Fogo Island Inn

Located on the striking island off the northern coast of Newfoundland, Canada, Fogo Island Inn was designed by Newfoundland-born architect Todd Saunders, who created futuristic interpretation of settlement for adventurers. Vernacular architecture and sleek interior design festooned with objects from the area’s fishing communities and craftspeople. Guests can choose which of seven seasons to experience from Pack Ice to Late Fall. Depending on a season multiple activities could be found during the day and in the evening, you may enjoy gourmet cuisine observing ocean from the panoramic dining room.

Rooms: 29 rooms, all with floor to ceiling windows with views out to the Atlantic Ocean

Opening year: 2013

Last renovation: 2022

Sustainability:

• Installed heat recovery ventilators (HRVs), which continuously replace indoor air with fresh outdoor air—in fact, building does a total air exchange every 15 minutes. When it’s cold outside, HRVs capture warmth from air leaving the building and use it to pre-heat fresh air entering the building. In the warmer months, it extracts heat from incoming air and transfers it to outgoing air, keeping the building cool.
• Four heat recovery systems redirect heat from mechanical equipment to help heat the building. The Inn has a high-efficiency wood-burning heating system (wood stoves in the majority of guest rooms and wood-burning fireplaces in public spaces). Using Hydro power—a clean and renewable energy source—not fossil fuels.
• Kitchen team follows the “80/20” rule: 80% of ingredients they use are fished, farmed, hunted, or harvested from Fogo Island. The other 20% (including ingredients such as chocolate, coffee, and spices) are sourced from as close to home as possible and from traditional trading partners.

Community interactions:

• Fogo Island Inn is an initiative of Shorefast, a registered Canadian charity founded in 2004 by Zita, Anthony, and Alan Cobb. Shorefast is dedicated to helping to secure a resilient economic future for Fogo Island, Change Islands, and similar rural communities worldwide. All surpluses from the operation are reinvested in the community of Fogo Island, through the projects and programs of Shorefast
• Possibility for guests to purchase carbon offsets, calculating the approximate carbon emissions associated with everything from travel to heating and electricity use to dining and activities to support project in Stephenville and Appleton-Glenwood, Newfoundland.

Certifications: Economic Nutrition Certification Mark

Management: local owner, local management