While the F&B industry is having something of a plant-based awakening, it’s not nearly as common − perhaps even rare − to see that same approach directed towards hotels. Long gone (hopefully) are the days of a lone mushroom risotto as restaurants trip over themselves to cater to this new culinary ‘green movement’, but hospitality definitely has a way to go.
But Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental, Abu Dhabi, has picked up the baton and is leading the charge, launching the region’s first ever 100 per cent vegan rooms recently. Six rooms, in fact − Deluxe Sea View Rooms, Deluxe Garden View Rooms and Deluxe Garden Terrace Rooms − housed in the iconic property’s Mandarin Wing, are entirely free of animal products, derivatives or materials, featuring instead vegan-friendly faux-leather furniture, plant-based bathroom products and even ‘healthy living’ coffee table literature: The Little Book of Being Vegan and Vegan Style.
With an MO (excuse the pun) to make the rooms inclusive, the vegan rooms offer the exact same levels of luxury as the hotel’s other ‘classic’ rooms and suites. There’s absolutely no cutting corners, allowing people like myself, with a different lifestyle preference, to benefit from Mandarin Oriental’s world-class hospitality, no strings attached and no surcharges either.
The rooms are beautifully fresh and bright, with light wood floors (instead of wool-based carpets), a cream colour palette, and hints of blue reflecting the ocean views. In the bedroom, it’s all sustainable bamboo cotton bedding, plant-based water bottles, vegan-friendly turndown treats and even plant-based cleaning products used by the housekeeping team.
In the bathroom, there’s bamboo Terry bathrobes by Turkish brand Cachet, rosemary and chia shower products from VOTARY, and travel-size vegan skincare products by all-natural brand Tata Harper.
A welcome treat comes courtesy of Greenheart Organic Farms, air-dried vegetable crisps and dips, alongside MO’s homemade vegan protein balls, fruit skewers and bottles of rainbow-coloured smoothies. Typical mini bar snacks have also been switched out for nut and seed bars from The Great Stuff Company and Snack Studio, while vegan wine sits alongside almond or oat mini milk cartons from EcoMil. There’s also a dedicated in-room dining vegan menu, with things like tofu scramble, Impossible burger and green tea soba noodle salad, served with bamboo tablecloth and napkins.
Every last detail has been thought of, meaning, your plant-based experience isn’t limited to just the room, reaching from the small details like your room card − which is made of wood − through to the restaurants and spa, as well. At The Spa, there’s vegan-certified facials, treatments and massages by Sodashi, and if you’re in need of some suncare, there’s 100 per cent plant-based products by Sunkiss at the Beach Club.
When it’s time to eat, there is plenty of choice, with each restaurant catering specifically for those wanting something more eco-conscious from the kitchen, including carefully selected non-bone chinawares. At breakfast in the Club Lounge, the mung bean omelette becomes my new favourite dish. At the ornately beautiful, one-star Michelin Talea by Antonio Guida, the chefs and team bend over backwards to cook something plant-based but still packed with flavour. While I feast on salads, with leaves picked from the hotel’s organic vegetable garden, and pasta with sun-ripened tomatoes, my daughter is taken into the kitchen to craft her own pizza. Lebanese Terrace, a gorgeous white-washed indoor/outdoor restaurant, has umpteen vegan dishes too, with more made personally by the chef. Think falafel with tahini sauce, mezze, foul medames and warak enab (stuffed vine leaves).
The rest of the hotel experience is just as it should be when you stay at palace: endless spaces to explore (it’s a one-kilometre walk from the Mandarin Wing to the Oriental Wing!); brilliant levels of service at every single turn; an incredible supply of activities on tap − the spa being my favourite, the Kids Play Zone my daughter’s, thanks to its water slides and lazy river; and so many restaurants all working their magic to ensure I, and other, plant-based pursuants eat (very) well. Hopefully, where one hotel goes, others will follow.