjarðarsveit our proposal to develop a 4-star landscape hotel according to the highest environmental building and operational standards.    This starts the process of changing the zoning plan, a step – the municipality has already indicated – they are open too.

Little did I know about what to follow when about 2 years ago I downloaded a scientific article  on Academia.edu authored by Gunnþóra Ólafsdóttir as as part of my research on nature based tourism.  As I thanked her for sharing this article and told her about my project to develop a private nature retreat in Panama we started to talk about the importance of the right kind of tourism for Iceland.  I was told “you should do such a project in Iceland!”

At that time, having lived in the tropics for over 25 years, Iceland was not really on my radar as you can imagine. But as we talked a little more she convinced me to have a look at it.  Google is one’s friend in such cases and I was impressed by what I saw.  To make a long story short,  I planned a 9 day trip to Iceland in Septemer 2022, stayed for over a month and was ‘sold’.

So first of call, thank you again Gunny for drawing me to Iceland and its amazing nature and all the wonderful people I’ve met during the by now 5 visits!

In the last 2 years, I’ve been all over the Iceland, searching for the right spot.  I did that in a rather unconventional way even though I was told by my lawyer and realtor….  “It doesn’t work that way!  Buy something that’s actually for sale instead of looking for an owner who wants to sell.”

But perseverance paid off eventually when we found a wonderful property owned by a wonderful family.  It’s both a privilege and an honour to be given the opportunity to purchase a beautiful piece of land that has been in their family for over a hundred years. It’s also brings the obligation to be the proper stewards of this land and take good care of it.  And that’s what we’ll do!  And Kristjana Björg Sveinsdóttir thank you for the great name suggestion for our project:  Hugarró !

Thank you also Páll Ágúst Ólafsson for your help, mediation, encouragement and inspiration.  We wouldn’t be here without your support, advice and friendship.

Eddy and Erick at StudioSKA, we haven’t been working together very long yet but thank you for turnng my ‘circle design’ into something more presentable and your ongoing support to make this design a reality.

And thank you Ásgeir Jónsson and Brynja Rán Egilsdóttir and other colleagues at EFLA Consulting Engineers for your guidance and putting this quality proposal for the municipality of Hvalfjarðarsveit together.  I know you’ve been working late hours at night Brynja to meet the building committee deadline! Much appreciated.

And I should not forget to mention Alan and Stefanie at Petrie Hospitality.  Sparring with you guys has been great and your support and trust in our vision on Hugarró is both inspiring and encouraging.

Last but not least  – Carel Weyand!  Thank you for your trust in my capacity to convert dreams into reality and the financial support to make it to this day.

We still have a long way to go and the level of ambition is enormous but with all the support, encouragement and kudos we are receiving I have no doubt we will get there and realize a wonderful new destination for nature lovers in beautiful Iceland.  A place where people can reload their battery and enjoy the “Luxury of unwinding”.

þakka ykkur öllum !

To be continued.

Hugarró  Þorvaldur Westmaas
Naturally Iceland BV
Iceland Nature Connection Ehf.
www.naturallyiceland.com – www.hugarro.com

What does a responsible tourism & hospitality operator look like?

Global Ecosphere Retreat (GER)
We plan to become certified GER by The Long Run, a sustainable travel movement that helps business, nature and people work together for a better future.

LEED standard
As to our building methods, we will attain to the United States Green Building Council.  Whenever practical, we will go for the LEED Gold or higher standard.

LEED is the most widely used green building rating system in the world. LEED certification provides independent verification of a building’s green features, allowing for the design, construction, operations and maintenance of resource-efficient, high-performing, healthy, cost-effective buildings. LEED is the triple bottom line in action, benefiting people, planet and profit.

Sustainable Hotel
We also follow the guidelines of Conservation International on siting, designing and building a sustainable hotel.

Environmental management
In our operations we follow the industry guide on sustainable operation as published by the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance (formerly known as the International Tourism Partnership).