An ‘eco-hotel’ dubbed Kent’s first has opened on the site of a former language school in Folkestone.

The building in Cheriton Place had sat empty for two years before business partners Emma Howitt and Iurie Dontu took it on to create the environmentally-friendly accommodation.

Called Folkestone 8, it offers rooms described as “eco-studio apartments” filled with smart technology and recycled materials.

This includes infra-red heating and keyless locks.

“Technology can really help you be eco,” Mrs Howitt explains.

“We have smart switches which allow us to switch off the lights when a guest leaves.

“We also have smart door locks so there are no keys or cards used to open the doors. People can open the door to their room on their phone.

“We also have infra-red heating, which was a bit of a leap of faith for us. You can’t see any heating in the rooms – there are no pipes or radiators, it’s literally in the fabric of the ceiling.

“It’s all smart too so we can turn it off when guests leave.”

The apartments are furnished with natural materials and only use eco-conscious products. The team also recycles and bulk-buys products to cut excess packaging.

The rooms have mini kitchenettes which include a sink, fridge freezer, microwave and kitchen utensils which are made from natural products that are reusable.

Other eco-friendly products in the rooms include bamboo loo paper, wooden washing-up brushes, loofah washing up sponges, and a refillable aluminium natural wash which is a face, body, and shampoo in one.

Mother-of-three Mrs Howitt, who also runs property development business Pure Abodes, which prides itself on being eco-friendly, says she is delighted with the result of the project.

“We’re incredibly excited to have brought back to life an ex-language school which was sadly shut down due to Covid and has sat empty for two years,” she said.

“By changing the use class into a hotel, it answered the needs and manifesto of Folkestone’s five pillar plan as one of those was for some more good quality hotels.”

The 47-year-old says she and Mr Dontu managed to take on the hotel for just £1, after striking a deal with the owner that will see them buy the building at a later date.

“I found out about different ways you can buy property, and in fact these modern ways of buying can be better,” Mrs Howitt said.

“The owner of the property was thinking in a few years time he would be retiring and Covid put an end to any thoughts of the language school carrying on.

“So, the owner tried to change it into an HMO [house of multiple occupancy] but that was not approved so we approached him and said we would be really interested in taking it on and changing it into a hotel.

“We said we would like to buy it in the future for his asking price, but we didn’t have the funds to do that right now.

“Hotels are inherently really difficult to fund because you need a couple of years of accounts, especially because this was a brand new hotel.

“So we agreed to take it on for an option whereby the owner receives rent and in a few years time we will be able to buy it.”

The property investor says this meant the owner could hand over the building and not have to keep paying bills while it was empty.

“We’ve spent all the money getting it into a hotel,” she said.

“To be able to create a legally binding contract the minimum you can buy a property for is £1, so that’s what we did.

“We work with investors so we have managed to pay for everything with their help too.

“Now it’s up and running and starting to make money, they get a return and we will eventually be able to buy it in full.

“There’s a real need for hotel accommodation like this because asylum seekers are filling up the hotels and guest houses at the moment.”

Folkestone 8 opened last week. Room prices for two nights, which is the minimum stay, start at about £130.

There are currently 16 rooms but there will eventually be 18.

The hotel also has an ‘eco-smart’ accreditation from Greengage – specialists in environmental sustainability.