For over twenty years, the best-kept secret behind the kitchens of Servigroup Hotels has been nestled in the heart of Villajoyosa (Alicante, Spain). In this charming seaside town, just a few steps from the Mediterranean, we are privileged to maintain a true natural oasis, where a large part of the fruit and vegetables that nourish our buffets is grown.
Every morning, we harvest the day’s fresh produce — from citrus fruits to vegetables, and a wide range of seasonal fruits. And once a year, the finest olives are picked to make the extra virgin olive oil used in Servigroup Hotels.
This 10-hectare estate, with 14,000 square metres of greenhouses, is known as Finca El Clot and has been selected as an example of best practices for sustainability in tourism by the European Union’s Farm to Fork programme.
Farm to Fork is a key initiative within the European Green Deal, aimed at fostering sustainability and protecting the ecosystems that make up our continent.
The programme highlights the importance of preserving traditional, local farming — respectful of the environment and vital to communities that both produce and consume their own food, thus reducing their ecological footprint. In other words, it avoids unnecessary waste and pollution caused by transporting goods across the globe when they can be grown locally. Plus, this way, we enjoy the very best seasonal flavours.
At Servigroup Hotels, we believe in the importance of these practices. That’s why a significant portion of the fruit and vegetables served in our buffets is grown on the vegetable garden El Clot, just a short distance from our hotels, allowing us to deliver the day’s harvest either the same day or the next. A luxury often reserved for Michelin-starred restaurants or boutique hotels — but at Servigroup, we extend it to all our establishments so our guests can enjoy top-quality cuisine.
If we seek the best ingredients at home, why wouldn’t we do the same in our restaurants?
Strawberries – El Clot vegetable garden
Yesterday was a chance to put all that into practice during a very special visit. Accompanied by the Antonio Serna Serna Secondary School in Albatera (Alicante), a group of over fifty students from Spain and Slovenia visited the El Clot to witness our sustainable approach in action — and to help spread these best practices across Europe.
The day began in the orange groves, where the last fruits of the season were being hand-picked. Visitors watched as only the finest were selected for our buffets, while the rest were used as compost. Once cleaned and sorted, the oranges were immediately sent off to the hotels to be served at breakfast the next day.
Later, they visited the greenhouses, where seasonal vegetables such as aubergines, peppers, and cucumbers are now growing, alongside edible flowers and aromatic herbs used to decorate buffets, salads, and even the cocktails served in our hotel bars.
The visit concluded in the tomato greenhouse, home to over 4,000 plants producing tomatoes of three different varieties — all bursting with flavour. Some visitors, after tasting them straight from the vine, commented they "tasted just like the old days." They were especially impressed to see that pollination is done naturally with bee hives, avoiding chemical use entirely.
Living up to the programme’s name — "from farm to fork" — the visit continued at Servigroup Torre Dorada Hotel. There, we enjoyed a spectacular buffet showcasing how our team’s effort translates into amazing flavour.
For this special lunch, the hotel’s chefs created a variety of dishes in which produce from El Clot estate took centre stage. Simply delicious!
It’s a great honour for Servigroup Hotels to participate in international initiatives like Farm to Fork and to serve as an example of best practices both at home and abroad.
Now all that’s left is to invite you to come and enjoy it for yourself at our hotels — where we’re sure to win you over through your stomach. See you soon!
Do you want to know the most beautiful town in the province of Alicante? If you travel to Benidorm, you will have no excuse to miss it. And it is that less than half an hour from your hotel you can enjoy this little corner of unsurpassed beauty: Guadalest.
The picturesque old town full of attractive museums, a beautiful castle and a spectacular reservoir surrounded by unspoiled nature are just some of the reasons why it will steal your heart. An immense lake with turquoise waters ideal for walking and even taking a bath.
