Posted May 1, 2009 by Kate Hamman
With a name like Greensboro, it's not surprising that this North Carolina city is turning its focus to sustainable practices. Here, you can stay in an over-the-top-green hotel, dine on upscale farm-to-table dishes, and support local vendors at a farmers' market, all the while keeping your savings intact.
Stay
Proximity Hotel: Designed and constructed following Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design's (LEED) standards, the Proximity Hotel is green from the ground floor up. More than 70 sustainable practices have been incorporated into the hotel, including a solar-paneled rooftop and recycled materials. Each room features seven-foot-tall windows that offer ample natural lighting and views of the outdoors. Rooms start at about $189 per night.
Eat
Green Valley Grill: As a sister property to the Proximity Hotel, the Green Valley Grill uses fresh local ingredients in its European-inspired cuisine. By upholding the belief that "the nearer the farm to the fork the better the flavor," the restaurant creates tantalizing dishes such as parmesan-crusted chicken and lemon-rosemary duck breast. You can also sample North Carolina wines to pair with your dinner. Entrees start at $15.95.
Shop
Farmers' Curb Market: Opening in 1874, the Farmers' Curb Market is one of the oldest in North Carolina and to this day becomes a veritable smorgasbord of local crafts, produce, meats, and treats every Saturday morning during the summer. Many vendors' goods come straight from the farm, where they were handpicked fresh that morning. Items are priced accordingly, but the way you'll feel about supporting the local industry is priceless.
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(Photo: Proximity Hotel)
Posted August 29, 2008 by Zak Patten
Who says eco-travel has to mean wearing mosquito netting while avoiding quicksand in a Central American rainforest? Certainly not Hilton Hotels, which is about to have a pair of properties with greener roofs—and last time I checked, neither Asheville nor Baltimore is anywhere near Costa Rica.
What's most interesting about these two projects is that they achieve eco-positive status in two completely different ways. According to Green Lodging News, Asheville's new Hilton Hotel in Biltmore Park Town Square is focused on cutting emissions and fuel costs by installing a "large-scale solar water heating system" on its roof. The new system is expected to supply the 165-room hotel with over 2,000 gallons of hot water per day, and save an estimated $10,000 per year in energy costs, all while giving the hotel a much smaller carbon footprint. In doing so, the Hilton Asheville is set to become one of the first major hotel s in the country to use the sun's energy to heat its water. Combined with "an energy optimization program, the use of recycled, nontoxic and local materials, and the installation of Low-E materials throughout the entire hotel," the fancy solar roof may make this one of the greenest big hotels in the U.S.
The new $300 million, 757-room Hilton Baltimore is also going green, but instead of solar panels, the roofs on its east and west buildings will be home to a 32,000-square-foot garden. With six species and tens of thousands of plantsthis won't look like Grandma's backyard. As The Green Meeting notes, such roofs "are used to provide urban habitat to wildlife, reduce storm runoff, improve air and water quality, lower temperatures and boost aesthetics." So while you may not be able to take an environmentally friendly shower at the Hilton Baltimore, at least all those plants are a lot nicer to look at than a roof full of solar panels. Either way, it's nice to see Hilton blazing an eco-travel trail—without all the bugs.
(Photo: dvorak.org)
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