The 5-star Cap Rocat Hotel in Mallorca is a luxurious retreat nestled within a former 19th-century fortress. With breathtaking views of the Mediterranean, it offers exclusive accommodations, top-notch service, award-winning cuisine, and a variety of leisure activities for discerning travelers. We conducted an interview with Antonia Rullan on the topic of sustainability.
Exclusive Interview with Antonia Rullan, General Manager 5 Star Hotel Cap Rocat
Andreas Conrad: Speaking of your guests, generally speaking people staying in exclusive hotels, do you have the feeling that they look for sustainable arrivals to their destination?
Antonia Rullan: Yes, nowadays our guests are very much interested before choosing a venue. They like to know in advance if there are more sustainable ways to come to our hotel, e.g. via e-car. When it comes to flights, guests more and more try to avoid too short stays, maybe combining it with other close destinations, such as Menorca or Ibiza.
Andreas Conrad: So would you agree that sustainable traveling starts with the actual travel itself or at the hotel?
Antonia Rullan: I totally agree that sustainable travelling starts at the travel itself, whenever possible. We all have the responsibility to think twice about our decisions and to choose the more eco-friendly way, whenever possible.
Andreas Conrad: In common sense most people connect luxury with wastefulness, of course we know and agree that’s not always the case. So how would you reconcile luxury and sustainability?
Antonia Rullan: The special atmosphere of Cap Rocat is created by its location in a 19th century military fortress in the middle of a 30-hectare nature reserve. True to the ethos that luxury also means responsibility, the hotel has been working with the Madine Mayurqa Foundation for years. Donations of three euros per guest are collected and divided between three charitable initiatives. The hotel has committed to doubling every donation. In addition to the environmental partnership with the Mallorca Preservation Foundation, the remaining proceeds are directed towards the renovation of historic windmills on the island and the Fray Junipero Serra Museum. In addition, the luxury hotel has long been committed to employing people at risk of social exclusion or with disabilities, offering them career prospects.
Andreas Conrad: Speaking of those refinements and ideas, does your resort have for example a two-year plan to operate more eco- friendly or sustainable? If so, are you comfortable sharing some with us?
Antonia Rullan: Our main concern is to support as much as we can all the communities that take part and safeguard the Balearic Islands heritage and contribute to a sustainable future.
By the end of 2019, we have set the goal of generating zero plastic waste, exchanging all the plastic with biodegradable materials, and eliminating single use plastic. With this commitment, we aim to reduce the ecological footprint while continuing to implement sustainable initiatives through waste reduction.
In the same year, we built a desalination plant that allows us to optimize water resources. By desalinating sea water, we limit to a great extent our use of the island’s scarce freshwater resources. This plan guides us through 2024 and even 2025.
Andreas Conrad: In order to reach your goal, to what extent do you involve the local population in your sustainability strategies and is there government support for sustainability programmes?
Antonia Rullan: We are always trying to work with our local communities and using our local materials, made from home.
I.e we support a Majorquian preservation fund (Medina Mayurqa) that protects the islands biodiversity and conservation of its natural resources.
These measures reflect the holistic strategy pursued by Marugal: Sustainable development in harmony with the well-being of society and the planet. Thus, all the company’s activities are characterized by respect for local culture and heritage, protection of the environment and a sense of social responsibility. Through individual initiatives and an extensive educational program, Marugal demonstrates every day how well luxury can go hand in hand with responsible travel.
Andreas Conrad: Due to our profession we are at multiple exclusive resorts of the world. Sometimes we have the feeling that the thought of sustainability is only important for European / German speaking guests.
Antonia Rullan: Would you agree? I think all tourist markets are more and more aware of how important it is to do sustainable tourism. We cannot go on like in the past decades and it’s the responsibility of the tourism industry all over the world, to engage for a greener planet.
Andreas Conrad: Speaking of your personal opinion, how do you think traveling and staying at luxurious destinations will change in the future? And where do you see the limits of sustainability in the luxury hospitality industry?
Antonia Rullan: I think the luxury nowadays is to stay in a sustainable hotel – that’s the luxury itself. This is connected to a new form of luxury – called “silent luxury”. Back to the experience itself, to silence and quality time in nature, instead of golden water taps and a “more is more” approach.
Andreas Conrad: There are lots of environmentally conscious trends, which ones have you noticed in recent years?
Antonia Rullan: I clearly noticed a rise of zero plastic waste and using local organic ingredients. The current Slow Food trend reflects this risen awareness for a more eco-friendly way of consumption.
Andreas Conrad: Lastly, we are curious! There’s a current boom of luxurious hospitality facilities all over the world. Everybody wants to go higher, further, faster, chasing the sky. What does a luxury resort or hotel need to survive the tough competition?
Antonia Rullan: I can only speak for ourselves here about what makes us so successful. As Cap Rocat, we try to stay true to ourselves and our DNA. We offer silent luxury that doesn’t shout and where guests can feel at home. Our surroundings are also unique and harmonize perfectly with the architecture of the hotel, a former military fortress.
Andreas Conrad: Finally, we would like to know what unique selling point your resort has in terms of environmentally friendly tourism?
Antonia Rullan: It’s the combination of all these special activities to become a greener, more eco-friendly hotel: Exchanging all the plastic with biodegradable materials, using a desalination plant that allows us to optimize water resources, the donations for the Madine Mayurqa Foundation, cooking with local ingredients etc. It’s our personal task to show that luxury and sustainability can go hand-by-hand.
FrontRowSociety editor Andreas Conrad conducted the interview with Antonia Rullan, General Manager, 5 star Hotel Cap Rocat, in March 2024.
These are the original, unedited answers.
Here you can find the interview in German
Hotel Cap Rocat
Crta. d’Enderrocat, s/n
07609 Palma de Mallorca /Spain
