Hotels have long been adapted to the needs or motorists. Just think of the classic motels that became popular in the US in the 1960s. With the rise of electric cars, hotels have been racing to install EV chargers – even if that means putting them on balconies and installing a big car lift.
But the new Hotel Hyundai that has just opened at Colemans Farm in Essex offers a novel twist: instead of offering a place to power an electric car, the hotel itself is powered by electric cars.
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As the hotel name pretty much gives away, the power comes from Hyundai cars: a number of Hyundai Ioniq 5, to be precise. That's an excellent choice, because not only did it win Move Electric's Best Electric Car Award for 2022, but it features a vehicle-to-load output. That means that it can supply 230V C power at a rate of 3.6kW. Thanks to an adaptor, you can use it with a standard three-pin plug.
The luxury cabin at the site features three areas. There is a guest suite, which is entirely powered by an Ioniq 5. Meanwhile, the bar and restaurant – which claims to offer locally sourced food and drinks that are “as innovative and sustainable as the cars powering it” – features an Ioniq 5 coffee lounge, using a car to power an espresso machine. The food itself is cook on a fire which, we should point out, isn’t produced by the car…
Finally there’s a cinema, and the projector, speakers and all-important popcorn machine are all powered by the car battery.
Hotel Hyundai will only be open from October 19 to November 5, and the only way you can stay there is winning a place in a competition. That said, its creators have already hinted the concept could move elsewhere as a ‘pop-up’.
The hotel was developed by the car firm and restaurant critic Grace Dent, in part in response to a study that the public is looking for shorter UK-based holidays with a focus on sustainability.
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