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Inside Napa's Bardessono Hotel
Last week, we had the good fortune to spend a glorious fall day amongst the sun-warmed vines and valleys of Napa. Between wine-tasting rendezvous, we managed to invoke the tiniest bit of professionalism and took a tour of MTM Luxury Lodging’s new Bardessono Hotel in Yountville, which aims to be the greenest hotel in America. By the looks of it, they’re well on their way, but judge for yourself based on our video tour of one of their rooms.
Besides conventional eco-resort initiatives like LEED certification, controls that turn off the electrical systems when guests leave a room, and an organic garden that provides produce for the restaurant, the resort has also forged ahead with several distinct environmental practices that set it apart from other hotels.
Tags: Fairmont Hotels / Eco-Friendly Hotels / Hotel Packages / Luxury / San Francisco Hotels / Green Hotels / Washington D.C. Hotels / → All Tags
The Fairmont SF and DC Deliver Luxury and a Lexus Hybrid
Luxury is synonymous with excess, which in the car world usually suggests the use of high smog-emitting vehicles. Bigger is not always better for Mother Earth, with all that carbon monoxide contributing to her degradation.
A depressing reality, to be sure, but with environmental awareness being so very haute these days, tastemakers and luxury providers are striving to make the good life the green life, too. It's no coincidence that you hear blatant plugs for hybrid cars as stars arrive on the Oscars red carpet, you know. Plush comforts and planet-friendly alternatives can coexist, as LuxuryLink, Lexus, and The Fairmont San Francisco and Washington DC are attempting to prove with special Eco-Chic packages.
Included in the three-night deal for two in San Francisco are accommodations in a special Lexus Hybrid Living Suite decked out in all organic or sustainable materials, use of the 2009 Lexus LS 600H Hybrid sedan, organic wine, and passes to three local green wineries in Napa. In DC, you get a two-night stay for four, including Living Suite digs, use of the same sedan, organic wine upon arrival, $150 in hotel dining credits, and a $100 donation to the National Geographic Society.
Tags: Hilton Hotels / New York Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / Times Square Hotels / Eco-Friendly Hotels / Green Hotels / → All Tags
Hilton New York Honored With a 'Green Street' Award. Really.
Swarming with smog, exhaust, and buzzing with the din of taxis in neutral, New York's Avenue of the Americas is hardly a location we think of as being environmentally-considerate. A work in progress, maybe, with a little cheerleading needed to nudge it in the right direction.
The "Green Street" Award was established by the Avenue of the Americas Association to inspire the thoroughfare's tenants to think eco and find new ways to close the loop. This year, the Hilton New York was honored, and not just because it hosted the ceremony in its Trianon Ballroom last week.
Innovative eco-hotels are normally found bourgeois bohemian neighborhoods like the West Village or SoHo, so when we caught wind of this news we were looking for certifiable proof of the Hilton's investment in going green. According to the Avenue's Association, proof came in the form of a futuristic, energy-saving PureCell system that uses electric power to power the hotel and heat water, which has accounted for 6% of the hotel's consumption since being installed. It is also three times more energy efficient than a normal electric grid and operates 24-hours per day.
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Design Competition Proves The Green Life Can Be The Suite Life
Where: United States
A mock-up of the winning design
Be honest; when you hear the phrase "environmentally friendly," the sensation of scratchy hemp rubbing against your skin and the cloying smell of patchouli come to mind. Before we were familiar with the versatility of a green lifestyle, we thought the same thing. Hotels like Portland's The Nines have taught us otherwise, though, and once you get into the finer points of sustainable design, it's clear that luxury need not be pushed to the back burner.
All of the not-so-small environmental efforts that hotels are making these days—recycling, installing low energy bulbs, et cetera—are done with the hope that we'll live a brighter future. So it's only natural that eco-hospitality look to the next generation of green designers for innovation, not to mention to up their cool quotient. The Sustainable Suite Design Competition was created precisely for this purpose.
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Parisi Is the Little Green Hotel that Could
When you hear about hotels going green, names of the big brands pop up, like Kimpton and The Westin. But little guys are leading the eco charge too, like the Hotel Parisi, inconspicuously tucked away above a Roxy/Quicksilver and a Victoria's Secret in tony La Jolla, California.
One of the 29-room boutique hotel's greenest accomplishments has been becoming the first and only hotel in the San Diego area to offset all of the electricity it consumes with wind power, according to hotel officials. It purchased 294,000 kilowatt hours of renewable energy credits, thereby lessening its carbon footprint. To save more on electricity, the hotel installed a keycard-activated light system, which ensures that the lights are off when guests leave the room to go to the nearby coves.
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100,00th Tree Planted on Seychelles Island Paradise
Sometimes, that old adage, "Can't see the forest for the trees in the way" can take on a positive connotation. We've made puns about hotels taking the LEED and recently reported on Kimpton's initiative to plant a billion trees in Brazil, and in the same spirit, Seychelles' Fregate Island Private Resort is marking a significant ecological milestone: They recently planted the 100,000th tree in their endemic hardwood program.
