With Earth Day rapidly approaching (that's April 22nd), many hotels are now offering packages to take advantage of the day. Here's a roundup of some of the properties we've found that are doing their bit to help save, and celebrate, the Earth:
You can leave the car behind and save the Earth one step at a time with 70 Park Avenue Hotel's Eco Step Savings package, starting at $259 per night, through May 31. Guests at this midtown Manhattan hotel receive a pedometer to count your steps throughout the day, a walking map of the city, and a welcome organic chocolate and wine amenity.
Our friends at Hotel Chatter report that the J.W. Marriott in Desert Springs, California, now has a $399/night package that offers two date scrub spa treatments, an organic honey tasting, and free admission to the nearby Living Desert (with the exchange of a used cell phone). Ever wary of greenwashing we were glad to hear from HC that:
[T]he resort has a whole bunch of environmentally-friendly initiatives like electric-powered golf carts, a 50-million gallon lake that uses reclaimed water and is home to migrating birds, and green housekeeping cleaning products. Even better, ten percent of the proceeds from the package will be donated to the Living Desert Organization.
W Hotels will be offering their guests free Puma bicycles and helmets in order to encourage visitors to take cars off the road. (We can't help but think this might be a smart policy to institute post-Earth Day as well). Their Spring Fling Package also has an eco-element; with the cost of your reservation, one hundred trees will be donated to the Trees for the Future organization.
If you book a room for the night of April 22nd with RockResorts, a company that we like for its Give and Getaway packages, you can get a free nights stay one evening before or after Earth Day. This special deal applies to its resorts in Vail, St. Lucia, and several other properties.
Lake Tahoe's Village at Squaw Valley is offering a two-nights stay for $200 the weekend following Earth Day (April 25-26), which is an even better deal when you consider you get to take in the local Earth Day celebrations, from the Wild and Scenic film festival to the Haute Trash fashion show.
Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas is getting in on the action by offering locally sourced Earth Day tasting menu through April 22nd at its Michelin rated Bradley Ogden restaurant, with proceeds benefiting Bette Midler's New York Restoration Project.
Portland, Oregon's Heathman Hotel (with its fine library) has the right idea, as its "go green"
package isn't limited to Earth Day alone. It's year-round offering
includes having a tree planted in the guest's name and free parking for
those arriving with a hybrid car. We're glad to see them doing their
part to make Earth Day every day.
Photo: J.W. Marriot Desert Springs via Hotel Chatter
Ahh... they'll use ANY holiday, won't they?
But seriously, thanks for the round up of these, it's interesting how the green them has taken off this year.
Posted by: Suz | April 18, 2008 at 12:30 PM