Going green doesn’t mean giving up luxe amenities, especially if you stay at a boutique hotel that uses smart sustainability practices that are all but hidden to the eye. At The Talbott Hotel in Chicago, you can let staff know with a press of a button to change bed and bath linens every other day (rather than daily). The Forbes Travel Guide-recommended hotel employs energy efficient water conversation, uses automatic sensors for lighting and buys carbon and wind energy offsets.
The LEED Platinum-certified Proximity Hotel in Greensboro, N.C., has 100 solar panels on its roof to heat the hotel’s water, loads of natural lighting, high-efficiency Kohler bath fixtures and a green vegetable rooftop that keeps the building cool in the summer.
The gorgeous tufa stone exterior of Bardessono in Napa Valley was partly constructed of salvaged stone from a 19th-century wine cellar that once sat on the property. The stylish LEED Platinum-certified wine country retreat uses salvaged woods throughout its rustic-chic design, local and organic spa and restaurant products and organic linens. Similarly, the new LEED Gold-certified Shore Hotel on Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica used recycled materials from the preexisting building to construct part of the hotel, which was built and designed with wood from sustainable forests.
Bamboo is the material of choice at Nashville’s Hutton Hotel — the lobby, elevator landings, guest rooms and even the fitness center feature the exotic plant. The Music City hotel also uses biodegradable cleaning products, LED lighting and eco-friendly hybrid cars to shuttle guests to nearby locales.
Photo Courtesy of Hutton Hotel