The program is part of Fregate's efforts to become carbon neutral, which in broad terms refers to achieving zero carbon emissions. Hoping to replenish what was destroyed when Seychelles was colonized—namely local forestation that was replaced by coconut trees—Fregate sought to bring back natural flora and fauna to the area. The 100,000th tree was a Ficus, which normally thrives in rocky underground environments like those on Seychelles. The trees are said to reach heights of 50 to 65 feet and grow remarkably quickly.
And, lest you think that the resort is one of those hypocritical businesses whose real estate is taking over the island while claiming to save it, not that their buildings only occupy five percent of the island, leaving the remaining 95 percent untouched.
Tags: Green Hotels / Eco-Friendly Hotels / Eco-Hotels / Scotland Hotels / → All Tags
The Lovat Loch Ness Promises a Green Stay, But No Monster Sightings
We know Loch Ness for its mysterious monster lore and tranquil scenery, but not so much for its green environmental efforts. Which isn't to say that the Scottish aren't pioneering eco-saving projects overseas, specifically in the hotel sector, but other well-known chains like Kimpton have been ruling the news lately.
We recently stumbled across The Lovat Arms, an unassuming hotel that offers views of the surrounding Highlands (and maybe that elusive plesiosaur), touts itself as being "eco-conscious," and has earned a Silver rating from the Green Tourism Business Scheme, the UK's "national sustainable tourism certification" organization.
Tags: Kimpton Hotels / Green Hotels / Eco-Friendly Hotels / Hotel Promotions / → All Tags
Kimpton's 'Giving Tree' Campaign Not Shel Silverstein-Related
Where: United States
A room at Kimpton's Hotel Monaco in Chicago.
If it seems like we've been writing about the Kimpton Group's environmentally-sound strides ad nauseam, it's only because they're really—and we mean really—pushing green initiatives these days. They didn't win an "Earth Saver" award for nothing, you know.
But even their Captain Planet-like heroism could use a helping hand, namely from you, their faithful guests. Their latest pet project has them teaming up with The Nature Conservacy (an organization that "protects Earth's most important natural places") for TNC's "Plant A Billion Trees" campaign. Their mission is to do just that: plant a billion trees in Brazil's Atlantic Forest over the next seven years to help restore its luster and save its ecosystem.
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AAA's Guide to What's Green, Organic, and Eco All Over
The Nines Portland makes it easy to be green
When you're readying to book a hotel, you probably have a memorized list of criteria you mentally check off: location, star-rating, workout facilities, in-room amenities, and so on. Considering how hot—and we don't mean in the global warming sense—green hotels are these days, you might also question how "eco" your next hotel is. Are those low or no VOC paints on the wall? Are the toilets built to conserve water? Are the toiletries you might stuff in your suitcase 100 percent organic?
Investigating these questions while you're planning your trip is enough to drive even Al Gore crazy. To make the task less stressful, AAA, your roadside savior and glove compartment travel buddy, has launched an Eco-Friendly guide to the nation's hotels. Now all you have to do to locate green lodgings is look for an easy-to-spot "ECO" symbol in the AAA TourBook listings.
Tags: Hotel Openings / Green Hotels / Eco-Hotels / Hotel Deals / Hotel Opening Rates / Design Hotels / Country Hotels / England Hotels / → All Tags
Green Gets Sexy at Cornwall's Scarlet Hotel
Green Hotels don’t usually equal sexy hotels – and if they do, you can generally assume that the eco side is more for effect than hardcore environmental causes. But a big exception to the rule has just opened up in Britain: The Scarlet hotel in boho Cornwall.
It may look like just another chic clifftop Cornish hotel with its slinky furnishings (it’s even a member of Design Hotels), Michelin-starred chef, Atlantic views and “private outdoor space” for each of its 37 rooms, but under all the glitz is lurking a seriously green hotel.
Tags: Green Hotels / Eco-Hotels / San Diego Hotels / Kimpton Hotels / → All Tags
The Convenient Truth Behind Hotel Solamar's 'Live Green, Stay Green' Package
Not one to slack in the eco department, even after winning a distinguished "World Saver" award this week, Kimpton continues their quest to greenify the planet, one hotel at a time.
San Diego's Hotel Solamar is already rife with Earth-friendly touches, like recycling bins, low-flow showers, and organic food at the hotel restaurant. For the ultra eco-friendly among us (we're looking at you, hybrid-driving, farmers market shopping readers), Hotel Solamar has just launched a Live Green, Stay Green package to give guests an all-out eco-aware experience.
Tags: LEED Hotels / Green Hotels / Courtyard By Marriott Hotels / → All Tags
Wanna Know How Green Your Hotel Is? Ask to See Its LEED Plaque
Hotels love to talk about green their properties are--from electric car charging stations to non-toxic cleaning products, in-room recycling bins, water saving practices and low energy appliances and lighting. These are all commendable and we hope that more and more hotels introduce green services, practices and amenities in the future.
But still the reigning status symbol of a truly green hotel is the coveted LEED Status. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council to rate "environmentally sound building practices" ranging from materials used to construct the building to water efficiency and sustainability. Ratings are point-based and range from certified to silver, gold and platinum.
While many hotels are pursuing LEED certification, only a handful actually are. So how do you know your hotel is telling the truth about its LEED status? By asking to see their LEED plaque like this one hanging at the Courtyard by Marriot Portland City Center hotel in Oregon which just recently received LEED gold status.
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