Road & Travel Magazine - Adventure Travel  Channel

Travel Channel
Adventure Travel
Advice & Tips
Airline Rules
Bed & Breakfasts
Climate Views & Videos
Cruises & Tours
Destination Reviews
Earth Tones
Family Travel Tips
Health Trip
Hotels & Resorts
Luxury Travel
Pet Travel
RV & Camping
Safety & Security
Spa Reviews
Train Vacations
World Travel Directory
Automotive Channel
Auto Advice & Tips
Auto Buyer's Guides
Car Care Maintenance
Climate News & Views
Auto Awards Archive
Insurance & Accidents
Legends & Leaders
New Car Reviews
Planet Driven
Road Humor
Road Trips
RV & Camping
Safety & Security
Teens & Tots Tips
Tire Buying Tips
Used Car Buying
Vehicle Model Guide


Bookmark and Share

2008 Green Hotel Guide

A Guide to Earth Friendly Hotels

More and more, travelers are considering their impact on the environment while on vacation or business trips. A major way to conserve on vacation without losing the luxury is to find an eco-friendly hotel where all of the energy savings is left to the hotel so travelers can relax and enjoy their trip guilt-free. Healthy living on vacation is also a concern and hotels can help provide the lodging, food and care that many travels need on the road. These green lodging destinations provide many kinds of environmentally-friendly and healthy accommodations for a wide variety of travelers.

Stay as Green as It Gets – Proximity Hotel; North Carolina
Built to use 40% less energy and 30% less water than a similar hotel, the just opened Proximity Hotel offers sustainable practices, custom-designed furnishings, commissioned art and innovative design in 147-room luxury hotel and its adjacent restaurant.

Proximiti Hotel
Proximity Hotel

Proximity Hotel’s sustainable design follows the guidelines of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System, the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. With the goal to attain Platinum Certification, Proximity features ultra efficient materials, the latest in building technology, North America’s first installation of the Otis Gen2 elevator that generates electricity as it descends, restoration of 700 linear feet of a stream and 100 solar rooftop panels that heat enough hot water to supply 100 homes.

While many of the 70-plus energy and health enhancements will not be outwardly visible to guests, visitors are sure to notice the oversized windows providing abundant natural light and great amounts of fresh air.

Corner Loft King Guest Room
Proximity Corner Loft King Guest Room

Guests will enjoy flavorful food, custom-designed furniture and original h room. The hotel features 7,000 sartwork in eacquare feet of private event space, a fitness studio, outdoor swimming pool, and a guest living room on each floor. Proximity’s oversized guest rooms and suites have 50 square-foot windows, custom furnishings, high definition television and Magi beds. For more information visit Proximity Hotel.

Sleep, Eat & Drive Green – Fairmont San Francisco & D.C.  
Eco-savvy travelers can now enjoy luxury, style and a commitment to sustainability when they visit two Fairmont hotels. Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and Lexus are partnering to unveil two "Lexus Hybrid Living Suites" geared for eco-conscious visitors, with the first to launch at The Fairmont San Francisco, followed by The Fairmont Washington, D.C.

Guests can sleep, eat and drink sustainably in these unique, eco-friendly suites, which incorporate ideas and products from Lexus Hybrid Living partners, part of a program to minimize environmental impact without compromising luxury. Complimentary use of a Lexus LS 600h L awaits the Lexus Hybrid Living Suite visitor who wishes to explore the area in the comfort of a low-emission luxury car that spoils the driver, not the environment.

Fairmont San Francisco
Fairmont San Francisco

"Fairmont has truly been a pioneer in the responsible tourism arena, and it's now part of our DNA," said Jeff Senior, Executive Vice President, Marketing and Sales, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts. "Not only do we implement programs to reduce, reuse and recycle, but we look to be better neighbors in our communities through local initiatives. Partnerships with like-minded companies such as Lexus allow us to not only practice responsible operations but offer our guests stylish and sustainable experiences unique to our brand."

Guests in San Francisco and Washington will enjoy a Green Guide, as well as an audio podcast, during their stay. The guides recommend environmentally friendly activities in the destination. From eco-friendly bath amenities to mini-bars stocked with local biodynamic wines, organic farmstead cheeses and other delicious treats from each region, the Lexus Hybrid Living Suite will provide an unforgettable taste of the "green life." For more information visit Fairmont and Lexus Hybrid Living.

