August 24th, 2009
Gaia Napa Valley Hotel, Napa Valley, Calif.
When it came to being green, the creators of the Gaia Napa Valley Hotel, located on four, naturally-landscaped acres in American Canyon, Calif. decided to go for the Gold — being certified LEED Gold, the second from the top level.
The 131-room hotel includes all the basics of a green hotel: Carpet made of recycled content, low VOC (volatile organic compound) sealants, adhesives and paints, low-flush toilets and low-flow shower heads in each guestroom, chemical-free landscaping, state of the art, energy-saving air conditioning and heating units, among other features.
There’s a spa and some fantastic food options, like Asian fusion concoctions, that feel a little over consumptive. (But this is an ethical discussion far too deep for here.) And there are some aspects of this mid-range hotel that seem, well, ordinary, like the fact that the structure, remodeled from an existing building, is surrounded by a parking lot.
Still, the creators of the hotel clearly put some thought into accommodating green-minded eco-travelers in Northern California, where touring the wine country can be considered a close-to-nature experience, suitable for those who enjoy fine wine and the countryside, but don’t want to pick ticks off at the end of the day.
Stepping into the lobby, guests are greeted by a real-time display that measures energy usage, energy contribution from the solar panels and carbon dioxide offsets. Poems about nature are placed upon each guest’s pillow, and a copy of Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth can be found in each room-right there next to a copy of the Bible and the Buddhist Traveler book.
<--Previous : : Next Page-->
