A guide to UK hotels and guest houses that help to fund good causes

Check in and help out: From aiding local charities to supporting ex-servicemen, these places to stay in the UK offer more than just a welcome

• There are hotels and B&Bs that use their profits for good causes all over the UK, from Scotland to Oxford 
• Doubles at Poole’s Lifeboat College cost £89 – money that goes to training and funding lifesaving equipment
• Stay at Snowdonia’s Centre For Alternative Technology, where profits go to supporting educational activities

There are all sorts of ways to help good causes, besides putting money in a box or setting up a standing order. So raise your philanthropic profile and check in at one of these places to stay. All profits go to charity.

Magic lantern

Galloway Lighthouse Cottages, Scotland

Inspiring: Galloway Lighthouse Cottages are based at the top of a 260ft cliff on Scotland’s most southerly point

This trio of self-catering cottages lies on Scotland’s southerly point. The cottages, which sleep between four and six, are run as holiday lets by the Mull of Galloway Trust, which helped the community turn surrounding heathland into a nature reserve. You may need earplugs: the Mull of Galloway is home to mainland Scotland’s only operational foghorn.

Do Good: The trust awards grants to local community groups and businesses.

Details: A week in low season (January to late March) from £530 (lighthouseholidaycottages.co.uk).

Saluting Nelson

The Royal Maritime Hotel & Club, Portsmouth

Doubles with breakfast at The Royal Maritime Hotel & Club, pictured above, are priced from £70

In certain cases free or reduced price respite holidays at The Royal Maritime Hotel & Club (pictured) are offered to ex-servicemen

A former sailors’ home, this 100-bedroom hotel is run by a charitable foundation. For admirers of the admiral, the main attraction is that it’s just a cannonball shot away from his superbly preserved flagship, HMS Victory, in the historic dockyard.

Do Good: Veterans enjoy reduced rates; in certain cases free or reduced price respite holidays are offered to ex-servicemen.

Details: Doubles with breakfast from £70 (royalmaritimeclub.co.uk).

Dreaming Spires

The Tower House, Oxford

The Tower House, which is entered via the first door on the left, is a charming guest house with just eight rooms in Oxford 

One of the bathrooms at The Tower House. All profits from the guest house support Oxford Hub, helping university students start local community projects

Some rooms at The Tower House share bathrooms and ensuite doubles with breakfast are priced from £130

This charming guest house with just eight rooms could hardly be in a better position for exploring Blackwell’s bookshop. Jesus College and Merton College are nearby.

Do Good: All profits support Oxford Hub, helping university students start local community projects.

Details: Some rooms share bathrooms. Ensuite doubles with breakfast from £130 (towerhouseoxford.co.uk). 

Somerset-on-Sea

The Beach Hotel, Minehead

Minehead’s Beach Hotel is a great location for exploring Exmoor National Park, pictured above 

The South West Coast Path is on your doorstep at The Beach Hotel, and the West Somerset heritage railway runs for 20 miles to Bishops Lydeard

A room at The Beach Hotel, which is staffed largely by apprentices, with some employees coming from disadvantaged backgrounds

Doubles with breakfast at The Beach Hotel are priced from £85. Pictured is the hotel’s dining room 

This is a great location for exploring Exmoor National Park. 

The South West Coast Path is on your doorstep, and the West Somerset heritage railway runs for 20 miles to Bishops Lydeard.

Do Good: The hotel is staffed largely by apprentices, with some employees coming from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Details: Doubles with breakfast from £85 (thebeachhotel.org).

A greener week

Centre For Alternative Technology (CAT), Snowdonia

The Centre For Alternative Technology (CAT) lies in the South Snowdonia National Park and offers 24 rooms with inspiring mountain views

All profits from CAT support the charity’s educational activities – doubles are priced from £80 a night including breakfast

CAT is an educational centre which explores all aspects of green living: environmental building, eco-sanitation, woodland management, renewable energy, energy efficiency and organic farming.

On the site of a disused slate quarry, the eco-friendly complex lies in the South Snowdonia National Park and offers 24 rooms with inspiring mountain views.

Do Good: All profits support the charity’s educational activities.

Details: Doubles from £80 a night including breakfast (cat.org.uk).

Harbour delight

Lifeboat College, Poole

The Lifeboat College, the home of RNLI training, is by Holes Bay in Poole Harbour (pictured above) 

Guests at the Lifeboat College can hop on a ferry to the nature reserve on Brownsea Island (pictured in the background) 

One of the rooms at the Lifeboat College. All profits go toward upkeep, training and funding lifesaving equipment

Enjoy the tremendous view from this swanky corner of Dorset. The college, the home of RNLI training, is by Holes Bay in Poole Harbour.

Explore nearby the Sandbanks peninsula or hop on the ferry to the nature reserve on Brownsea Island, which has red squirrels and is said to have inspired Enid Blyton.

Do Good: All profits go toward upkeep, training and funding lifesaving equipment.

Details: Doubles with breakfast from £89 (rnli.org).

Float Your Boat

Good Hotel, London

Built on a large floating platform, the Good Hotel (pictured) is the brainchild of a Dutch social entrepreneur and has 148 rooms

The roof terrace at the Good Hotel. Guests can enjoy views of the O2 and Canary Wharf Tower

B&B doubles at the Good Hotel are priced from £85, with guests paying £110 for a river view

All profits from the Good Hotel go to educating children in Guatemala and helping local long-term unemployed people train in hospitality at the hotel or elsewhere

The Good Hotel is berthed in Royal Victoria Dock (pictured), in the redeveloped London Docklands

Enjoy views of the O2 and Canary Wharf Tower from the Good Hotel, berthed in Royal Victoria Dock, in the redeveloped London Docklands.

Built on a large floating platform, it is the brainchild of a Dutch social entrepreneur and has 148 rooms.

Do Good: All profits go to educating children in Guatemala and helping local long-term unemployed people train in hospitality at the hotel or elsewhere.

Details: B&B doubles from £85, with river view £110 (goodhotel.co/london).

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