Go Green with Style - Glenn Hotel; Atlanta, GA
In addition to the high-end style and dedication to personal comfort that make the Glenn Hotel popular among both business and leisure travelers alike, the Glenn is now allowing ecologically concerned guests to leave smaller footprints when they travel. Guests with the most refined taste will continue to experience premium standards of service and luxury, while the Glenn utilizes non-intrusive, eco-friendly products and methods.

Glenn Hotel Guest Room
Glenn Hotel Guest Room

Through its renovation, The Glenn worked to incorporate building components that reduce overall energy consumption such as new windows for insulations, high-efficiency water source heat pumps and smart thermostats and lights systems that sense when each room is occupied.

The adaptive reuse of the historic Glenn Building, which had been vacant for 20 years, in lieu of a building demolition and rebuild reduced the amount of new construction materials needed to create the hotel. This approach saved an architecturally significant building as well as reducing the project’s environmental footprint.

The Glenn is located within easy walking distance of several train and bus stops and allows guests and hotel employees to take mass transit to and from the airport and around the Atlanta metro area. These efforts help reduce auto usage of employees and guests, improving air quality and traffic congestion in the city. For more information about Glenn Hotel and other Desires Hotels, call 305.577.8484 or visit Desire Hotels.

Double the Fun with Double the Green – Santa Fe, NM Hotels
Two Santa Fe inns, Hacienda Nicholas and The Madeleine Inn, have a mission to "Go Green All the Way."

Hacienda Nicholas
Hacienda Nicholas

What began with the retrofitting of low-flow toilets and showerheads and an invitation to guests to opt out of daily washing of linens has now spread to all aspects of inn keeping. All cleaning agents and chemicals used to clean guestrooms have been replaced by all-natural, environmentally safe products. The properties recycle all allowable glass, paper and plastic and compost all organic matter. Wherever possible, compact fluorescent and LED light bulbs are utilized, which use 1/3 the energy of incandescent bulbs. Motion detectors and solar lighting are used outdoors, while natural lighting supplies most of the light by day. Dispensers for hair and skin products have replaced individually packaged amenities, and meals are prepared with organic ingredients. In addition, 80% of the inns' electricity is wind-generated, and the gardens are fertilized organically. The properties will continue to implement more changes in order to further reduce their carbon footprint.

Hacienda Nicholas and The Madeleine are small inns, consisting of seven rooms each, and are located just four blocks from the Plaza and the new Convention Center. The inns are new members of the group Environmentally Friendly Hotels. They offer a full breakfast, highlighting Southwestern cuisine, along with afternoon tea and cookies and an evening wine and cheese hour. Guests also enjoy the on-site Absolute Nirvana Spa, itself a member of The Green Spa Network. The inns and spa offer various spa packages all year.
For more information visit Hacienda Nicholas and The Madeleine.

Get Healthy in Luxury – International Hotel; Rochester, MN
The International Hotel was built in 2006 as the 25-room top floor of the Kahler Grand Hotel, a historic property that shares an 87-year history with the Mayo Clinic. The exclusive hotel-within-a-hotel is located directly across the street from the world-renowned medical facility and provides sanctuary and personalized service for distinguished travelers.  The International Hotel is doubling in size due to overwhelming demand.

Guests of the AAA Four-Diamond International find a healthy home-away-from-home including international dining fare, access to more than 360 global newspapers, television stations from around the world, and in-room phones featuring Ask Mayo buttons, which allow direct access to Mayo Clinic registered nurses.  Nutritionist-approved room service options, medical concierge services, and prescription delivery are among the "healthtel" amenities.

International Presidential Suite
International Presidential Suite

Doubling the size of the hotel, 20 new luxury suites are being added. With a unique, clean design, the newly renovated suites will combine the International Hotel’s unparalleled luxury with even more features catering to guests who are also Mayo Clinic Patients. 

Renovated suites will provide larger wheelchair accessible areas, along with wheelchair storage space.  Attention will be paid to furniture height for the convenience of all guests.  Storage spaces in bathrooms will be strategically placed at a medium height to accommodate guests with limited mobility.  Showers will feature hand held shower sprays and decorative grab bars.  Professional lighting consultants have designed careful light placement in the suites with dimmer switches and softer lighting. For more information visit International Hotel.

Sources: Proximity Hotel, Lexus, Desire Hotels, Hacienda Nicholas, The Madeleine, International Hotel.